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.
In spring of 1975, twenty-two-year-old Eve Stratford was living a somewhat glamorous life in east London, working as a “bunny girl” at the upscale Playboy Club on Park Lane, and living with her musician boyfriend Tony Priest and a couple of his bandmates. On the afternoon of March 18th, at around four p.m., Eve was … More Eve Stratford and Lynne Weedon
In the winter of 1974, in California, a woman who allegedly knew too much would go missing, only to turn up dead early the next year. For the previous six months, forty-five-year-old Betty Van Patter had been working for an organization called the Educational Opportunities Corporation, which had been formed in order to provide educational … More Betty Van Patter
On August 14th, 1974, a grim find was made in a ditch in south Kansas City, Missouri. The previous evening, fifteen-year-old David Eyman had left his girlfriend’s house, intending to hitchhike back to his own home. However, at approximately three-forty-five a.m. on the morning of Wednesday, August 14th, a Raymore police officer called in and … More David Eyman
Forty-eight-year-old Joan Maschek was known around Nottingham, England as something of an artistic type, often clad in outrageous fashions and interested in ballet, classical music, and hosting small parties with friends of similar proclivities. She lived alone in a tiny flat, having moved back to her native Nottingham after divorcing her former husband, American GI … More Joan Maschek
Eighteen-year-old David Stack was a popular, charismatic high school graduate who loved rock music, partying, and travel. In early summer of 1976, he decided he was going to do some of the latter, planning to hitchhike his way to California, ostensibly to visit some family members in Berkeley or Truckee. He left his home in … More David Stack
Early June of 1976 would feature a shocking multiple homicide in Switzerland that remains officially unsolved, though developments in the 1990s might have highlighted a culprit, if not a motive. Over the Pentecost weekend of 1976, a family of five—consisting of sixty-two-year-old Elsa Clara Siegrist-Säckinger, her sixty-three-year-old husband Eugen, Eugen’s eighty-year-old sister Anna Westhäuser-Siegrist, and … More The Seewen Murder Case
It was February 21st, 1976, and twenty-two-year-old Maureen Mulcahy left her two children—four-year-old Penny and one-year-old Sean—in the care of her mother before going over to a friend’s house in Aberavon, Wales. Maureen and the friend then walked down to the nearby Green Meadow pub, where they both enjoyed a few pints of cider. At … More Maureen Mulcahy
In January of 1976, schoolchildren in New Zealand were enjoying their summer holidays. Thirteen-year-old Tracey Patient was walking with her older sister Debbie, not far from their home in the Auckland suburb of Henderson. The Patient family was English, but had moved to New Zealand not long before, believing that the country was a far … More Tracey Ann Patient
The year of 1975 was nearly over when a young college student was slain in Illinois, in a brutal and senseless attack. Twenty-one-year-old Carol Rofstad was living in Normal, Illinois, attending classes at Illinois State University and working at a nearby retail store during her off hours. It was only a few days before Christmas, … More Carol Rofstad
In early December of 1975, in New Jersey, the shocking massacre of nearly an entire family would leave a community reeling. The Diggs’ were one of the first black families to move into the previously all-white suburb of Teaneck, New Jersey, an upper-middle class enclave housing many erstwhile New Yorkers. Patriarch Wesley Diggs owned four … More The Diggs Family
