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 the summer of 1986, a remarkable Dutch man would mysteriously turn up murdered in his own apartment, in a crime that has sadly been all but forgotten. Willem “Wim” Klein was born in Amsterdam in 1912, and his physician father initially attempted to push him into the same line of work. Willem did obtain … More Willem Klein
In spring of 1986, the ghastly murder of an elderly widow would lead to the shocking conviction of an innocent man, a breakdown of the justice system that would take nearly a decade to be corrected. Seventy-nine-year-old Pauline Martz lived alone in the small town of Aurora, Missouri. On April 13th, firefighters were called to … More Pauline Martz
It was the evening of Sunday, January 21st, 1962. The Maps family—thirty-nine-year-old artist Edward, his twenty-two-year-old wife Christine, and the couple’s four-month-old daughter Julie Louise—had been visiting with their neighbors since about eight-thirty p.m., eating an apple pie they had brought and having a pleasant chat. They left at a little past nine p.m. so … More The Maps Family Murder
The day before Valentine’s Day of 1965 was a Saturday, and eleven-year-old Mae Rubenstein was alone in her home on South Third Avenue in Highland Park, New Jersey. Her father and brother were both at work, and her mother Anne had gone to the grocery store to pick up a few things. At some point … More Anne & Mae Rubenstein
Fifty-six-year-old van driver Arthur Cope was last seen by coworkers on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 7th, 1964. Presumably, after leaving work that day, he returned to his home, which was in a trailer at the Radcliffe-on-Trent Caravan Park on Wharf Lane in Nottingham, England. Two days later, police discovered Arthur’s body in his residence. … More Arthur Cope
Thirty-seven-year-old Clifton Walker, affectionately nicknamed “Man” by his family, was a veteran of the Korean War, though he had been honorably discharged from the Army after a leg injury. He and his wife Ruby had five children, and lived on their own land in Woodville, Mississippi. In 1964, Clifton was working as a laborer at … More Clifton Walker
Only a few days before 1963 came to a close, a pregnant woman in Canada would apparently wander out into the snow and meet her doom shortly thereafter, at the hands of an unknown assailant. Twenty-year-old Margaret Sheeler lived with her husband Philip in a townhouse in London, Ontario. She had gotten pregnant the previous … More Margaret Sheeler
On July 11th, 1963, a man named Roy Rogers was fishing in the Keene Creek Reservoir, east of Ashland, Oregon, when his hook snagged on something that he at first believed was a blanket roll. Upon closer examination, however, the roll was found to contain the decomposed remains of a little boy. The child had … More Stevie Crawford: Jackson County John Doe
Twenty-year-old Tim McKillop, a lineman for Mountain Bell Telephone, was driving to Scottsdale, Arizona on May 23rd, 1962 to visit his girlfriend Joyce Sterrenberg, also twenty years old and employed at Mountain Bell as an operator. The couple had recently announced their engagement, and planned to marry on April 1st of the following year. Joyce … More Tim McKillop & Joyce Sterrenberg
February 2nd, 1962 was a Friday night, and pretty high school senior Judi (sometimes spelled Judy) Reeder was planning her usual night out with friends in Bend, Oregon. The seventeen-year-old got into her car in the early evening and headed toward town, but she evidently never made it to her destination. The following morning, her … More Judith Reeder
Crime Immemorial 