Seminar in Evil

by Daoma Winston

Jennifer Alton and her fellow students get more than they had bargained for when an experimental psychology class in the Group Mind unleashes an invisible--and insatiable--monster. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction, Gothic

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Daoma Winston was a prolific writer of Gothic romance and horror/thriller novels. All of her novels have a strong occult theme and usually feature ghosts, witches, demons or magic.
(Not "Golden Tramp.")

Reviews

[Natalie E · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the definition of terrible young adult gothic pulp (or "girlie pulp" as it was dubbed in the mid-1900s): flat, overly-dramatic characters with no agency and a bunch of horror tropes thrown together in the hope that readers will be wooed by the ambience. It felt heavily inspired by Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House," but it lacked everything that made Jackson's a masterpiece—except the page-turning curiosity factor. Despite how obnoxious the characters and plot were, I desperately needed to know what happened next. This little book won't be for most people, but, if you're like me and reading as many gothic girlie pulp books as you can, enjoy it for the mess it is (as well as the shadow daddy villain named "Hank").

[Nattie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very odd book, and quite annoying. I do hate to overuse the word annoying in reviews, but I often find it the most suitable choice.

Eight students start living with their professor for a special psychology class called The group mind. Unexplainable things start happening.

As the story progresses, Jennifer, and all of the other students realize something is wrong. They get a strange feeling as they walk up to their new home. They get a strange feeling when they look or speak to their professor. They get a strange feeling when they eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They get a strange feeling when they put on their coats.

In case you didn't realize it, the students ALWAYS get a strange feeling, yet each one feels compelled to keep coming back for more strangeness.

Jennifer is repulsed by the professor, but also longs to be near him. She bashes him one moment to her childhood friend, and then proceeds to bash the friend when HE bashes the professor, because she can't make up her mind about how she feels for the guy she calls creepy.

The story basically dissolves into a bunch of repetitive complaining and whining from the students. Everybody says the same thing over and over and over again. I could not wait for the conclusion.

The conclusion was highly dissatisfying, but I was expecting that. Oh, if I ever hear or read anybody say The Group Mind again, I will beat the crap out of something.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the plot wasn’t that great nor the idea that intriguing, Winston’s craft compelled me to finish. Her prose is fluid and fast.