Yes, we know it's still technically September but the Halloween haunts at theme parks and attractions have begun rising from the dead already. We have some eyewitness accounts of brave souls who tested what's new at Busch Garden's Howl-O-Scream and Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights. Even though it says it quite clearly on all the advertising and in the parks themselves, these are not for little kids. Still, we see terrified tykes getting dragged along every year.

With adults muscling in on Halloween fun more and more these days, it's getting hard to find a way to get your shriek on without someone dressed as a slutty nurse or a disemboweled crime victim sure to have your kids burrowing under the covers of your bed. Check out these tamer events and our review of the Lowry Park Zoo's ZooBoo.

The zoo's collection of haunted walks, we found, were just right for ages 6 to 12. Teenagers are more prone to the big scares at the theme parks.  Now can we just put an age limit on the slutty maid's costumes?

-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne

[Lowry Park Zoo provided this photo of kids having fun at ZooBoo's Foam Party]