rod's mother had relatives in the small town of eustis, close to orlando. and it was in florida that ferrell's mother began to hang out with friends who called themselves vampires. >> they have clubs where you dress and all that. at one time, i was like a lifestyler is kind of what they call it. i'm i don't want to say a vampire advocate, but that kind of sounds like it, in a way, to say that we're for the ones who are decent, you know. and, yes, there are the ones now and then who make everybody else look really bad. >> as rod ferrell grew into a teenager, his sketchbook records how he was drawn in to his mother's vampire circle. >> when i was staying in eustis, i met an individual who basically, for lack of a better term, was a vampire. the initiation took place as what they term the crossover. they had to take my blood and then feed me their blood, because they considered the blood to be the true life. >> i think all in all, i was a good mother, as far as vampires go and things like that, i did make some really bad choices at times, especially when rod w