Mount Hood

Lessons from the school of SAW

Written by: Aubrey Laine Baker | Freelancer

The late September release of “Saw X” met box office success and critical acclaim as the film grossed $29.3 million worldwide on its opening weekend. Long-time fans of the “Saw” franchise have rejoiced at its return to the limelight, inciting countless sentimental reflections on its colorful history and cultural relevance. For almost 20 years, the continuing saga has dispensed dopamine fixes and unified audiences across the globe through their insatiable desire for psychologically unsettling storytelling, complex moral quandaries and labyrinthine narrative twists. Or, maybe they’re simply brought together by their hardwired, human hunger for ultraviolence.

While some critics dismiss the films with labels such as “torture porn,” others praise them for their deeper philosophical outlooks and metaphorical explorations of redemption — needle pits, anyone? But whether one is binging on gore or strung out on the subtleties of cinema, “Saw” leaves viewers of any disposition with a timeless takeaway: life is to be cherished.

I want to play a game. The game I want to play is not unlike the game of life. There’s a slow-acting poison coursing through the world that each and every person has the antidote for.

Are they going to watch themselves die, or are they going to do something about it?

Thankfully they’re not typically strapped by their teeth to a home-brew head shredder on a timer, and they don’t need to face their most personal flaws in a grimly ironic, gruesome death room. They don’t need to push the limits of self-mutilation or sacrifice the well-being of others for their survival.

But they will have to do some surgery. Somewhere inside of them is the glow of their passions. Can they find it?

Will they tend to it and radiate with its warmth? Or let it dwindle and die, and rob the world of their brilliance.

Life is a gift and it’s not to be squandered. In our contemporary world of nihilistic persuasion and ever-rising suicidal tendencies, it can be easy to forget that. 

In the words of John Kramer, “Congratulations, you are alive. So many people are ungrateful to be alive, but not you. Not anymore.”

Contact the author at

albaker23@mail.wou.edu

October opportunities and activities

Written by:  Sierra Porter | Staff Writer

As students jump into the school year this fall, heads will be filled with priorities of homework, classes, jobs and of course, the pressures of everyday life. Oregon has a tremendous amount of October opportunities of all sorts stemming from screamingly scary to family friendly. 

When it comes to the scariest Oregon has to offer, Fear PDX, Nightmare Factory and the Halloween Train are the best places to look. 

Fear PDX Haunted House takes place every weekend from Sept. 29  until Nov. 1 and is the largest Halloween event in Portland. Fear PDX offers up to eight different terrifying attractions that include gore, chainsaws and escape games. 

The Nightmare Factory is at the Oregon School for the Deaf and is held every weekend in Salem from now until the end of November. Deaf students, alongside volunteers, provide a heart-racing experience with interactive lights, displays and scary characters. Proceeds from the Nightmare Factory contribute to the yearly funds for the Oregon School for the Deaf and help support the longest-running haunted house in all of Oregon. 

Mt. Hood offers the Phantom of the Rails Halloween Train — available to book online Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 27-28. Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, the Halloween Train provides a two-and-a-half-hour ride filled with ghosts and spooks. 

Oregon has more than just spooky attractions and has a variety of events perfect for people of all ages and scare levels. Bauman’s Farm puts on a harvest festival each year from Sept. 23 through Oct. 29 that includes hay rides, pumpkin picking, a dark maze, an animal petting zoo and kids’ play areas. 

If you’ve never seen a giant pumpkin you may have a chance this October… 

From Oct. 20-21, the West Coast Pumpkin Regatta is taking place with dressed-up members of the community paddling in giant pumpkins in the Regatta Race. 

Eastern Oregon is also celebrating its fourteenth annual film festival during Oct. 19-21 — supplying various films and documentaries for the community to enjoy. 

Don’t stay cooped up in your dorm this October, and take advantage of all of Oregon’s best October opportunities.

Contact the author at howlstaffwriter@wou.edu

Wicked writing ideas for this October

Eight frightful writing prompts to ignite the imagination

Sarah Austin | Lifestyle Editor

During the stressors of fall term, it can be rewarding to sit down and write something creative. Celebrate this Halloween season by crafting up a chilling short story. Listed below are eight spooky ideas to help ignite the imagination. Take the prompts below and morph them into any horrific desire.

