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 early June of 1965, in Louisiana, there would be another racially-motivated killing that recalled the previous slaying of businessman Frank Morris from late 1964, as well as the Mississippi murders of Louis Allen and Clifton Walker from earlier in the same year. Oneal (alternately spelled O’Neal) Moore was appointed the first black deputy sheriff … More Oneal Moore
On April 17th, 1954, in Des Moines, Iowa, two teenage boys out fishing along a river bank found a body floating beneath the Court Avenue bridge. Police first thought the victim had simply drowned, but the man’s skull bore fractures consistent with blows from a heavy, blunt object, and the fact that there was no … More Charles Sanders
Thirty-six-year-old Barbara Colby had been born in New York City, and began her acting career in the theater, eventually parlaying her talents into television and movie roles. Beginning in the early 1970s, Barbara appeared on programs such as Columbo, The Odd Couple, Kung Fu, and Gunsmoke, and thereafter starred in a handful of films and … More Barbara Colby and James Kiernan
At around six p.m. on the evening of October 18th, 1971, twenty-one-year-old Karen Theresa Streed was spotted on a street corner in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, attempting to thumb a ride. Earlier that day, she had informed her coworkers at the American Optical Co. that she was planning to hitchhike to the campus of the University … More Karen Theresa Streed
It was the evening of October 18th, 1971, and seventeen-year-old Madelyn “Maddy” Summerer was at the home of her fifteen-year-old friend and schoolmate, Lynne Pionk. At a little past six-thirty p.m., the two teenagers began walking to Port Huron Northern High School, in Michigan, where they were to attend a meeting of the Girls’ Athletic … More Madelyn Summerer
Seventeen-year-old Maureen Brubaker Farley originally hailed from Sioux City, Iowa, and was the oldest of her parents’ seven children. In 1971, despite her young age, she had married her husband, David Farley, but not long after the couple’s wedding, David had gotten arrested for some minor infraction and was incarcerated at the correctional facility in … More Maureen Brubaker Farley
Just as March of 1970 gave way to April, there would be a brutal child murder in England with very little in the way of motive or suspects. Eleven-year-old Philip Green had been hanging out with friends at a field near his home in Bristol on the morning of Tuesday, March 31st. After lunch, he … More Philip Green
In England in October of 1970, there would be another brutal rape and murder of a young hitchhiker near the M1 that hearkened back to the slaying of Jackie Ansell-Lamb from the previous March. Twenty-four-year-old teacher trainee Barbara Mayo had been taking a road trip with her boyfriend David Pollard on Sunday, October 11th when … More Barbara Mayo
On the afternoon of Sunday, March 8th, 1970, eighteen-year-old Jackie Ansell-Lamb (whose first name is sometimes spelled Jacci) was in London, picking up some belongings from her old flat and spending the weekend hanging out with her former roommate and a young man she had met at a party all three had attended on Saturday. … More Jacqueline Ansell-Lamb
On Independence Day of 1988, a pair of teenagers rekindling their romance would disappear from a Texas lakeshore and be found dead four months later. Eighteen-year-old Sally McNelly and sixteen-year-old Shane Stewart had met in high school and had been dating off and on for a year; they had, in fact, just moved in together … More Sally McNelly and Shane Stewart
Crime Immemorial 