Forks is a hot spot for Twilight fans

A story about a vampire has turned a small US town into a major tourist spot. Forks in Washington is the home of teenager Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. The number of tourists going there has increased 600 per cent since the series became famous.

About 3,000 people live in Forks. Most of them are fans of the series and even celebrate Twilight Day on Bella’s birthday, which is on 13 September. The town is called after the forks in four nearby rivers and is in the Olympic rainforest, which means it gets lots of rain. Stephenie choose it as the home of the vampire family because it is cloudy there most of the time – and vampires like the Cullens don’t like to be seen in the sun.

Don't expect to see Bella and Edward walking down the street there together - or even the actors who play them! The makers of the Twilight films haven't made any of the films in the real town of Forks. You can, however, take a tour of places that look like ones in the book, including the Cullen house, the Swan house and the hospital where Dr Cullen works.

Even if you're not a big Twilight fan, you'll still find lots to do in Forks. You can visit a museum built by high-school pupils in 1990, called the Forks Timber Museum, go hiking on the local wilderness trails and go fishing in the local rivers. The town has several big festivals every year, including an arts and crafts show called Rainfest and and a big parade on the Fourth of July holiday.

Here's a video of a Forks tour, with lots of laughter.