  • Todd Hall — previously a women’s dorm — is rumored to be haunted and feed on the fear of men. Halloween night a group of men walk by the three story brick building. They hear/see…. 
  • After talking to someone on “Tinder,” they say something disturbing and get blocked. The next morning they are reported missing and there are flyers around the city.
  • While sweeping the living room, a dark stain is noticed near the carpet. After lifting to investigate, a hidden door is discovered.
  • It’s the day after Halloween. Nobody shows up to the 8 a.m. lecture besides the professor and one person. Campus is empty….
  • During an all-nighter at the Hamersly Library, a strange sound is heard. It repeats every five minutes….
  • While at a pumpkin patch, three close friends decide to enter a corn maze and ignore the closed sign across its entrance. After twenty minutes of wandering, they realize one friend is missing…. 
  • Using “Bumble BFF” a friend-date is made. After meeting and having dinner together, they offer a ride home. Instead of home, they pull into….
  • The main character is driving to the coast when they pull off onto a dirt trail, in hopes of a short cut. It seems to work until they see a tree fall on the road behind them, trapping them in. Forward is the only way to go on this unknown and unmarked trail, and the sun sets in two hours.

For a chance to be featured in Student Media’s art and literary magazine, “The Northwest Passage,” submit stories via email to northwestpassage@mail.wou.edu.

Happy haunting, writers.

Contact the author at lifestyleeditor@thewesternhowl.com

Sustainable decor for Halloween

Repurposing crafts for horrific handmade decor

Sarah Austin | Lifestyle Editor

Seasonal decorating can be expensive or create a lot of unnecessary waste. Try these ideas that repurpose items lying around the house for a more affordable and sustainable option.

  • Artificial flowers can easily go from chic to eerie. Paint or spray paint with any color. Once dry, glue on a googly eye or draw an eyeball in the center.
  • A milk jug can be turned into a jack-o’-lantern. Wash out the jug and let it dry first. Decorate the jug in any number of ways; draw a face on the front, tape on construction paper or paint the entire jug. After the face is made, light up the pumpkin by filling it with glow sticks, string lights or battery powered candles. Add leaves to the spout to complete the pumpkin. Make multiple for variation.
  • Using newspaper or old homework, make a fake body or scarecrow. Do so by stuffing some clothing with crumpled pieces of paper. Place outside the door, in the yard or somewhere in the house for a ghoulish addition to your Halloween decor.
  • Yarn or thread can be made into spider webs. Hang up a few tacks wherever is convenient, then weave under and around the yarn in any pattern for a “threadful” look.
  • For an apothecary touch, find some mason jars and fill them with spooky items. Use plastic or candy eyeballs, water and food coloring to give a potion look, branches or crushed leaves and so much more for a chilling counter.
  • Repurpose pool noodles into a faux chain. Take one noodle, stand it straight up and down and cut it vertically in half an inch to one inch wide sections. Repeat all the way down. After all have been cut, make one horizontal cut per chain link. Connect each individual piece to another. Paint black or gray for full effect. 

Properly dispose of all items, keep decorations around for a creepy theme or store for next year after use for a completely green experience. 

Contact the author at lifestyleeditor@thewesternhowl.com

Crack up to these spooky jokes

Hilarious Halloween jokes to rattle the bones

The Western Howl Collective

With the Halloween holiday comes many things — costumes, decorations, scary movies and stories — but it also brings in the chance to tell some fun, themed jokes to make others laugh during the spooky season. Read on to find some funny Halloween jokes and puns we’ve compiled here at “The Western Howl.”

“Do you want to know how to get a significant other during Halloween? You make sure they’re screaming without the s.” 

“Are you a vampire? Cause you’re a pain in the neck.

“The maker of this product does not want it, the buyer does not use it, and the user does not see it. What is it? A coffin.”

“What did the ghost say to their psychiatrist? I used to be somebody.”

“What do you call two witches living together? Broommates.”

“How do you get rid of demons? Exorcise a lot.”

“Where is a skeleton the most ticklish? Their funny bone.”

“Why did the ghost go into the bar? For the Boos.”

“What’s it called when a ghost has trouble with his house? A grave problem.”

“Why didn’t the skeleton go to the scary movie? He didn’t have the guts.” 

“What’s a ghost’s favorite dessert? I-Scream!”


Compiled by The Western Howl staff

Eight fall activities to get the blood pumping

October begins and so does the search for scary fun activities 

Sarah Austin | Lifestyle Editor 

For many Oregonians fall is the time to flourish. As the leaves begin to change the need to go and adventure increases. From pumpkin patches and corn mazes, to music festivals and haunted houses  — the possibilities are endless. While many people have traditions they follow each year, these hair-raising options could help switch up the fun for any age. 

