Jenny Ashford is a horror, true crime, and paranormal writer, graphic designer, and podcaster. Her most recent books are a three-volume true crime compilation collectively known as The Faceless Villain: A Collection of the Eeriest Unsolved Murders of the Twentieth Century. Volume One was published in 2017, Volume Two in 2018, and Volume Three in 2019. Her other books include four paranormal nonfiction books: The Unseen Hand: A New Exploration of Poltergeist Phenomena, The Mammoth Mountain Poltergeist (with Tom Ross), House of Fire and Whispers: Investigating the Seattle Demon House, and The Rochdale Poltergeist (both with Steve Mera); as well as three horror novels, Red Menace, Bellwether, and The Five Poisons; two short story collections, Hopeful Monsters and The Associated Villainies; and a graphic novel, The Tenebrist. A second edition of The Associated Villainies was published in 2019, featuring four new stories, an enhanced print layout, and an audio book version. A second edition of The Five Poisons was published in 2020. Her short stories have appeared in several anthologies, including The Nightmare Collective, History Is Dead, 2012AD, ChimeraWorld #3, and ChimeraWorld #4. Her horror blog, Goddess of Hellfire, contains writing news, short stories and articles, and her reviews and opinions on horror films and books. She also co-hosts a podcast with Tom Ross called 13 O'Clock, on which they discuss true crime, unexplained mysteries, paranormal weirdness, horror movies and books, food, and other fun, creepy topics. They recently collaborated on a 13 O'Clock cookbook. Jenny's graphic design work can be seen on everything from books and business cards to posters and packaging. She runs an online store called Gravecake selling products with her designs, and also has a board-and-card game concern called Giallo Games, which produces games based around the beloved Italian horror/crime genre, among many other themes.
Easter Monday of 1991 fell on April 1st. Forty-three-year-old quantity surveyor Alan Leppard was at home with his wife Brenda Long in Monkton, Kent, England. A knock came at the door, and when Alan answered it, he was immediately shot in the chest with a 12-bore shotgun. Brenda, hearing the gunshot, rushed to see what … More Alan Leppard & Brenda Long
Thirty-seven-year-old Lorraine Turner was a former journalist who lived in Old Catton, Norfolk, England with her two children: ten-year-old Jordan and eight-year-old Jasmine. On Saturday, August 17th, 2002, Lorraine’s son and daughter returned home to find their mother lying in a pool of blood. She had been savagely beaten in the head and had died … More Lorraine Turner
On January 17th, 2004, a plastic barrel was discovered at the bottom of the cliffs at Beachy Head, East Sussex, England. Inside were the remains of a bound and gagged man whose face was slashed and who had been stabbed multiple times with what appeared to be a screwdriver. The cause of death was one … More Orville Gordon
Fifty-three-year-old Mabel Harper was a widow and a mother of three grown children, two of whom were in the military. She lived on Aubrey Avenue in Victoria Park, Cardiff, Wales. On the evening of August 12th, 1943, Mabel had been visiting her sister in Gelligaer Gardens and left at about ten-fifty p.m., but she evidently … More Mabel Harper
Twelve-year-old Linda Smith was a shy but friendly girl, the eldest child in her large family, which consisted of her parents Robert and Patricia, and five younger siblings. Linda lived with them in a house in Earls Colne, Essex, England. On the afternoon of January 16th, 1961, Linda had come home from school and then … More Linda Smith
Twenty-one-year-old Lesley McMurray was a third-year biology student at Southampton University in England. On June 2nd, 1969, she said goodbye to her boyfriend Charles Gore, then began walking along the Itchen Navigation Canal toward her student accommodations at Montefiore House. At some point along her journey, she disappeared. Friends and family could find no trace … More Lesley McMurray
Forty-seven-year-old Christine McGovern lived alone with her Rottweiler on Hamilton Road, Walthamstow, London, England. She was a sex worker and operated out of her flat. On the evening of Wednesday, June 21st, 1995, Christine was spotted outside her home with her dog at around six-thirty, but it was the last time she was seen alive. … More Christine McGovern
It was mid-October of 2001, and forty-three-year-old Brian Metcalfe had spent the evening in some of the pubs around Wath, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. His movements between Friday, October 12th, and Sunday, October 14th are not known. What is certain was that his body was found under a bridge on Station Road in Wath on … More Brian Metcalfe
Seventy-year-old Isaac Hughes and fifty-year-old Arthur Waite were good friends and spent a great deal of time drinking in their local pub, the Rifleman’s Arms, in the small mining town of Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales. The two men were engaged in their favorite pastime on Easter Monday, which fell on April 3rd of 1972. They drank … More Isaac Hughes & Arthur Waite
It was the start of Labor Day weekend: Friday, August 30th, 1974. The Cowden family of White City, Oregon—consisting of twenty-eight-year-old Richard, twenty-two-year-old Belinda, five-year-old David, and five-month-old Melissa, along with the family’s Basset Hound, Droopy—decided to go camping near Carberry Creek in Copper, Oregon, a spot they’d camped at many times before. The Cowdens … More The Cowden Family
