Ben Mezerich, for one, has turned his backward biorhythms into a way of life. He realized back in college that he functioned poorly during the day. So, upon graduation seven years ago, he became a fiction writer "because they can set their own hours." Under the pen name Holden Scott, he's had a good deal of success while working between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. every night. He's even turned down a few "real jobs" writing for a television series because he would have had to get up in the morning. "I do my best work at night," he says. "To change my schedule would mean I couldn't do my best work."

I'm far from ready to live on what Mr. Mezerich calls "vampire time," but I can't help noticing that I get a lot of work done in those silent, sleepless hours.

There have been times lately, in the midst of all his good fortune, that Loston Harris II has paused to worry. For a young jazz pianist and budding crooner, these moments tend to occur on Vampire Time. That would be musician time. That would be late at night, when the rest of the world has been asleep for hours, or in the early afternoon, which is usually the bleary-eyed beginning of his day.

The real treat for locals who make a habit of taking their meals at all hours is the several locally owned and operated restaurants that cater to those living on vampire time.