Real Life

Meet the Twilight mums

Twilight isn’t just for teens. These Aussie mums are up to their necks in the vampire craze, writes Katherine Chatfield.

Take a peak into any teenage girl’s bedroom and chances are there’ll be a Twilight poster on the wall. The hit vampire-romance movie, based on the book by Stephenie Meyer, has created mass hysteria among young fans across the world.

But while most mums roll their eyes at their children’s obsessions, there’s one group of mums who see in Twilight just what their kids see.

“My 14-year old daughter had been going on at me for ages to read the book,” says Lisa Langdale, 33, who wears a Twilight bracelet and necklace. “I finally gave in. As soon as I started reading, I was hooked. I read all four books in one weekend and I’ve read them all eight times since. Now I’m so obsessed, my daughter is embarrassed. She isn’t a fan any more.”

Lisa introduced her sister-in-law Cassie Langdale, 28, to Twilight, and she became just as hooked. Then, the pair found the Aussie Twilight Mums forum – full of mums just as fascinated as them.

The forum was set up by Rachel Suesskow, a mum from Glenmore Park, NSW. “There are 200 of us,” says Lisa. “We talk on the forum every day about all things Twilight.” When Cassie and Lisa drove two hours from their home in Hastings, Victoria, to go to a signing by Twilight cast members Kellan Lutz and Edi Gathegi, they met fellow Twilight Mums Michelle Waixel, Vanessa Fennell and Lisa Townsend in the queue.

“We stood in the freezing cold for six hours,” grins Lisa Townsend. “But it was completely worth it. I couldn’t really talk when I actually got to meet the boys. I think I just told Kellan he was gorgeous.”

So, what exactly is it about Twilight that has got these mothers so hot under the collar? “I love the danger of it,” says Vanessa. “What would it be like to meet a vampire?” “It’s so romantic,” sighs Michelle. “I’d love to be Bella.”

That connection to the characters has encouraged these five women, who have 14 children between them, to start shrines to Twilight in their homes.

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