When fatigue is about to set in, the friends venture into a dimly lit wooded area at night.

It is the woman, with black hair down to her waist, who leads the way into Esplanade Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Her two male companions follow.

Sensing something lurking from a tree, she stops in her tracks.

Crimson smiles and two sharp fangs appear.

``Everything gives off energy,'' she says.

It is that energy she needs for her survival.

Crimson, 33, is one of dozens in South Florida who identify themselves as vampires.

``It's what I am, and I don't feel the need to hide it,'' she says. Crimson is the name she goes by within the vampire community. She rarely uses her legal name, except for business purposes such as applying for a job. (She and the other self-proclaimed vampires interviewed for this story provided their legal names to The Miami Herald for a background check. None has a criminal record.)

A recent study reports there are thousands self-proclaimed vampires throughout the world. Florida ranks fifth on the list of states most populated by vampires -- although most make their home around the Tampa area.

``It's not simply about having a good time and putting on some fake fangs on a Friday night,'' said Joseph Laycock, author of Vampires Today: The Truth about Modern Vampirism. ``They view this as a serious condition, with measurable medical consequences.''

For more than three years, Laycock, a graduate of Harvard's School of Divinity, delved into their world.

Laycock found a culture of people who, not at all immortal, feel a need to feed off the energy of others. Without this absorption, they feel drained and prone to sickness.

``They are constantly trying to figure out `is this person giving off good energy?' '' Laycock said. ``It's exhausting, not fun at all.''

* * *

When not feeding on energy, food must suffice.

Just before midnight, Crimson and two friends head to Denny's.

The waitress delivers the trio's order: a club sandwich, scrambled eggs, french toast and a Moons of My Hammy breakfast sandwich.

Now comes the impractical part of being a vampire. ``Excuse me,'' says Jailil, as he discreetly takes off his faux fangs.

There is another option:

Miami-based dentist Dr. Julio Hernandez has fitted more than a dozen of his clients with fang implants.

``They walk in with teeth, they walk out with fangs,'' said Hernandez, who charges about $150 a pop.

``Technically they should be strong enough that you could bite into a hamburger, or I guess you could bite into a person, but I don't think you would be able to break through the skin,'' Hernandez said nonchalantly.

* * *

Crimson and Jailil live together in the heart of suburbia -- a town house nestled in a Sunrise subdivision.

``See, no coffins,'' joked Jailil, 37.

Like most in the vampire community, he was given his name, which means ``guardian,'' by another vampire. It's a name he relishes, noting that he is always protective of his vampire friends.

He was 26 when he came out -- a process known as ``awakening.'' A friend suggested he read up on vampirism to come to terms with why he always felt different.

Their friend Draethius, 25, just started calling himself a vampire six months ago. He was adopted as a child and given the name Matthew by his parents, but he clings to his vampire name -- an homage to the little that he knows of his Danish and Armenian roots.

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