By Dairell Alvarico

October has just arrived; you know what that means, right? Soon you are going to notice the spooky and scary skeletons chilling on your neighbor’s yard, or see costumes get sold out at your local Target, only to later be worn by children asking for candy on your doorstep. It is not every day you catch sight of these things, so how about joining in on the fun?  This month is the time where everyone around you will dress their worst to be the best.

Unless you are not much of an outdoor person. But even that cannot stop you from doing something exciting for your Halloween night. To each their own, and you my friend, are just getting started. 

So how about getting cozy on your couch, bed, or whatever you can rest yourself on, and grab a book fitting for the eerie, sinister, spine-chilling time of the year? 

Are you ready to read a simple yet interesting story about a kid being forced to go to a haunted boarding school? How about the aesthetics of academia in a historic location like Salisbury, England, but add paranormal activities? This book has both. 

Jon Whitcroft is just a generic kid with stepfather issues, which led him to be sent to a boarding school in Salisbury, England to improve his “behavior,” but fate has not been so kind to him, and his school year could not be any more opposite of ordinary when he suddenly sees ghosts. 

This story is enough to give you the jitters, but not the creeps. It does make you feel the suspense of what the characters will do next and sometimes the paranoia of what is at the end of the hallway, yet it contains lighthearted moments that will give you a break from all that action.

The book has the concept of a simple ghost story, but it is creative and distinct way of turning the plot into something unique is what makes it interesting.

The descriptions of what a character feels are not the usual generic narrations of their inner thoughts, and you can see the struggles and loneliness of John Whitcroft, who did not have time to process the sudden change in his life.

This book is perfect for a casual story by the fireplace on a chilly night in October. 

Sherlock Holmes, but with a twist. This story was written by horror icon Stephen King. It has mature aspects to it and delves deeper into the process of catching an indescribable crime case and the struggles of finding the perpetrator, supernatural or not.  

Ralph Anderson is a detective in Flint City and has not experienced any serious crime until the day the murder of a little boy has shaken the neighborhood.

After tedious interviews with witnesses and gathering of evidence, it all pointed fingers to Terry Maitland, a man who coached Ralph’s own son in baseball. But with further digging, the authentication of proof started to get foggy, and Ralph is starting to doubt they got the right guy, so he goes on a personal detective spree to find answers for himself. 

This book had me on my nerves for the right reasons. The frustration of Ralph is so suffocating, you can feel it from time to time. The character’s actions become questionable, and you would have to think if what they are doing is right or not.

The Outsider is a story where you do not want your favorite character to walk anywhere with a stranger, much more alone. Compelling and spine chilling, it will make you check your window at night. 

This novel can potentially keep you on your toes due to the odd way everything transpires in the heart of the crime. The stories do not match, a simple clue can make the whole investigation go for an unexpected turn, even the consequences of one’s actions can ruin a person’s life. That is why you should tread carefully, for not everything is what it seems to be when you dive deep into the story. 
  

Peter Pan may not be the inspiring and vibrant childhood influence you perceive he is. Sometimes there is genuine curiosity when it comes to the perspectives of villains in a fairy tale.

Lots of narratives are bent and smoothened into a biased outcome in favor of the “hero.” There are always two parts to a story, and Christina Henry did a splendid job of creating lore for the infamous Captain Hook.

Before everything went to the dumps, the pirate captain was known as James who was just another Lost Boy that Peter took an interest in, but the latter considered and acknowledged James more than the other boys for reasons that he did not specifically reveal.

It was known that he was the first one to be swept away by Peter to Neverland, and that he became second in command for their group, but Peter was good at hiding his deepest, darkest secrets.

James was starting to think that his own misfortunes and trauma are tied to it, but he knew that it was impossible for confrontation, since Peter has not a drop of patience for it.

The idea of putting a group of young boys, still on the stage of growth and development to fend for themselves in an unknown island is a recipe for disaster, but with the carefree yet twisted mind of Peter Pan, he made everything a fun little playground for him.

Lost Boy is the type of story that takes you back to the nostalgic tale of Peter Pan. The only difference is that you start to doubt that any of his actions are with good faith.

