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.
It was Tuesday, March 26th, 1991 in Daegu, South Korea, and due to local elections, schools and many workplaces were closed for the day. Six young boys, who were all students at Seongseo Elementary School—nine-year-old Kim Jong-sik, ten-year-old Park Chan-in, ten-year-old Kim Tae-ryong, eleven-year-old Kim Yeong-gyu, twelve-year-old Jo Ho-yeon, and thirteen-year-old U Cheol-won—decided to take … More The Frog Boys
In California, late in the summer of 1987, a young woman would be found dead on the side of a highway and remain unidentified until early 2019, when she finally had her name restored. It was August 30th, and a hiker came across the nude and mostly skeletal remains of a woman, lying fifty feet … More Tracey Hobson
In the late spring of 1984, in the Midwest, a woman would be found murdered alongside a highway. On the night of May 4th, three teenagers driving along Old Line Road near Westby, Wisconsin happened upon a set of remains lying a short distance off the side of the road. The victim had been so … More Vernon County Jane Doe
In the autumn of 1986, fifteen-year-old Chaim Weiss was a student in the yeshiva of Long Beach, New York. He lived in a third-floor dorm room in a building on East Beech Street, and was one of only two students who didn’t have a roommate. It was Halloween night, and Chaim had been studying with … More Chaim Weiss
Dr. Sebastian Russo was in many ways a classic, old-fashioned family doctor of the sort that barely exists anymore. Born and educated in Italy, the physician emigrated to the United States in the 1950s and became certified as a doctor in America. He set up an office on Hartford Road in Northeast Baltimore, Maryland, in … More Dr. Sebastian Russo
Russell and Shirley Dermond were an elderly couple, living in a gated community near Lake Oconee, northeast of Eatonton, Georgia. The pair had married in 1950 and had four children and nine grandchildren. Russell had owned several Hardee’s restaurants in Atlanta before retiring in 1994. On May 1st of 2014, Russell was spotted in Eatonton … More Russell and Shirley Dermond
In the UK in 2010, the bizarre death of a brilliant but intensely private individual would eventually spawn rumors of covert assassination by either the British secret service or a shady foreign power. Gareth Williams, a highly intelligent, Welsh-born mathematician, began working for Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham in 2001, not long after receiving … More Gareth Williams
Twenty-three-year-old Kirsty Jones was originally from Tredomen, near Brecon, Powys, Wales. Described by her mother Sue as “bright, intelligent, and independent,” Kirsty had been spending the summer of 2000 backpacking around Singapore and Malaysia, and in August, arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand. She checked into an inexpensive guesthouse called the Aree and set about hiking … More Kirsty Jones
John Pezzenti Jr. was, by all accounts, a beloved and accomplished man throughout his life. Though born in Connecticut, he was seduced by the breathtaking landscapes of Alaska from an early age, and moved there in 1976, when he was twenty-four years old. He worked on the Valdez pipeline for a time, and even owned … More John Pezzenti Jr.
It was December 2nd, 2005 in Lakewood, Washington, and ten-year-old Adre-Anna Jackson headed out on the three-block walk to school as usual. What neither she nor her mother knew, however, was that school had been cancelled that day because of snow. Had either of them been aware of this fact, it’s possible that tragedy could … More Adre-Anna Jackson
