WIZARDS young and old, seductive witches, and good-looking vampires—these are just some of the supernatural characters that have invaded the book, movie, and video-game industries. What is the appeal? *

“Belief in ghosts has soared in recent decades, from one in ten Americans to one in three,” writes sociology professor Claude Fischer. “Young Americans are about twice as likely as old Americans to say they have consulted psychics, believe in ghosts, and believe in haunted houses.”

Not surprisingly, stories about evil spirits inhabiting humans are making a frightening comeback. “The reborn success of demonic possession in popular culture owes something to the zombie, werewolf and vampire surge of the past decade,” writes Michael Calia in The Wall Street Journal.

One report states that “anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent of people worldwide believe in ghosts, and ghosts feature prominently in the literature of most cultures.” And a survey done in the United States by sociology professors Christopher Bader and Carson Mencken “revealed that a staggering 70 to 80 percent of Americans strongly believe in at least one type of paranormal activity.”

Is involvement with spiritism and the paranormal just innocent fun?