Mount Hood

Spirits you don’t need sheets to see

Rylie Horrall | Lifestyle Editor

Haunted houses begin to pop up once October rolls around, just in time for Halloween. However, there are locations near Monmouth that stayed haunted year-round.

Western’s own Todd Hall is said to be haunted. The legend at Western says it’s haunted by the former Dean of Women and Dean of Dormitories and the namesake of the building, Jessica Todd. According to current and former students, she doesn’t like males being in the building since it used to be a strictly female residence hall.

People have reported hearing footsteps in the hallway and see the lights flicker on and off. Objects such as paper are supposedly moved when no one has touched them.

Todd is also said to move locations to the Cottage, which was where she lived while working on campus according to the Hamersly Library Instagram. Supposedly, she moves there to scare people who have stayed out past dark.

Travel to Salem and visit the Elsinore Theater at 170 High Street SE, where visitors are said to feel an eerie presence when entering the building. It’s considered a historic 1930s landmark, and is a popular location for many modern theater productions.

According to traveloregon.com, there’s a girl in a white dress that is frequently spotted on the upper balcony. She’s said to be the original owner’s daughter, and fell from the balcony where she’s seen. A ‘ghost light’ stays lit on the stage, and workers and visitors have said they see shadows when no one is walking across.

The Bush House Museum is another location in Salem that’s reportedly haunted by Eugenia, the daughter of Asahel Bush II, the one who built the mansion. According to hauntedrooms.com, she’s said to be keeping watch of the building, where her apparition is seen often. Visitors have reportedly said a disembodied female voice can be heard throughout the house.

Salem Ghost Tours offers official history walkthroughs of locations that are considered haunted throughout the year which take place on Friday and Saturday evenings. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $15 for youth aged 7–17. More information and bookings can be found at their website salemghosttours.net. 

Independence hosts a Ghost Walk each year on Oct 5, which tours haunted spots such as the Pink House. Dallas has recently begun the History and Mystery tours of buildings that hold chilling stories throughout the town. It costs $25 a person and takes place Oct 1–Nov 1. Monmouth also hosted their first History and Mystery night this year where they talked about the ghosts of the town.

 NW Ghost Tours hosts a Walk with Spirits tour that takes place in Oregon City from June–December every year, and can be found at their website www.nwghosttours.com.

 

Contact the author at rhorrall17@mail.wou.edu

Check out Haole Island Grill for another food truck option

Rylie Horrall | Lifestyle Editor

Haole Island Grill is located in Independence at 1350 Monmouth St in the parking lot near Roth’s. It’s owned and operated by Christopher Savignard, who started the food truck in February.

Savignard is a graduate from the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, and is a classically trained French chef. He wants to own his own restaurant someday, using the food truck as a step towards reaching that goal. 

Savignard and his wife initially lived in Las Vegas, Nevada before moving to Monmouth in June 2018. He picked the area based on the size of the town and the desire to slow down his fast-paced lifestyle.

“We love small town living and wanted to stay local and offer a unique dining choice for the wonderful people in the Monmouth/Independence Community,” he said.

He got the name for the food truck from a previous term used by his coworkers while he worked in Las Vegas.

“I used to work with quite a few Hawaiians in Las Vegas,” said Savignard. “I would often cook family meals for my crew, and they would say ‘Wow! This Haole can cook!’ They said it with love & affection and I never took it any other way.”

Their menu consists of island inspired dishes; Savignard and his wife had travelled throughout the Hawaiian Islands, Polynesia and the Caribbean, which is where he got his inspiration from.

For first-time customers, he recommends a few items based on the customer’s preference or current mood. Usually, the Hawaiian-inspired Haole-Huli Chicken or Mojo Steak topped with homemade Chimichurri sauce is what he recommends. The Haole-Huli Chicken is chicken with Hawaiian-style BBQ, and the Mojo Steak is made with a Cuban Citrus Marinade.

If a customer is craving something with a little heat, Savignard recommends the Jamaican Inspired Jerk Chicken. In addition, he suggests the Tropical Chips and Pineapple-Mango Salsa as a beginning appetizer along with a Marionberry Mock-Mojito as a beverage choice.

