fascination

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The capability of eliciting intense interest or of being very attractive.
• noun The state of being intensely interested or attracted.
• noun An intensely interesting, attractive quality or trait.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The act of bewitching; enchantment; hence, a subtle, irresistible influence upon the imagination, reason, or will.
• noun A fascinating influence upon the passions and affections; a powerful attraction; a spell; a charm: as, the fascinations of society.
• noun The state of being fascinated or bewitched, or under the sway of a powerful attraction or a commanding and more or less mysterious influence; specifically, a certain hypnotic state. See the extract.
• noun Synonyms Spell, charm, magic, sorcery, witchery.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of fascinating, bewitching, or enchanting; enchantment; witchcraft; the exercise of a powerful or irresistible influence on the affections or passions; unseen, inexplicable influence.
• noun The state or condition of being fascinated.
• noun That which fascinates; a charm; a spell.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The act of fascinating, bewitching, or enchanting; enchantment; witchcraft; the exercise of a powerful or irresistible influence on the affections or passions; unseen, inexplicable influence.
• noun The state or condition of being fascinated.
• noun That which fascinates; a charm; a spell.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a feeling of great liking for something wonderful and unusual
• noun the capacity to attract intense interest
• noun the state of being intensely interested (as by awe or terror)