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Andy Williams might have been talking about Christmas when he sang, "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year," but for me, that honor belongs to Halloween.

The costume parties, pumpkins, horror films and candy combined with the colorful North Carolina autumn -- what holiday could be better?

And while I don't find them to be that scary, I love going to haunted houses and trails. Whether it's the scary make-up or the cool lighting and set design, there's a true art behind making people scream in the dark.

So with that in mind, I decided to review four haunted houses and trails around the Triad. I chose one haunt per city and visited only the ones that opened by Oct. 1 (due to my deadline).

My only bit of advice for those planning to make the moonlight drives out to these attractions: Bring a GPS system or map. These trails and houses might be creepy at times, but nothing was more frightening for me than getting lost in areas without gas stations or streetlights while driving through the back roads of the Piedmont at night.

The Woods of Terror

5601 North Church St., Greensboro

Rating: Five ghosts (out of five)

Hours: 6:30 p.m. -- 9:30 p.m. Oct. 22, 25, 28, 29 and Nov. 1 and 6:30 p.m. -- 11:30 p.m. Oct. 23, 24, 30, 31, Nov. 6 and 7

Admission: $17 - $35

Information: 285-0548; http://woodsofterror.com

Type: Outdoor trail and hay ride with mind-bending "3-D" sequence.

Length of Haunt: 45 minutes

Pedometer: 1801 steps

Creature Cameos: Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kruger, Samara from "The Ring," Leatherface, Jeepers Creepers

Parents' Guide: This haunt has rated itself "PG-13," and for good reason, too. Most of the costumes, language and themes from the "Imbred Redneck Hayride" are not appropriate for older kids or younger teens whatsoever.

The Good: Sure the admission is steep, but one ticket to The Woods of Terror gives attendees the chance to tour through the Triad's longest haunt, sprawling with sets, actors and attractions. I've had to visit this haunt two times just to remember everything that I saw.

The tour kicks off with Elements of Horror, a darkened maze of corridors and passageways intended to shock visitors with disorienting lights, claustrophobic hallways and yes, a stinky toilet. It then continues into a haunted movie theater, a mansion filled with vampires and an evil pirate ship.

Another highlight is the "3-D" portion of the tour. Attendees are given disposable prism glasses before they are corralled through a series of attractions lit with neon and blacklights. For those who are afraid of clowns, just wait until you see one that glows in the dark.

The Bad: Because there are so many attractions and monsters on this tour, there are some instances where a previous tour group will get backed up on the trail, causing some of the scares to be ruined for the group that follows.

The Scary: The only time an entertainer really startled me this year was during the Blackbeard's Revenge attraction at the Woods of Terror. A young pirate jumped from behind a slatted barricade catching me off guard. Just before that, it was also jolting to walk aboard a pirate ship that started to shake and move.

Kersey Valley Spookywoods

1615 Kersey Valley Road, High Point

Rating: Four ghosts (out of five)

Hours: 7:30 -- 10 p.m. Oct. 22, 25 -- 29 & Nov. 1; 7:30 p.m. -- 12 a.m. Oct. 23, 24 and 30; and 7:30 -- 12 a.m. Oct. 31

Admission: $17 - $35

Information: 285-0548; www.spookywoods.com

Type: Outdoor trail with hayride, cornfield maze and the bonus sideshow attraction Morbid Curiosity.

Length of Haunt: 33 minutes

Pedometer: 1,721 steps

Creature Cameos: Leatherface, Freddy Kruger, Michael Meyers, Beatlejuice, Jason Voorhees and the Joker from "The Dark Knight."

Parent's Guide: There's quite a few monsters stalking and dead bodies lying about, but this haunt is light on the gore and devoid of any mature costumes, themes or situations.

The Good: What really sets Spookywoods apart from other haunted attractions is the way it plays up to our most basic fear of the dark. To walk through a cornfield maze at night is scary enough, but before that, they send you out for a tour in the woods with a flashlight that is programmed to shut off and on at certain points along a wooded trail. Being asked to walk through the trees at night with creepers and ghouls just waiting to pounce was quite effective.

There's also a bonus attraction called Morbid Curiosity where, for $5, you can sit in on a mock séance led by Triad actor Joe Harp. Harp asks the audience to choose a picture of a dead "townsperson" on the table and when the picture that most people choose begins to move on its own, things start to get creepy.

Spookywoods also has the best actors. Not just the usual troupe of high school kids, there are some older, seasoned actors lurking both outside and inside the trail. They towered over most of the guests and stare at you dead in the eyes.

The Bad: It might have been my favorite movie of last year, but "The Dark Knight" was not a horror film. So when the Joker shows up near the end of the tour, the actor certainly does spot-on Heath Ledger, but he evokes grumbles a la Christian Bale's Batman instead of actual screams.

The Scary: The most chill-inducing segment of the haunt was the evil nurses scene lifted from "Silent Hill." Patrons enter a long, strobe-lit room filled with faceless nurse mannequins, then -- gasp -- some of them start to move!

The Original Hollywood Horror Show

Rating: Four ghosts (out of five)

5760 Bass Mountain Road, Snow Camp

Hours: 8 p.m. -- 11 p.m. Oct. 22 and 25 -- 29; 8 p.m. -- 12 a.m. Oct. 23, 24, 30 and 31

Admission: $20

Information: 513-6938; www.originalhollywoodhorrorshow.com

Type: Indoor haunted house leading to a guided outdoor tour.

