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.
The first day of March 1978 was a Wednesday, and nineteen-year-old Lina Marciano was setting out from her home in Wayville, a suburb of Adelaide, in South Australia. It was a little past six p.m. She said goodbye to her sister Teresa, put on her motorcycle helmet, and hopped onto her blue and white Honda … More Lina Marciano
In the summer of 1978, a man in Waunakee, Wisconsin would also make a grisly discovery just off a highway. It was the afternoon of Wednesday, June 21st, and contractor John Wagner was busy clearing some land in a wooded area near Highway 12 when he stumbled across the nude body of a young woman … More Julie Ann Hall
It was the morning of January 19th, 1979, and thirty-year-old Lynda Farrow had been out on a shopping trip with her mother. Lynda, the mother of two daughters aged eleven and eight, had recently split up with her husband, and was dating a man who ran a produce stall. Lynda and her boyfriend were expecting … More Lynda Farrow
It was the first day of February, 1979, and twenty-year-old waitress Julia Woodward had decided to make a new start in life. She said goodbye to her mother and left her home in San Rafael, California, after which a friend dropped her off at the San Francisco Airport. Julia was planning to fly to Lake … More Julia Woodward
August 5th, 1979 was a Sunday, and fourteen-year-old Karen Oatley decided to go on a bike ride, setting out from her home in Lansing, Michigan at approximately six p.m. When she hadn’t returned after four hours, her worried parents reported her missing. At around noon on the following day, Karen’s grandfather found the girl’s abandoned … More Karen Oatley
It was August 14th, 1979, and a body was discovered lying face down in a casino parking lot near the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The victim was a white female, believed to be between fifteen and twenty-five years old, with wavy brown hair and brown eyes. Unusually for one so young, the girl … More Gwenn Story: Sahara Sue
In the autumn of 1979, an unidentified woman would turn up dead in southeast England. Informally known as Bedgebury Doe, the victim was found in Bedgebury Forest in Kent on October 24th. The victim was a white woman between twenty-five and thirty-five years old, with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. Post-mortem examination suggested that … More Bedgebury Doe
Thirty-nine-year-old Josephine Backshall lived in Witham, Essex, England, with her husband and three young children. She had been looking for part-time work in the area, and had placed an ad in the local newspaper, the Maldon and Burnham Standard, offering her services. Much to her surprise, she got a response to her ad almost immediately: … More Josephine Backshall
Seventeen-year-old Deborah Kozlarek and her thirteen-year-old friend Carolyn Vandermolen were seen several times on the evening of September 23rd, 1972, near their homes on the south side of Chicago. Deborah washed some clothes at a laundromat on 51st Street, and both girls were seen by multiple witnesses walking around the vicinity, as well as sitting … More Debbie Kozlarek & Carolyn Vandermolen
In the autumn of 1972, there was a disturbing massacre of an entire family in the Midwestern United States for which a motive has never been determined. Retired Army colonel Bill Peak had formerly served as a military attaché to Russia and Hungary, but by the time 1972 rolled around, he had decided to retire … More The Peak Family
Crime Immemorial 