According to Savignard, their signature dish is the Haole-Huli Chicken Island Plate on a bed of Coconut Rice with Polynesian Macaroni Salad & Tropical Mango Coleslaw, and he recommends that it be paired with the signature drink: the Marionberry Mock-Mojito. For customers that don’t prefer meat, Haole Island Grill offers a few vegan dishes, such as tofu and Caribbean Spiced Black Beans.

“Our goal is to provide the best of the best while creating something special for our guests,” Savignard said. “Every detail, every component is made with passion and pride in order to craft a delicious meal that will keep them coming back for more. As we like to say, Come and Get Your Grub On!”

Haole Island Grill is open from 11:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and from 12–6 p.m. on Saturdays. They also travel for events, which are posted to Facebook and their Instagram at the handle @haoleislandgrill, and can be found on their website www.HaoleIslandGrill.com as well.

 

Contact the author at rhorrall17@mail.wou.edu

Photos by Cora McClain

Album review of “Mala Santa” from the impressive Becky G

Never Retallack  | Entertainment Editor

Those who are ready for an album to dance to, take a listen to Becky G’s new album released on Oct. 11, “Mala Santa.” 

Rebecca Marie Gomez, known as Becky G, is only 22 years old and was discovered in 2011 while covering songs on YouTube. She initially released songs in English, some well known such as “Shower” and “Can’t Get Enough ft. Pitbull” before she switched to her Latin roots in 2017 and released songs solely in Spanish.

Just this month, Becky G was awarded the Extraordinary Evolution Award at the Latin American Music Awards, a result of the success she has achieved and a prediction of all that is to come from this star.

She is also an actress, starring as the Yellow Power Ranger in the 2017 film “Power Rangers,” and some animated movies as well. Currently, Becky G is more focused on her music.

Her album “Mala Santa” is a reflection of her journey in the spotlight — being signed onto a contract at only 14  years old, she went through that challenge of growing from a young innocent teen to a woman while the world watches.

She decided to name her album “Mala Santa” because she felt as if she is the music industry’s mala santa. In Spanish “mala” means “bad” and “santa” is referring to the concept of “holy” in her lyrics. So in essence she is a singer who is neither bad nor holy, but something in between.

“I think people now understand and see that I am still very much so that sweetheart, that little angel that they first met, I’ve just grown up into a woman,” Becky G said in an interview with Billboard.

Out of the 16 songs on her album, nine of them feature other artists; a great amount of collaboration went into completing this. Every song has a catchy chorus, an undeniable beat, and Becky G’s amazing voice serenading listeners. Most of her songs have themes such as love, drinking, partying, heartbreak and misunderstandings.

While these themes are quite similar among most pop, the catchiness and fast-paced songs are enthralling. Each bop on the album encourages listeners to dance along. 

Her song “ME ACOSTUMBRE” featuring Mau y Ricky is one of my favorites on the album, really showcasing her vocals with bigger runs and more focus on her voice.

The must-listen song will have to be “MALA SANTA” as it is a sensual play discussing essentially her naughty and nice side, which ties to her album cover of her in all black on one side and all white on the other: a balance between her devilish and angelic aspects.

Overall Rating: Regardless of your Spanish comprehension, this album is a crowd pleaser for anyone needing an album to dance to.

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of iambeckyg.com

An exploration of the popular haunted house Fear PDX

Never Retallack  | Entertainment Editor

Haunted houses —  a Halloween classic, and a way to be terrified that is safer and more interactive than a horror movie. 

I am personally a huge fan of these events and I go to at least two or three different spooks every October. Fear PDX is a particular haunted house that I have been going to for the past few years. Based in Portland, they offer a collection of different themed houses on one site.

We waited approximately 2.5 hours outside before even getting inside the venue. A notable difference this year while waiting in line was the inclusion of a DJ. While that may sound weird or out of place, dancing to the early 2000 bops he was playing, it was a perfect way to kill the time.

