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.
On February 23rd, 2002, the nude and partially decomposed body of a woman was found in a pond near a bridge in a rural part of Comanche County, Oklahoma. Authorities quickly identified the victim as twenty-nine-year-old Janice Buono, a known sex worker in the area. The medical examiner determined that Janice had died from an … More Janice Buono
On March 13th of 2002, a park ranger came across several bags on a moor on Winsford Hill near Somerset. Though the bags emitted a somewhat foul odor, the park ranger assumed they contained animal remains, and didn’t open them, instead arranging for them to be taken to a nearby kennel, where they were going … More The Exmoor Body Mystery
The evening of Wednesday, March 13th, 2002 seemed to be going relatively normally for former rugby player and father of two Evan Jones, who was originally from Chippenham, England, but had lived in Bristol for more than a decade. He stopped in for his usual Guinness at the Beaufort Pub in Montpelier at a little … More Evan Jones
On January 16th of 2002, forty-four-year-old Dennis Matlock was found dead in his home by friend and neighbor John Hood, in the small town of Reklaw, Texas. According to the medical examiner, he had died from blunt force trauma to the head and multiple stab wounds. The weapon that caused the head injury has not … More Dennis Matlock
On April 18th, 2002, a man out taking a stroll found a woman’s body floating in a lake in Reynolds Nature Preserve in Morrow, Georgia. Though it was clear the woman had been murdered, her identity remained unknown for four years. Then, in July of 2006, through a joint effort by the Georgia Bureau of … More Christine Allen
On March 10th, 1985, a young woman would be found dead on a roadside in the American Southwest. A group of three rabbit hunters out patrolling an area off County Road E73 about twenty miles from Hatch, New Mexico stumbled upon the partial skeletal remains of a human being, scattered beneath a layer of thin … More Dorothy Harrison: Doña Ana County Jane Doe
Just before Christmas of 1982, in Ohio, two murders would take place within a week of one another, with the bodies discovered in very close proximity. To this day, neither case has been resolved, and it is unknown whether the two crimes are related, though it seems quite likely. On Wednesday, December 15th, fourteen-year-old Sonya … More Sonya Green and Annette Lawrence
On August 24th of 1982, a pair of hikers out looking for mushrooms in Gambrills State Park in Frederick, Maryland chanced across a steamer trunk, which was partially covered with leaves and sticks, but did not appear to have been deliberately concealed. What the hikers found inside the trunk sent them hightailing it out of … More The Cheerleader in the Trunk
On the morning of March 13th, 1987, in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio called Bedford, a twenty-four-year-old mother of two was found viciously stabbed to death inside her own apartment. Analia Zavodny was the night manager of the Alamo Apartments on Broadway Avenue. Three years after she was slain, her boyfriend was put on trial … More Analia Zavodny
It was October 27th, 1985, and a father and son walking across a piece of land off State Highway 51 just south of Springtown, Texas spotted a smattering of human bones in the dirt. Forensic examination determined that the partial skeleton belonged to a white male between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one years old, … More Billy Fiegener: Parker County John Doe
