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.
Fifty-six-year-old William “Bill” Murfitt had built a reputation as a hard-driving, modernizing farmer with a lively social life. He and his family had leased Quays Farm in Risby, Suffolk, England earlier in the decade and were well known in the Bury St. Edmunds area. On the morning of May 17th, 1938, Bill collapsed and died … More William “Bill” Murfitt
On June 30th, 1926, forty-three-year-old James White died in Acorn Wood, on the outskirts of Nottingham, England. Early press digests and later crime compendia preserve a brief but striking outline: White was found at the foot of a tree as if he had run into it—yet the medical opinion was that the collision wasn’t what … More James White
On the cold Monday night of February 4th, 1929, the quiet clifftop bungalow colony of Limeslade, above the Mumbles on Swansea Bay in Wales, was shattered by a scream. Minutes later, forty-three-year-old Kate Jackson lay outside her back door with devastating head injuries. Within six days she would be dead, and a century later her … More Kate Jackson: The Limeslade Mystery
Sidney Marston was born on May 24, 1911, in Kings Norton, a district within Birmingham’s sprawling metropolitan borough. Described as a thickset young man who could “look after himself,” he worked as a grocer’s assistant, embodying the unassuming working-class life of interwar Britain. Birmingham in 1932 was a booming industrial hub, fueled by factories and … More Sidney Marston
Sixty-one-year-old Albert Keen was a hardworking man of the land, serving as farm foreman at Rodsall Manor in Surrey, England under Sir Laurence and Lady Guillemard. He and his fifty-four-year-old wife Annie lived a modest, contented life in a remote cottage tucked away near the crossroads at Cutt Mill, a spot midway between their home … More Albert & Annie Keen: The Cutt Mill Murders
In the bleak winter of 1932, the quiet coastal town of Silloth in Cumbria, England, became the unlikely scene of a chilling mystery that has lingered for nearly a century. On January 8th, a local fisherman discovered the body of twenty-eight-year-old Nancy Patterson washed up on the shore, her dark clothing sodden and clinging to … More Nancy Patterson
Born in 1850 in the village of Broadstairs, Kent, England, Margery Wren was the younger daughter of house-painter William Wren and his wife Elizabeth. Alongside her sister Mary Jane, who was five years her senior, Margery fled the drudgery of rural life for the bustle of London, where she worked as a maidservant. Census records … More Margery Wren
Derby Road, a unassuming thoroughfare lined with modest homes and local businesses in the quiet village of Kegworth, Leicestershire, England, was the epicenter of community commerce. It was here, at number 10, that seventy-four-year-old Alfred Bowler ran his small shop, serving neighbors with everyday essentials. Bowler, a widower known for his hardworking nature, had built … More Alfred Bowler
Seventy-year-old Eva Booth lived in the quiet suburb of Hartley, on the outskirts of Plymouth, Devon, England. She had been married to H.E. Booth, Plymouth’s esteemed Housing Estates Manager who retired in 1948 and passed away in 1957. Eva had endured profound loss over the years: the couple’s only son was killed in an air … More Eva Booth
Forty-four-year-old Lilian Tharme was a married woman raising four children in a modest flat on Alder Road in Parkstone, Poole, Dorset, England. On January 16th, 1960, Lilian decided to go out to a dance at the local Territorial Army drill hall, just a short distance from her home. Her husband chose to stay home that … More Lilian Tharme
Crime Immemorial 