By Logan Jacobs

As the month of October is in full swing and Halloween is fast approaching, gamers may be looking for new or different scares. However, fear often takes a back seat in this style of play and tension takes over. And that tension is delivered in different and sometimes unusual ways. Multiplayer, Psychological, and Traditional are a nice triad of horror.

Multiplayer Horror: Phasmophobia is a fun 1 to 4 player ghost-hunting game in which players find pieces of evidence to determine what type of ghost is pursuing them.

As the ghost initiates what is called a “hunt” all players who are in the house at the time get locked in with the ghost until the conflict is resolved.

Players have tools to assist them such as the walkie talkie. During the hunt the walkie talkie also shuts off so players’ voices can only be heard by those nearby.

Death is always a risk. The ghost’s primary purposee is to track down players and kill them with a touch.

However, there ways to avoid these disturbing deaths. Different items like smudge sticks or a crucifix can ward off ghosts, buying the players more time.

Players can buy these items using a shop system offering many different items such as a head-mounted camera so teammates can see a first-person perspective from the van or candles that maintain player sanity in dark rooms.

However not all items can be bought in the shop like cursed possessions. These cursed possessions range from a ghost summoning circle to tarot cards that may save players from death.

Overall, this game is an engaging first-person paranormal investigation with mortal consequences yet a fun team-based action.

Phycological Horror: Yume Nikki is a true cult classic. Released in 2004, Yume Nikki explores dreams and nightmares.

While this game is far more psychological than horror, there are still horrific elements which have inspired other great horror games such as Omori, and the Lisa franchise.

As young shut-in Madotsuki, players go around dreams, collecting effects, doing events, and diving deeper into said dreams. Effects are the closest things you get to a progress system in Yume Nikki. Not all effects are useful, but some are extremely useful such as the bike making you go faster or the lamp lighting up dark worlds.

Although the effects can be described as a “progress system” gathering all 24 effects should not be the goal when playing Yume Nikki. Looking at Yume Nikki through that lens may lead to overlooking impacting events and areas such as going to Mars or meeting Uboa. These events and areas make up such a huge part of Yume Nikki and can be witnessed only after doing very specific steps that would have been missed by just chasing after effects.

Traditional Horror: Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion, has the player exploring a haunted mansion. In the mansion players will find different specimen, these specimens all have unique abilities each having their own way of trying to kill the player.

Unique abilities can range from having a puddle of goo to slow the player down, to forcing the player to constantly look at the specimen as they venture through the different rooms of the mansion.

After venturing through the mansion’s 1000 rooms players will face off against a final boss and depending on their score will either get a good or bad ending. Players will also face a sad truth of the mansion that had been hinted at all throughout the game.

Even after beating the story mode Spooky’s continues, by beating the paid hd version players will unlock an endless mode and two new dlcs.

Karamari Hospital and Dollhouse are both vastly different from the past formula of Spooky’s, instead of mixing in random specimen encounters and scripted encounters the two dlcs choose to go down the route of just having scripted encounters. This style of just having scripted encounters makes the story shine, letting the player explore a large dark abandoned hospital, discovering the past secrets left behind by GL Labs.

In Spooky’s Dollhouse the player explores a large mansion with many dark secrets left behind, eventually coming to a climax the player sees Spooky’s final moments. The endless mode opts to ditch the lore aspects and instead just focuses on scaring the player, the player can be chased by any monster across both dlcs and the main game, even adding more specimen exclusive to endless mode.

Phasmophobia, Yume Nikki, and Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion are three games I will never forget playing and games that I would recommend to anyone who’s looking for a good scare this Halloween.

By Ashleigh Varing

“Until the spring day comes again, until the flowers bloom again, please stay, please stay there a little longer.” If you recognize this, you know where I’m coming from: K-pop. Specifically, BTS.

Within the last few years, K-pop has surged in popularity in the states. But why? What makes it so appealing to such a specific niche of our country? There are a few different answers to this question.

K-pop is made up of many different genres. Although pop is prolific within the industry, many other types of music are present. Ballads, rap, hip-hop, rock, and almost any other genre you could think of can be found, meaning it can be enjoyed by just about anyone.

Their choreographies are just as versatile as the music. Several dance trends have stemmed from K-pop songs, which range from ‘Super Tuna’ by Jin to ‘Pink Venom’ by BLACKPINK. Most dances that go viral are much simpler than choreography you might find in an average song, though; many are fairly complex, such as ‘IDOL’ by BTS.