Length of Haunt: 16 minutes

Pedometer: 678 steps

Creature Cameos: Jason Voorhees, Michael Meyers, Jeepers Creepers, Leatherface and the killer from "Saw."

The Good: This haunt bills itself as, "The only haunted house produced by true Hollywood Filmmakers," which is true. Brothers Dean and Starr Jones have worked in the make-up departments for such movies as "The Abyss," "Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest," a trio of Star Trek movies, and even the hit TV series "Dexter."

As such, both the lighting and make-up are top-notch. The make-up is so good in fact that there are portions of the show wherein you are certain that what you are seeing is a lifeless dummy or mannequin only to find out there's a person inside and he's screaming at you.

The Bad: This haunt has a relatively smaller number of actors who keep coming back to scare visitors several times over. Sure the make-up on these actors is great, but it's a little repetitive.

The Scary: During the introduction that happens just outside of the house, there's a surprise I won't spoil, but I promise it will make at least one person scream out loud.

Nightmare on Scales Street

207 South Scales St., Reidsville

Rating: Three ghosts (out of five)

Hours: 7 p.m. -- 11 p.m. Oct. 22, 23 and 29 and 6 p.m. -- 11 p.m. Oct. 24, 30 and 31

Admission: $15 (or $13 with can food donation)

Information: 361-0011; www.nosshauntedhouse.com

Type: An indoor haunted house.

Length of Haunt: 10 minutes

Pedometer: 330 steps

Creature Cameos: Leatherface, the Jigsaw Killer from "Saw," Samara from "The Ring," that other scary girl from "The Exorcist" and real-life mass murderer Fritz Klenner.

Parent's Guide: The haunt's Web site states that anyone under 10 is not recommended, but if a kid can handle any of the haunted attractions in the Triad, it's this one.

The Good: Nightmare on Scales Street has something other area haunts do not -- a history of true horror. The haunt is located in the former offices of the Klenner Clinic where infamous mass murderer Frederick "Fritz" Klenner used to practice medicine without a license before he killed himself.

Klenner has a guest appearance near the end of the tour, which makes the most of its completely indoor restrictions by employing high-tech animatronics and inspired stagecraft.

For those who are not fans of walking, the venue is home to condensed scares, meaning the distance from one haunted attraction to the next is seldom more than six inches.

Kudos also goes to the haunt's operators for helping to collect food for those in need.

The Bad: Seasoned haunted trail or house buffs will find this haunt to be a little on the short side.

The Scary: Three of the area haunts in this story feature that scary evil girl from "The Ring," but Scales Street's gets a prize for being the only one to climb out of a TV screen due to clever use of special effects and lighting.

Check out these other haunted attractions in the Triad:

“The Wizard of Oz” Family-Friendly Halloween Trail
What: Presented by the Community Theatre of Greensboro and Castle McCulloch. Groups will be guided by Dorothy as she re-enacts her adventures in Oz. Sing, dance and dress in your Halloween costumes.
When: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Oct. 31; Noon - 5 p.m. Nov. 1
Where: Castle McCulloch, 3925 Kivett Drive, Jamestown, NC
Tickets: $9 adults (13 and older), $6 kids (12 and under), available at www.castlemcculloch.com in advance or purchase at the door day of the event.
Information: www.castlemcculloch.com

Castle of Horror
When: 7:30 p.m. – 12 a.m. Oct. 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31
Where: 2709 Narrow Gauge Road, Reidsville
Admission: $10 - $20
Information: www.castleofhorror.com

Haunted Forest Reborn
When: 7:30 p.m. – 11 p.m. Oct. 23, 30 and 31; 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. Oct. 25
Where: 153 Darrell Davis Road, Burlington
Admission: $5 - $10
Information: 229-0480; www.rdellinger.freeservers.com

X-Treme Fear Haunted House
When: 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. Oct. 22, 25, Oct. 28-29, Nov. 1; 7:30 p.m. – 12 a.m. Oct. 23-24, Oct. 30-31
Where: 4220 Yanceyville Road, Greensboro
Admission: $18
Information: 621-1281; www.x-tremefear.com

Hawfields Civitan Club presents Hawfields Haunted Forest
When: 7 - 11 p.m. Oct. 23, 24, 30 & 31; 7 - 10 p.m. Oct. 29
Where: 2115 B on Highway 119 South, Mebane
Tickets: $8
Information: www.hchauntedforest.com

Hellanback Horror
When: 8 - 10 p.m. Oct. 22 and 29 and 8 - 11 p.m. Oct. 23, 24, 30 and 31
Where: 6187 Poole Road, Archdale
Tickets: $13
Information: 289-3338; http://hellanbackhorror.weebly.com/

Mountain of Terror
When: 8 - 10 p.m. Oct. 22 and 29; 8 p.m. - 12 a.m. Oct. 23, 24, 30-31
Where: 4527 Linda Lane, Asheboro
Tickets: $10 - $13
Information: www.mountainofterror.com

Contact Joe Scott at movieshowjoe@gmail.com.