Vampires Forever

Vampires have lured many a mortal to books, television and film, starting with Bram Stoker’s gothic novel "Dracula" in 1897, on through Stephanie Meyer’s "Twilight" franchise and TV’s "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "True Blood" and "The Vampire Diaries."

So why not a reality series?

Producers DJ Nocturna and Lana Saldania didn’t have to search far for subjects. For three years they’ve presented the annual Miss Vamp Hawaii competition, luring creatures of the night to Hawaii Theatre for a night celebrating undead beauty.

In their dark take on the typical beauty pageant, contestants must pass muster in the usual talent, question-and-answer and body-beautiful competitions (the swimsuit segment is replaced by lingerie vamping). The winner is hailed not by song, but by a flurry of bat wings and screeches.

They’re turning the events leading up to the competition into a 13-episode TV series that will end with the pageant on Oct. 10, so even the hosts won’t know the outcome. Saturday marks the premiere of "Miss Vamp Hawaii: The Reality Show" on KFVE, with future episodes airing through Oct. 19. The entire series will be rebroadcast starting Oct. 26. Viewers also will be able to watch episodes online at www.k5thehometeam.com or www.djnocturnaandlana.com 48 hours after the original episodes air.

The series launch will be celebrated during the fifth annual Vampires Ball on Saturday at Bar 35, where guests will be able to mix and mingle with Miss Vamp contestants.

"We thought about doing this the second year of the competition because we were discovering a lot of drama," said Nocturna. "You know how girls are: They call you about all the problems going on in their lives. It was like having a whole bunch of kids. Some of them are in their own la-la land. We went through hell with some of these girls."

Nocturna describes the current group of 17 contestants as an "energetic" bunch, and she doesn’t know whether being followed by cameras has anything to do with the electricity in the air. She and Saldania did not announce the reality TV plans until they had recruited all the contestants so as not to attract drama queens angling to stir up trouble for extra screen time.

"It was important for this to be real. Nothing is made up. We didn’t want anyone to be there just because they want to be on TV," Nocturna said. "We wanted it to be as passionate and loving as it’s always been. The girls get so close. It’s like a sisterhood."

Nocturna is no stranger to beauty pageants. In a past life she was a recruiter for the Miss World organization, but she said she wanted to recognize other women who are accomplished and talented in some way yet don’t fit the typical beauty queen mold.

"I think the show will appeal to everybody because the girls are all different types. They’re not all goth or dark, but come from different walks of life. Many are hairstylists or makeup artists, but we also have a communications professor and a pharmacist. Last year’s Miss Congeniality, Ai Saito, is a funeral director, and she’ll be back helping us with the pageant.

"The concept is that any woman can enter the competition and not feel too old or too different. Many women have talent that they can explore and develop at any age. You shouldn’t stop growing because you’re getting older. Our concept of ‘vampire’ means you can go on forever."