Haunted houses

As sure as pumpkins are turning orange and leaves are fading to gold, the shrieks and screams pierce the autumn air.

Can you hear them, rattling out of the dark and vacant building sitting just off the busy highway? Or listen -- what's that unearthly noise, drifting out of the shadows of the murky swamp?

Sounds like another haunting season is under way in the Top of Utah -- monsters and zombies are back on the prowl after months of rest in their cobwebbed hideaways.

The scares are out there for 2011 in a myriad of forms, from indoor and outdoor haunted attractions to the puzzling -- and spooky -- configurations of numerous corn mazes.

We caught up with three local haunters for a peek at the season ahead: Andy Wilson and Sean Murray are newcomers to the Top of Utah, opening the Carnival of Chaos on Riverdale Road; Bill McCalmant manages the Haunted Hollow, a long-standing West Haven attraction getting back in action after floodwaters hit earlier this year.