It’s a well-known fact in the haunt industry, says Craig McInnis. “There are only two or three dozen actual ways to scare somebody.”

The challenge is making the same old “boo!” feel like new.

“Last year we did it from down low, and this year we’ll do it from up high,” metaphorically speaking, says the creative director of Fright Nights at the South Florida Fairgrounds, which has increased its walk-through attractions from three to five, almost doubled the number of midway rides and added zombie paintball (for $5, you’re invited to take your best shot at the walking dead).

Across town, at G-Star School of the Arts, the boo crew has constructed three all-new terrifying tours, including one of The Werehouse inside the school’s 18,000-square-foot, air-conditioned soundstage.

When you’re ready to get your haunt on, where do you begin?

At Fright Nights, start near the front gate with a tour of The Creature. Enter through the inflatable beast’s mouth and exit through, well, just in case you don’t get the idea, you’ll hear some audio cues. It’s a deceptively simple haunt that relies on darkness and disorienting lighting to keep you off-balance.

Santa’s Workshop is nearby. “It could ruin an 8-year-old’s view of Christmas forever,” McInnis says. But, at least when we visited opening night, the workshop walk-through wasn’t worth the long wait — too many rooms, too few demented elves.

Far more frightening, thanks to scary clowns and carnival barkers (the makeup and costumes at Fright Nights are first rate), was Carnival of Creeps — a freakish look under the big top. In the same cavernous building, but with separate entrances, are Kill Shot (zombies have taken over a factory) and The Manor (the family that slays together stays together?)

But, really, there’s potentially a scare around every corner.

“Instead of ‘scare zones,’ now nowhere is safe,” McInnis says. “We’ve got people — a chainsaw creep or a clown — who pop up out of nowhere, while people are waiting in line for a ride or getting a candy apple.

“You get a little more adrenalin out of people with that constant looking-over-your-shoulder thing going on.”