There was also a good number of scary actors going around and interacting with the masses — jumping, crawling and revving a chainsaw as they went.

Up until this year, Fear PDX was typically held in the Moda Center and the eager crowds had to wait in a large line for at least an hour before entering the floor where the different themed “houses” were. Then, they’d wait in those individual lines for about 30-40 minutes. 

This year, they held their attraction on Glisan Street in an empty building where they combined all of the themed houses into one seamless walk. The four houses set up were: Doll Factory, Dead City, The Mansion and Dark Carnival.

By far, the Doll Factory was the scariest, with actors delivering each line with an eerie voice and looking at us with unblinking eyes —  not breaking character at all. 

The actual experience of going through the house was full of strobe lights, fog machines, loud sound effects and a lot of screaming, but the amount of time spent walking through each house took a total of 30 minutes.

The general admission ticket cost $28, while the VIP pass that allowed you to skip the lines cost $50. There was a bonus house that cost an additional $8 and was “interactive,” meaning the actors were allowed to grab you. I personally am not a fan of houses such as these so I don’t know how scary this particular portion was.

Overall rating: The spooks provided by Fear PDX were decent enough for the amount paid; the wait time was a little ridiculous — also typical for a successful haunted house. The added touch of a DJ did not go unappreciated, and there was enough happening in the actual haunted houses to keep me jumping in fright and eager to escape back into the night.

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photos courtesy of fearpdx.com

It’s not too late to get in the spooky spirit, check out Huluween

Never Retallack  | Entertainment Editor

The staff of the Western Howl recommended our favorite horror movies in Issue 3— accessible to read on wou.edu/westernhowl — and now I want to focus on what the streaming service Hulu has to offer for their Halloween special, “Huluween.”

When on the Hulu website, simply search “Huluween” and there will be a page that has organized hundreds of spooky movies into categories: Hulu Originals, Huluween Essentials, Huluween Film Fest, For the Family, Hauntings & Supernatural and many more.

Seeing as there are hundreds of movies and television shows compiled on these lists, I will cover only the Hulu originals, seeing as they are new and possibly only available for a limited time.

For full length original movies they have created: “Little Monsters” (2019); “Wounds” (2019); “Uncanny Annie” (2019); “School Spirit” (2019)  and “I’m Just F——- With You” (2019).

I watched “Uncanny Annie,” which was a campy teen slasher film, but a highly entertaining and an easy watch. The monsters and jump scares kept me enticed, while some of the cheesy lines and poor acting kept my eyes rolling.

“Little Monsters” was a pleasant surprise; the comedic horror movie was a joy to watch. Featuring a tough kindergarten teacher unwilling to let her class get scared in a highly dangerous situation, singing to them while flesh-eating monsters were only a feet away was the only way to succeed.

Hulu also has a series of horror films all under the category “Into the Dark,” which encompasses full-length films as well as shorts.

Some of the better rated from this anthology are: “Culture Shock” (2019); “Pure” (2019); “They Come Knocking” (2019); “All That We Destroy” (2019) and “Treehouse” (2019).

There are several options available for their Huluween special, and while it is not a free streaming service, it only costs $5.99 a month. You can also try a one week free trial to get your fill of horror instead.

For those interested in trying some new scary films — full-lengths or shorts — the options on Hulu are quite entertaining.

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photos courtesy of hulu.com/press

Pedal to the metal, the Wolves shutout the Banshees in home opener of Women’s Rugby

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Excited vibes mixed with the morning chill as Women’s Rugby got ready to take on Eastern Washington University — the Banshees. 

The beginning of the game started with a slow energy but picked up within an instant after Claire Rickis, a first year, of the Wolves snagged the first try of the game. Minutes later, the Wolves score another try thanks to Donna Samuelu, a sophomore, who completed a long-field run and beat the entire Banshee defense making the score 10-0.

“Who wants this ball?” 

“I do!” exclaimed the Wolves at kickoff. 

Wolves’ defense swarmed around all the attackers of the Banshees, not allowing for any movement.