Additionally, music videos within K-pop are high-budget, with striking visuals and overarching stories that draw the viewer in. A good example of this would be BTS’ HYYH (Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa) concept, which has been ongoing since 2015.

Plus, most K-pop stars train for years in order to debut, working on a multitude of talents necessary to become an idol. For example, BTS’ Jungkook trained for roughly 2 years, despite already being quite experienced.

K-pop idols also create genuine bonds with their fans. They write special songs, livestream regularly, film variety shows, and communicate with fans on social media platforms. Most groups are genuinely appreciative of their support.

By Logan Jacobs

Kendrick Lamar, one of the biggest names in music history and an amazing artist who made a name for himself by working hard and making beautiful music.

He started off at a young age releasing small mixtapes which garnered notoriety on the west coast. Under the name “KDot” he would sign to TDE or Top Dawg Entertainment, and slowly release more mixtapes and singles, even receiving a cosign from Lil Wayne.

While releasing two more mixtapes Kendrick would change his stage name to his birth name, finally going by Kendrick Lamar, he announced his first independent album under the name “Section.80”.

Section.80 would soon put Kendrick’s name even further on the map including features from artists such as GLC and SchoolBoy Q.

The album’s first single “HiiiPoWeR” released a few days after the announcement of said album. Section.80 would be released on July 2nd to high praise, with many people around the world coming to the realization that Kendrick is or will soon become the king of the west coast.

Kendrick’s first studio album “Good Kid M.A.A.D. City” was announced in March of 2012, the lead single, “Drank” releasing July 31st.

MAAD City would be an album that told a tale of Kendricks life and was very popular because of it, singing about his life in Compton. MAAD City would start a trend of greatness for Kendrick with his two following studio albums being some of the greatest of all time.

Kendrick Lamar would go on to make To Pimp a Butterfly and Untitled, Unmastered, with TPaB being seen as Kendrick’s masterpiece and one of the best albums of all time.

Untitled Unmastered would include cut songs from TPaB, having them all be untitled and unmastered. TPaB and UU would instantly become classics in Kendricks’s discography.

DAMN, Kendrick Lamar’s latest album* would shock the world with a tale of Duckworth, Kendrick’s father. This album would become one of his most popular albums with Humble, the lead single of the album reaching over one billion streams.

The end of this era of Kendrick would be with the soundtrack for Black Panther, as Kendrick would soon go into hiatus.

Kendrick Lamar would break this hiatus not with a new album but instead by working with his younger cousin, Baby Keem. Both would work on The Melodic Blue, Baby Keems first studio album even signing him to his new record label PGLang. oklama.com would on April 18th announce a new album, Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers, to come out May 13th.

This year, artists at Sheyenne High School have excelled, achieving local and in Koi’s case, national recognition. Senior, Koi Hiller, has been awarded for her hard work and dedication with the American Visions Award. The award is the highest achievement for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, a contest that gets thousands of submissions from students across the United States. The acceptance of this award will take place in New York City at the famous Carnegie Hall.

Her artwork titled “Death is Beautiful” was created with red earthenware media and if you look closely, it displays important details. The story behind this project is one that has touched the hearts of many people.

In this year alone, Koi has lost many people dear to her and her family, one of these people being her dad. She shared how her passion for art has helped her cope with all the unknowns of navigating life without these special people. She expressed her desire to rewire her thinking from the hatred she felt to finding the hidden beauty, saying that “that’s what art is, you express how you feel.”

This story inspired her mask creations as each one represents not only a way to remember those she lost, but also to show the stages of grief she has gone through over this hard time. “This is going to be the series that is after them and their memories that not everyone knows today…” she shared, “there is intention in each mask. This is where I was broken, this is where I started to get put back together, and this is where I’m whole again.”

After these losses though, her definition of “whole” has changed, adding that there might always be pieces missing that belong to those who have been lost. This artwork, after all, was about the transition after death, and all the broken pieces that can still be found beautiful. The details such as the butterflies and dragonflies are used to present this to viewers.

