Welcome to the Dark Side: Why I’m Writing Seminary
I’ve been staring at this blank page for longer than I care to admit, wondering how to introduce myself and the story that’s been consuming my life for the past year. My name is James Edward Cowie, and I’m a gothic horror writer currently deep in the trenches of crafting something that refuses to let me sleep peacefully—a psychological terror called Seminary, set in the abandoned sacred spaces of County Durham.
The Birth of Seminary
Seminary began as a simple idea—what if the places we abandon never truly let go of us? What if some buildings, particularly those once considered sacred, develop their own hunger over time? Set in the rain-soaked landscape of County Durham in the early 2000s, this psychological horror follows Sarah Fletcher, a woman whose grief and insomnia make her the perfect target for something ancient and patient.
When Sarah begins researching the abandoned Ushaw Moor Seminary, she doesn’t realize she’s walking into a trap that spans lifetimes. The piano notes that follow her, the visions that blur reality, the slow erosion of her sanity—it’s all connected to a debt that was never paid, a soul that once escaped but is now being reclaimed.
Why Horror? Why Now?
I’m not interested in writing jump scares or cheap thrills. What fascinates me about horror is how real trauma becomes the gateway for supernatural terror. Sarah’s research obsession isn’t just plot convenience—it’s how a damaged mind seeks control when everything else has fallen apart. Her late-night internet diving, the way she clings to her father’s memory through his wedding ring, the piano notes that may or may not be real—these details matter because they show how thin the line is between psychological breakdown and genuine haunting.
The early 2000s setting isn’t nostalgic window dressing either. It’s a time when the internet was becoming invasive but still mysterious, when abandoned places like Ushaw Moor Seminary could truly feel cut off from the world. The gothic architecture of the Seminary itself becomes a character—not just atmospheric backdrop, but a living entity that has been waiting, watching, drawing the vulnerable toward it across centuries.
The Writing Process
Currently, I’m eight chapters deep into Sarah’s descent, with Chapter 3 in progress. Each chapter is designed to build psychological tension while exploring the complex relationship between past trauma and supernatural vulnerability. The Seminary doesn’t just house evil—it cultivates it, feeds on it, and ultimately claims those who are already broken enough to hear its call.
What’s been most challenging is maintaining that delicate balance between psychological realism and supernatural horror. Sarah’s journey needs to feel authentic—her grief, her insomnia, her desperate need for answers—while gradually introducing elements that make readers question what’s real and what might be manifestations of a mind under siege.
What’s Coming
Through this blog, I’ll be sharing insights into the research that’s going into crafting this psychological nightmare. The real history of places like Ushaw Moor, the way trauma creates supernatural vulnerability, and how I’m weaving together gothic tradition with contemporary psychological realism.
I’m particularly interested in connecting with readers who understand the difference between being scared and being genuinely unsettled. If you’ve ever felt the pull toward places you know you should avoid, if you’ve wondered about the spaces between sleep and waking where something might be waiting, then you’re exactly the reader I’m hoping to reach.
Seminary isn’t finished yet, but it’s already changing me as I write it. Some doors, once opened in the writing process, seem to affect the writer as much as the characters. This story is becoming something darker and more complex than I initially envisioned, and I suspect it will do the same to anyone who follows Sarah into that darkness.
Welcome to the Seminary. The doors are always open, but be warned—not everyone who enters finds their way back out unchanged.
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James Edward Cowie is a horror writer based in County Durham, England. Seminary is his debut novel, currently in progress. Follow his journey into darkness through this blog and social media.