CHILDREN love to be spooked. From listening to ghostly tales around the scout camp fire to hiding behind the sofa when Dr Who's Daleks made an appearance, young people have always been captivated by scary stories.

Today it is the mysterious world of witches, wizards and warlocks which is capturing their imaginations. The youth television shows Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Sabrina The Teenage Witch have developed a cult following.

So popular are they that the Pagan Federation this week reported being swamped by calls from teenagers wanting to learn more about witchcraft. The federation has even employed a youth officer after young people's magazines started running articles on the subject.

For younger children it is a trainee wizard, Harry Potter, who is exciting their enthusiasm for spells and sorcery.

But real life can be more ghoulish than anything made up. That is why the York Dungeon, with its gory tableaux of torture and horror, does such good business.

And today it transpires that the Jorvik Viking Centre is doing a roaring trade in skull accessories. Everything that bears the logo from its Skullsplitter exhibition, from pencils to rucksacks, is flying off the shelves.

Parents should not worry, however. This trend for the ghastly and the ghostly is perfectly natural and good always triumphs over evil in the end.