Along the way, Koi has had some amazing support, specifically thanking her art teacher, Ryba, who pushed her to ask questions and explore more concepts in her artwork. Koi spent a lot of time in the art room and found that the environment aided her in the long hours she put towards her work. This project was started at the beginning of this school year, in 2021, and wrapped up in the early months of 2022.

To Koi, a big trip like this will be new. She said she is most excited to experience the culture of New York City for herself rather than only knowing what she sees in the movies. One of her main destinations in NYC is the museums there.

As for her future in art, Koi has received scholarships to continue her art. One of the places she is interested in is North Dakota State University (NDSU). Despite these college considerations, Koi will continue making art even if it doesn’t result in a career. To her, art is a passion, and in some ways, a lifestyle.

By Logan Jacobs

When I think about hard games the first franchise that comes to mind is Darksouls with its unforgiving bosses and unique story telling it has become one of most popular franchises of all time but does its newest sequel hold up the standard the other games have set up? Yes.

Elden Ring is one of the most anticipated games of all time with it selling over 10 million copies on pc alone, but sales won’t make a game good, most of the time it needs to have at least one reason for people to play it: story, difficulty, gameplay, all reasons to play a game and Elden Ring has all three in droves.

A story crafted by George RR Martin author of critically acclaimed series A Song of Fire and Ice, a difficulty standard that holds up the Darksouls legacy, and gameplay refined by all past Souls games.

Elden ring also opts for a new style of gameplay, instead of past games where you would go from one boss to another in a very linear order, Elden Ring lets you avoid certain bosses until you are confident enough to beat them.

This new style is best shown off with the second boss you encounter, the Tree Sentinel, he’s first seen when taking your first steps into Elden Ring’s world.

Most players will try and fight this boss thinking it to be the first boss you are meant to fight but most players are wrong. The Tree Sentinel is there to teach you that it’s ok to avoid the fight.

Not everything about Elden Ring is amazing though, because of the nonlinear nature of the game it’s very easy to miss very important parts of the game including the tutorial, which is just a hole in the ground.

One of my biggest criticisms of Elden Ring is the fact that I had to look up so much of the game like, what to do with the dragon heart, where the tutorial is, how the magic system works.

Telling a player everything about a game can ruin the quality of the experience by giving way too much information to a player at once but that problem is instantly fixed if you don’t tell the player anything, just expecting the player to figure such integral things is lazy and can ruin the game just as much as telling the player everything.

Exploration is one of the hardest things to do right in a game, Elden Ring does it well enough to warrant an open world style.

The main reason that I explored Elden Ring was to try and find bosses, because so many bosses are just missed completely if you don’t explore the world.

Those bosses that you find through exploring are the most fun, you don’t just go through a yellow fog and fight a boss but instead you enter an area like a lake, or a bridge and a boss fight just starts.

I do think there is a severe lack of unique items to find while exploring, I have not changed any equipment since the start of the game because I haven’t found any that fit me.

I have found many sets of armor too, but none fit my build of dexterity and strength instead most being heavily magic based.

That brings me to what I love the most about Elden Ring, the bosses, all that I’ve fought have been a fun triumph to beat but never too difficult, but some have been too easy.

I beat Rennala queen of the full moon on the second try, it was harder to beat the two bosses needed to get to her. This problem is not shared with many bosses, but I still feel as though it’s worth it to mention because of how great Elden Ring’s bosses are.

No boss in Elden Ring has felt unfair, every time I died, I knew it was happening 2 seconds in advance because they put so much effort into showing the player when and where a boss would attack.

Because of the time they put into telegraphing attacks it not only feels fair when you die but it also feels amazing when you manage to dodge it for the first time. The same thing happens when you beat a boss for the first time.

As of writing this article I am 25 hours into Elden Ring, I have beaten 10 bosses and two “dungeons” and I don’t know if I could give this game a fair rating, but I can say with 100% certainty that this game is worth buying and playing.

Whether or not you look up guides, farm levels, or spend 15 hours on one boss, enjoy this game the way you want to, because this game is meant to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.

This year, artists at Sheyenne High School have exceled, achieving local and national recognition. This series of posts features those artists and their artwork.

​Senior, Zurisadday Medina, created this red earthenware “Honeycomb”. Her artwork earned Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Silver Key. Congrats on your amazing accomplishment!