The Sir of the match took many opportunities throughout to coach both teams in proper technique of tackles, rules and gameplay — creating a positive, supportive and safe playing field.

Moments later a third try was almost completed, but called back due to a double move — meaning the ball is moved twice once the player was down — which gave the Banshees a penalty. This didn’t stop the Wolves. 

With seven minutes remaining on the clock, Nelly Blancas — a senior and the president of the Women’s Rugby team — passed the ball to teammate Emilia Ricci, a first year, who scored, making the Wolves up 15-0. 

Not even two minutes later, the Banshees let their guard down, and D-Dré Wright was there to take advantage of it, scoring the fourth try of the game and ending the half with a 20-0 lead.

The whistle blew for the half to end and the Wolves came off with nothing but momentum and confidence. Western’s coach talked strategy and changed the lineup to start the second half with two new faces for the Wolves. 

Two more point-getters from the Wolves were Lexi Osborn, a senior and her fourth year on the team, and Carmen Deol, a senior and second year returner.

Within the first three minutes, Wright scores her second try, jumping the score to 25-0. Not even a recovery break is taken and the Banshees face Wright again, only to fail and let her score her third try of the game. The Wolves, now up 30-0, were not letting their foot off the gas, even the slightest.

Twenty minutes left in the game and an injury on the field calls for a stop in the clock and a player down for the Banshees. 

Wright was on fire, with only four minutes left she scored her fourth and final try of the match making the score 45-0 in favor of the Wolves. 

Western Oregon Women’s Rugby ends on a high of a great win leaving Eastern Washington with a hard loss to tow home. “I’m so proud of everyone” and “we feel pretty confident for the season,” said Nelly Blancas after the incredible win in their first home game last Saturday, Oct. 26.

“Men” of the Match, which is the term used for MVP, were given to D-Dré Wright and Clair Rickis — for their undying legs to outrun the Banshee defense repeatedly and the skills they brought to the home opener.

The Wolves next home game will be during Winter term.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photos by Hannah Greene

Battle the appetites: Western Oregon Men’s Rugby take on Oregon Institute of Technology

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Walking up to the field, on Oct. 26, any viewer would have felt pumped and ready to battle — the Western Oregon Men’s Rugby team was ready to take on Oregon Institute of Technology. 

Within the first five minutes, the Owls scored their first try, shocking the entire Wolves’ defense. Many onlookers first impression of what was ahead was not good. But, a quarter of the way through the first half, the Wolves answered the Owls’ point with their very own Anu Kanoho, a junior, who intercepted the ball while on defense. Following the try, Braedon Etagonde, a sophomore,  kicked the extra two points — making the score 7-5.

Two minutes were remaining in the first half when Gabriel Wai, a junior, scored the second try, ending the half seven points ahead, a true battle to come back.

Western wasn’t done yet; coming into the second half they wanted more. And ten minutes later Eltagonde of the Wolves scored the third try, making the score 17-5.

The Wolves defense put up a strong fight, but not enough to keep the Owls out of their endzone — Owls added five more points to the board making the score 17-10 with the Wolves ahead and still united.

OIT gave high pressure close to Western’s endline, calling for a scrum and causing the ball to be passed back to Kanoho who then punted it forward and away to get the attack out of their half.

A perfect pass from Eltagonde to Robert Cummings, (RC) a transfer to Western, gave the Wolves a lot of yards on the counterattack. The Wolves kept up solid sportsmanship amongst themselves and the opponent, while the Owls continued to put each other down and talk back. 

The battle raged on and the ball was carried back and forth between both teams, never finding either end zone, which led to a “pushy” fight between the Wolves and Owls.

Minutes later, the Sir blew the whistle and concluded the game.

Western brought home another win, leaving the scoreboard 17-10 and their record jumping to a 4-0. The Man of the Match was given to Anu Kanoho for his defensive skills throughout the game and willingness to leave everything on the field to help propel the Wolves forward.

The Men’s Rugby team have a Semifinal game on Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. on the home turf. Come out and support these men and be prepared to see some gnarly tackles and excellent runs.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photos by Hannah Greene

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