Photos courtesy of Karly Packineau
  • Bauman’s Farm & Garden (Gervais) — Starting in 1895, this family run farm has activities for all ages, ranging from farm animals and pumpkin picking, to obstacle courses and mazes. Open Oct. 8 – 9, 16 – 17, 22 – 24 and 30. Hours vary. Admission is $11 – $26.  
  • Chamber Of Darkness Haunted House (Monroe) — Not recommended under eight years old, this premiere haunting experience is themed as a “Wicked Wonderland.” Open Oct. 12, 18 – 19, and 25 – 26 from 7 – 11 p.m. Admission is $8 with $1 discount if a canned food donation is made. 
  • Escape The Room Oregon (Springfield) — This fun adventure features six fully immersive Halloween puzzles to escape with a group. Open Wednesday – Sunday with various hours. Admission is $30 a person, with a $5 coupon on special days.
  • Hood River Valley Harvest Fest (Hood River) — The old fashioned fall festival is a fun filled event with over 125 local vendors of food, wine, crafts and more for the whole family. Open Oct. 15 – 17. Kids 12 and under are free, adults are $10 and seniors are $5. 
  • Milburn’s Haunted Manor (Hubbard) — Both a trick and a treat to experience a total immersion experience that will make you scream. Open Oct. 8 – 10 from 7 – 11 p.m., and 15 – 17, 22 – 24 and 28 – 31 from 7 – 10 p.m.
  • The Fear PDX (Portland) — With five terrifying attractions, this haunted house is known as the scariest in the Pacific Northwest. Open Thursday – Sunday through the month of October, from 7 – 10 p.m. Thursday and Sunday, and 7 p.m. – 12 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Halloween. Tickets start at $29.99 with discounts for bigger parties.

  • The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island (Portland) — This 52 year old farm offers free hayrides, a newly designed corn maze each year, a cafe, a fresh market, an animal barn and a cow train on the weekends. Open daily; dates, hours and admission vary depending on which attraction is chosen.
  • STRANGEST THINGS HAUNTED FARM (Eugene) — This terrifying interactive haunt covers popular horror films from the last 30 years with themed mazes, rooms and zones. Open Thursday – Saturday, 8 – 11 p.m. Admission varies on party size.

Contact the author at lifestyleeditor@thewesternhowl.com

Spoofy, silly, staff stories

The Howl staff shares some of their funny fall tales

The Western Howl Collective

October brings a holiday that many love to celebrate — Halloween. The month is filled with an assortment of spooky things — from movie marathons to quirky decorations to themed foods; nevertheless, no holiday is complete without its share of funny stories. Check out these howl-ingly funny tales from “The Western Howl” staff.

Cora McClain | Editor-in-Chief

Growing up, I had a relatively rich friend and trick-or-treating in her neighborhood was always the best. Four words: king sized candy bars. I would do anything for those candy bars, even trip over my own two feet, scraping up my knees and bleeding all over my costume… At least I got my king sized cookies and cream Hershey’s bar along with anxiety-inducing embarrassment. They don’t call it trick-or-treating for nothing.

Rylie Horrall | Managing Editor

A year or two ago, my mom and I were watching a scary movie. We do that every year and it’s become a fun tradition for us when I’m home around the holiday. Anyway, it was a very tense scene, we’re completely immersed with the lights off, the character on the screen was heading up to what’s probably a jumpscare so we’re leaning in. And then my brother comes around the corner and says “How’s the movie?” I screamed. Mom screamed. He yelped. Long story short, my brother is now extra cautious when he walks into the living room when something scary is on.

Stephanie Moschella | Digital Media Manager

Last Halloween my friends and I played “Little Hope” — well it was more like they played and I watched. I had already played this video game before, but I wanted to see how my friends and roommates fared. Well, long story short, I fell asleep about halfway through them playing the game. I was on one of the couches and my back was turned against the TV, but that didn’t stop any of them from screaming or yelling out loud. But it was fine since I got a pretty good nap. 

Mikayla Coleman | News Editor 

I grew up playing hours and hours of “LEGO Star Wars” with my dad on his Xbox 360. To earn the respect of my father, I decided to dress up as a stormtrooper for Halloween. My dad and Iwalked into Target, and there it was, the iconic costume, hanging halfway off the hanger in the little boys section. I was so excited, I didn’t bother to look at the tags.

It sat in the closet until the infamous day rolled around. I was psyched. I put the costume on and was sitting there thinking, “Oh, this is uncomfortable. This can’t be right.” But I begrudgingly went out on my trick-or-treating adventure around the neighborhood, feeling wedgied as all h–l, taking weird clomping steps up and down the sidewalk. 

It  took me a couple of years to understand that there was a cup in the crotch of my costume because it was made for little boys. RIP. 

Sarah Austin | Lifestyle Editor

Each year as September comes to an end, I make plans with my friends to go to a corn maze. It’s my favorite activity because we all go in and they think it will be cute and fun, but I like to add a twist. Yes, it’s me; that person running through the maze making creepy laughing noises or hiding to scare people. Even in the daylight. 

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