Much like Shirley Jackson before her Jamie Alvey delights in what she fears. Alvey’s start in the world of horror began much like many others; she loved scary stories as a child. With a horror fan mother and a cinephile father, she was raised on a steady diet of varied media and grew to be a voracious reader, neophyte writer, and beginner actress. Alvey’s child and teen years were insular due to intense bullying, and she further retreated into her books and her own short stories, which by her own admissions were poor Twilight rip offs. As the years wore on, her stories became more unique as she found her voice as a creative and started to blossom in her own right. She went on to attend Brescia University and graduated summa cum laude with a BA in English and theatre. After obtaining her BA she successfully gained her MA in English literature from Mercy College and subsequently began teaching at Brescia University as an English and writing professor. Alvey finished the first draft of her feature screenplay Bystanders in 2017. Bystanders would become the greatest love of Alvey’s life and one of her most enduring and rewarding relationships with her work. Bystanders was greatly influenced by Alvey’s own experiences with PTSD and her rage concerning rape culture and toxic masculinity. Working diligently for years and continually improving the screenplay, Alvey’s dream of seeing her work come to life came true in 2023. Bystanders began and commenced filming in July 2023 with Alvey herself starring as Clare. Before and during production, Alvey took on many roles to aid the production and see it come to bold fruition. All of the talents and skills she cultivated over the years were on full display as she gave her total commitment to the art and the work she loves most. Currently, Alvey is working toward attaining an MFA from Lindenwood University in creative writing with an emphasis in fiction. She plans on getting her doctorate…someday, likely in gothic studies. In addition to teaching and being taught, she is always writing and working on new projects. Having a personal life seems overrated when there’s words to be put on pages and characters to be created. When she’s not writing, teaching, doing homework, or reading, Alvey can be found spending time with her dogs, her friends, or by herself overthinking literally everything.
