They come out at night.
Maybe it's the glare of fluorescent lights, stark against the night, that draws them like moths. Maybe it's the easy promise of a 40 ouncer and a pack of smokes. Or maybe just because it's open all hours.
For whatever reason, the downtown Safeway in Portland, OR, between 10th and 11th on Jefferson, while plenty creepy during the day, gets really freaky at night. Just say "Psycho Safeway" or "Safeway of the Damned" or "Crack Safeway" to anyone in Portland and they'll know what you're talking about. It's the downtown Safeway that pulls in the night people, the cranksters, the junkies, the you-don't-have-to-go-home-but-you-can't-stay-here people. The ones who are at their peak when the day people sleep.
There's probably one in your town, too. You know what I'm talking about.