The Origin of Sea Shanties

By Austin Price, Editor in Chief

Music has always been a primary form of communication between humans. Whether it be in celebration or grief, reverence or rebellion, music has remained a constant form of shared communication between human beings. Music has been consistently proven to impact one’s psychological status and draw many emotions from our society. There are countless genres of music and variations of sound. Despite these innumerable styles of music, they all share one key characteristic. This characteristic is the authenticity and vulnerability of connecting many peoples. While we cannot attribute this characteristic to one genre, I would argue that there is one genre that is prominent and even vital in human connection and distribution of information. This genre is known as sea shanties.  

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Ghosts in the Garden

By Austin Price, Editor in Chief

Alright everyone, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Well, it’s the moment I’ve been waiting for anyways. After a month of our special Spooky Series, it’s time for the grand finale. And after a month of crime reporting and storytelling, of legend seeking and secret exposing, and of tradition telling and origin exploring, it’s time to review an actual, haunted, thrilling, and completely creepy event that happened here in our very own, Denver Colorado. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you an honest, raw, and intense review of the Denver Botanical Gardens Halloween Event, Ghosts in the Garden.  

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Creepy Colorado Legends

By Austin Price, Editor-In-Chief

Alright everyone, we are in the midst of Spooky Season, and you know what that means. Yup, it’s time for some Creepy Colorado Legends! As a Colorado native and spooky sister that’s obsessed with all things creepy, I thought it would be a good idea to compile some of the most scary, unsettling ghost stories, haunted legends, and freaky folklore into one central place.

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Maisie Peters Combines Magic and Mischief in her Newest Album, The Good Witch

By Austin Price, Editor-in-Chief

Heartbreak, betrayal, insanity, and love. All these things are prominent in a perfect blend of punk rock and soulful testimony through the music of Maise Peters. Maisie Hannah Peters is a 23-year-old English singer-songwriter. She has released a total of 66 songs (which she proudly recognizes as the devil’s number), two albums, and the soundtrack for the British comedy, Trying. With a lifelong love of music fueling her art, Maisie is a creative that integrates magic, reality, joy, and grief through her work.

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Mean Things Come in Threes

By Sandra Vo, Staff Writer

Picture this. You’re a clumsy girl who’s never quite fit in, and you’ve just transferred high schools (again) and now you find yourself trying to navigate this unfamiliar environment with all of your textbooks held tightly against your chest. Due to an unfortunate accident just before your first day of school, your thick glasses have been cracked and taped back together with masking tape you pulled from your father’s toolbox. You feel alone in the swarm of people, the misfit of them all.

Then you fall. For seemingly no reason at all, you trip dramatically in the middle of the hallway during passing period, and your books and papers tumble out of your hands and onto the floor. Heat floods your cheeks. Embarrassment can’t even come close to describing the pure humiliation and shame you feel. As expected in a typical high school, there are plenty of snickers and a complete lack of helping hands. Just as you reach for your chemistry textbook, a hot pink Louboutin heel steps right on top of it. You look up, your lips parting in horror.

Here she is. The head honcho of the high school hallway, the princess of the pubescent people, the tyrant of the teenage throng. “Oh ew, I just stepped in nerd,” she sneers, triggering giggles from all around you. It’s the popular mean girl and her two lackeys.

And she’s just marked you as her target.

When people talk about mean girls, the movie Mean Girls rightfully comes to mind. It’s the prime example of a popular girl with skewed morals who seeks to dominate the high school social scene through terrible misguided actions. As always, her two followers echo every word she speaks as if it’s gospel, but why do we see this trope across so many different films and television series? What could possibly be the appeal of an evil version of the Three Musketeers?

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The Highlander’s Favorite Halloween/ Spooky Season Movies

It is spooky season, y’all! Here are the Highlander’s staff picks for what Halloween movies you ought to watch to celebrate.

Alaina Valdespino, Staff Writer/ Photographer:

As an avid horror movie lover, it would be a crime for me to not recommend the classics. So, if you're looking for a good scare, then Halloween (1978 film), The Shining (1980), and It (the original 1990 film) would be my three absolute go to horror movies for the spooky season. That said, if horror isn’t your thing, I’d definitely make it a point to watch Disney’s Hocus Pocus. This film is my family's go to Halloween film because it’s perfect for getting you into the Halloween spirit. 

Madelynn Loring, Staff Writer:

Personally, I tend to be more of a drink-a-pumpkin-spice-latte-and jump-in-leaves type of fall person, so I’m not the one to go to for horror. However, the one Halloween movie I cannot praise enough is The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is classic, visually and aesthetically pleasing, and overall a delightful watch. Also, it qualifies as both a Halloween and Christmas movie, so it is seasonally appropriate to watch it twice a year!

Sandra Vo, Staff Writer:

With full honesty, I admit that I am a complete scaredy-cat and that I hate any and all horror movies. As a result, my recommendations come from the much more family-friendly end, and a few of my favorite classics It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Spooky Buddies. Both of these movies are wonderful if you’re looking to sleep the following night!

Morgan Jacobus, Editor in Chief:

As a nostalgic child at heart, I have a special place in my heart for Disney Halloween movies. For instance, I recommend the Halloweentown movies (there are four in total). My roommate and I watched them last year on Halloween during the day (since our plans weren’t until night). I mean, it has Halloween right in the name so you can’t go wrong with those movies this spooky season. I also enjoy The Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy, and I have fond memories of watching that on Disney Channel back in the day. If you have Disney+, you can stream childhood favorites like the ones I mentioned, as well as both Twitches movies, Hocus Pocus, and the Nightmare Before Christmas. A non-Disney childhood throwback for me is Monster House, which you can stream on Netflix. 

Vivian Pham, Staff Writer

I personally felt like not everybody enjoys scary movies, especially when it’s Halloween season and all the Anabelle and The Conjuring trailers start to show up if you don’t pay for that pricey YouTube Premium. So, I’d highly recommend one of my all-time favorite Tim Burton’s classic Halloween movies, Corpse Bride - an animated dark romance genre for those who are looking for a heart-broken movie night but still fit in with the vibe of the Halloween season. Be prepared not for a blanket to cover over your head and contain your scream, but a box of tissues to soak up those tears when Victor, the main character, is torn apart to make the right decisions.