Going into the theater, we're excited. Trudging out, hearts racing, we wonder what we were thinking. Why inflict this terror on ourselves?

Answer: Because it's fun.

So let's decide right now. What's the scariest horror movie out there?

My top pick is always "The Exorcist."

Yup, a little bit old school. But when I was 11 years old - and even when I was 24 years old - the sight of Linda Blair being flung at a wall and spewing obscenities in a raspy baritone made my skin crawl. The painfully drawn-out spiral of the girl's demon infection is a little bit torture, a little bit nauseating.

My coworker, Andrea Kalas, disagreed.

"Too old and fake looking," she said.

But that's not the point.

What makes it a timeless horror flick is the recipe for any quality horror movie: It plants ideas in your head that fester when the lights turn out.

The film takes the nagging question in all our minds - is there a God and Satan and demons, and are we just their playthings? - and runs with it.

It's not the only horror movie that garners sleepless nights. Here are some more:

• "Paranormal Activities": OK, we've seen found footage films before, but this one will remain in the zeitgeist. There's no gore, minimal special effects. Just two ordinary people in a house where little things go wrong - and then big things go wrong. Some nights when I remember the character describing a silhouette standing by her bed, I think I see it myself.

• "House on Haunted Hill" (the 1999 remake): I first encountered this at a middle school sleep over. I took a lot of flak for covering my head with a blanket, but I'm not ashamed. With an onslaught of grisly images, this movie takes scary stuff and bangs it over your head.

• "Saw": You know, it's not really scary. But I insist it's a good movie. It defies the usual format following sexy teens on a beach. Instead, it starts right off with the matter at hand: Two guys locked in a room with a big problem. And the mystery only gets more interesting.

There are some disappointing flicks, too:

• "Halloween H20"/ "Freddy Vs. Jason"/ "Jason X"/ "Saw 2" - a billion: To quote my coworker Tom Hasslinger, once a horror movie hits the franchise stage, it's just a parody of itself. So much gore, so many unknown hot people getting torn to shreds. I blame audiences. They only keep making these because everyone keeps watching them.

In the end, it's up to you. Just try to judge how much shuteye you want before you make a choice.

Alecia Warren is a staff writer for The Press. She can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2011, or via e-mail at awarren@cdapress.com.