Modern day Halloween has morphed into a secular time to party, assume another (funny, sexy, scary, heroic) identity, get candy, watch horror films and scream your lungs out at haunted attractions of the man-made kind.

Texas has quite a few haunted attractions that work very well for screaming purposes — and three of them made it to the nation’s top 13 of HauntWorld Magazine’s “best” list: Austin’s House of Torment (No. 9), Fort Worth’s Cutting Edge Haunted House (No. 10), and Houston’s Nightmare on the Bayou (No. 13). Atlanta’s Netherworld was No. 1. Put that one on my bucket list.

According to the magazine, which is the Halloween industry’s leading trade publication, haunted attractions across America are reporting the best attendance in over 10 years. In addition to the moderate and dry weather this year, which is surely helping after a rainy 2009 season, could it be that in this economy we all need the release of a good scream? Trust me, it does feel good!

Houston’s ScreamWorld definitely lives up to its name and their actors are completely into it. Thankfully, they’re not allowed to touch you (except with their breath on your neck which is really freaky). While waiting in line, I heard anxious patrons ask over and over of the staff, “They’re not gonna touch me, are they?”

The animatronics, sets, and props are mighty fine at ScreamWorld, but the creepiest part to me is when you’re plunged into total darkness and don’t know which way to move. You are forced to reach out for a wall, or something, to guide yourself and the fear of touching that unknown something in the dark registers high up on the scare meter.

Surprisingly, to me anyway, a lot of people coming out of ScreamWorld the night I visited had never been in a haunted attraction before. The newbies thought it was great. The younger they were, however, the more relieved they looked to be back outside! This haunt is intense.

A tent featuring two psychics beckoned for my wallet, so I had my Tarot cards read by a 21-year-old from Spain who says she’s known she had “the gift” since she was eight. If what she read comes true, in six months I will be on easy street. She also said my husband and I would be married forever, and mentioned something about a ball and chain.I couldn’t tell whether that was good or bad. Hard to hear with all that screaming going on outside the tent.

Houston’s Nightmare on the Bayou has a different approach. Going in, there’s this claustrophobic tunnel that suddenly envelopes you. It’s like the walls and ceiling have inflated and you get squeezed in and have to push your way through. It’s an unexpected “gotcha.” Moving on, there’s a relentless thick fog bank with creatures everywhere. Girls, don’t expect your hair to look the same when you come out. The mist will give you a new do.

Truly the worst (best?) part of Nightmare on the Bayou to me was their 3-D house. With those special glasses, the art on the black walls has a life of its own and floats all around. (Owner Bob Wright told me it was created by one of the talented employees of his adjacent Party Boy store.) This is the first haunt where I’ve actually had to stop and decide if I really wanted to go through.

A 3-D tunnel with a swinging bridge and walls and a ceiling that swirls around you is so disorienting it’s hard to hold onto your equilibrium. So cool!

Wright said judges from HauntWorld Magazine travel all over the country to visit haunts and vote on the best. It is quite a distinction for his to be No. 13. Nightmare has also been featured on the Travel Channel. Obviously a connoisseur, Wright thinks their pick for No. 1 wasn’t the scariest, though. His vote goes to the Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride near Philadelphia, Penn. He admits he may be a little prejudiced; Randy Bates, the owner, is a friend.

Still, there’s another one for the bucket list!

A couple of years ago, the national tradeshow and convention for haunted attractions, called HAuNTcon, came to Houston. It was thrilling (zombies walking everywhere) and gave me a whole new appreciation of the art and creativity that goes into the business of scaring people. They had speakers, celebrities, workshops and exhibitors — like Creepy Crypt Productions, Bodybag Entertainment and Gore Galore. One of the celebs on hand was Tony Moran, the actor known for his role as Michael Meyers in Halloween I and II (it’s his face that’s revealed in the finale of the first movie).

The choice of professional workshops was like a restaurant’s dessert selection platter for Halloween aficionadas like me. How to choose from all those goodies?

I took the Bad Boys Scenic Design class and learned, hands-on, how to construct the interior of a haunted morgue. The artists, especially known for their work on Green Bay’s award-winning Terror on the Fox, are some of the most prominent names in the haunted attraction industry.

HAuNTcon will be in Louisville, Ky. next year. Can’t wait to see what they conjure up and bring some ideas back to Houston. Maybe I can add some new creepy effects to my front lawn graveyard.

Happy Haunting!

Nightmare on the Bayou is open every night at 7:30 p.m. through Halloween with tickets running $30. ScreamWorld opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday — and at 7 p.m. Halloween Sunday. Tickets are $25.