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 winter of 1995, a little girl in Ohio would vanish while walking to school. She would not be found until two months into the following year. Thirteen-year-old Barbara Barnes was a quiet, conscientious child who volunteered at the Salvation Army and was a favorite of her teachers at Harding Middle School in Steubenville, … More Barbara Barnes
Fifty-eight-year-old Alma Preinkert had been the Registrar at the University of Maryland campus in Washington DC since the mid-1930s, and was much loved by the student body, who referred to her affectionately as “Miss Preink.” It was Saturday, February 27th, 1954, and Alma and her sister Margaret had been out at a friend’s house playing … More Alma Preinkert
It was a midsummer evening in June of 1956, and forty-nine-year-old Louise Welk was relaxing with a beer in her Rice Lake, Wisconsin apartment. Shortly after pouring herself a glass, she heard a knock at her front door. Apparently with no hesitation, Louise went to answer it. As soon as she swung the door open, … More Louise Welk
It was the early summer of 1970. Harvey and Jeanette Crewe lived on a modest farm in Pukekawa, a town about forty miles south of Auckland, New Zealand. Harvey, who was twenty-eight, and Jeannette, who was thirty, had an eighteen-month-old daughter named Rochelle. The previous few months had apparently been difficult for the Crewes, as … More Harvey & Jeannette Crewe
On July 9th, 1970, in Lansing, Michigan, sixteen-year-old Laurie Murninghan was working her part-time job at Gallaghers Gift and Antiques Shop when an armed assailant stormed through the front door demanding money. The robber first grabbed at store owner Mrs. Gallagher, hitting her in the head with his pistol. The impact caused the firearm to … More Laurie Murninghan
In the early fall of 1988, in the Midwestern United States, a little girl would vanish in the middle of the night from her own bedroom, and her own parents would later be suspected in her murder. Seven-year-old Jaclyn Dowaliby lived in Midlothian, Illinois with her family. She had gone to bed as usual at … More Jaclyn Dowaliby
As the autumn of 1988 approached, a young English woman with a passion for photography and adventure would be brutally cut down while on an African safari. Twenty-eight-year-old Julie Ward worked for a publishing company in Suffolk, England, but had always dreamed of trekking across the Serengeti and capturing the majesty of nature with her … More Julie Ward
As the autumn of 1987 descended, a strange and grimly classic English murder mystery would begin to unfold in a crumbling old manor house in rural Shropshire. Simon Dale had spent much of his career as an architect, following in the footsteps of his father. He mainly focused on restoring country mansions that had fallen … More Murder at the Manor: Simon Dale
In June 1984, a young woman disappeared from a Stockholm street and later turned up butchered in a crime that became Sweden’s most notorious unsolved murder. It also inspired Stieg Larsson’s internationally best-selling novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (originally titled Men Who Hate Women in Sweden). Twenty-eight-year-old Catrine da Costa, a prostitute and … More Catrine da Costa
Recent high school graduate Paula Jean Oberbroeckling was a beautiful, blonde eighteen-year-old with aspirations to become a model. In the summer of 1970, she was working part-time as a sales clerk at Younker’s Department Store, while also tutoring developmentally disabled children in her spare time. She and her roommate Debbie Kellogg shared a small house … More Paula Jean Oberbroeckling
