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.
Twenty-four-year-old Elizabeth “Betty Jane” Berquist lived in an apartment on Seneca Street in Greenock, Pennsylvania with her two-year-old daughter Tara. Betty Jane had previously had a job as a server at the Canopy Restaurant in McKeesport while she was making her way through nursing school, but just recently she had got her first nursing position … More Elizabeth “Betty Jane” Berquist
It was Sunday, February 27th, 1978, and twenty-three-year-old Julie Campbell, a medical records clerk at the Lahey Clinic in Boston, had been spending the evening with two friends at a bar called the Plough and Stars in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After parting from her friends at around one a.m. on the morning of February 28th, Julie … More Julie Campbell
In the summer of 1969, a young teacher would mysteriously vanish, and although her remains would not be discovered for nearly thirty years, her suspected killer had possible links to at least one other case already mentioned on this site. Twenty-nine-year-old Luella Blakeslee, an avid world traveler and an alumnus of both the University of … More Luella Blakeslee
It was Wednesday, April 2nd, 1969. Seventy-six-year-old Annie Walker had been at her bank in the village of Coalville that day, withdrawing the sum of one-thousand pounds. As she headed back toward her home in nearby Heather, Leicestershire, England, it seems that someone was following her. The next day, the body of Annie Walker was … More Annie Walker
Thirty-six-year-old Massie Pittman owned the Blue Note Tavern in Davenport, Iowa, and lived alone in an apartment next door to the establishment. Massie was a widow; her husband Hubert Pittman had been murdered in 1962, only a month after their wedding. Sadly, the same fate was soon to befall the surviving member of the doomed … More Massie Pittman
Fifty-year-old widow Ada Bean had previously worked as a research secretary at Harvard, though in 1969 she was employed at the Associated Business Machine Company. She lived alone in a Harvard-owned apartment on Linnaean Street. On Wednesday, February 5th, 1969, Ada’s employer became concerned when she didn’t show up for work, and his concern only … More Ada Bean
In the early weeks of 1969, in the eastern United States, eleven-year-old Debra Horn was walking to a school bus stop in Allenstown, New Hampshire with her brother on the morning of January 29th. As she trudged along, she suddenly slipped and fell on the ice. Complaining that she had injured her neck in the … More Debra Horn
In June of 1968, the wealthy Robison family was heading for their beautiful cabin in the Blisswood Resort on the shores of Lake Michigan to begin their long summer vacation. It is not known on what exact date the family arrived at their cottage near Good Hart; all that is known for certain is that … More The Robison Family: The Good Hart Murders
It was around a quarter past seven in the morning on Tuesday, June 11th, 1968 when fifteen-year-old Joanne Dunham left her residence at the Raiche mobile home park in Charlestown, New Hampshire, heading for the bus stop a half-mile away. The young teenager would never arrive at Fall Mountain High School that day. When Joanne … More Joanne Dunham
On July 3rd, 1979, in Bend, Oregon, a man enjoying a night out on the town would be randomly gunned down for seemingly no reason at all. Forty-nine-year-old John C. Talbott was playing pool and drinking wine at the West Side Tavern on Galveston Avenue in Bend, accompanied by his new girlfriend. The pair had … More John C. Talbott
Crime Immemorial 