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 autumn of 1954, the murder of a teenage girl would rock the city of Baltimore, Maryland, and provide fodder for a judgmental media keen to cast aspersions on the vilified “greaser” subculture. Carolyn Wasilewski was fourteen years old, though by all accounts she was mature beyond her years, hanging with an older crowd … More Carolyn Wasilewski
Thirty-three-year-old Dr. Michael Meenaghan, nicknamed Spike by his friends, was originally from Glasgow, but had been living in Oxford for quite some time. He was, in fact, a lecturer and research scientist at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at Oxford University; molecular biology was his area of expertise. At about four-thirty p.m. on … More Dr. Michael Meenaghan
It was the early morning of Monday, June 20th, 1994. Twenty-two-year-old David Bain, a student at Otago University in Dunedin who had been studying classical music and singing, set out on his part-time paper route, ostensibly leaving the rest of his family sleeping at home. According to his later account, David arrived back at the … More The Bain Family
It was March 20th, 1978 and twelve-year-old Denise McGregor, along with her sister Sharon, were heading out from their home in Pascoe Vale, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, to pick up some takeout for the family’s dinner. The girls’ mother Carmel was a nurse who often worked the night shift, so the siblings—including Denise, Sharon, … More Denise McGregor
Thirty-one-year-old cafeteria worker Tracey Mertens had been in an on-again, off-again relationship with her boyfriend Joey Kavanaugh since both were teenagers. They had two children together, Daniel and Kelly, but Joey, it seemed, was not the most responsible father; he was an admitted drug addict, and often borrowed money from some unsavory characters in order … More Tracey Mertens
Andrew Moore, known as Andy to friends and family, had been born Nguyen Tan Tai in Vietnam in 1974, but at the age of seven months, had been adopted by Dick and Rita Moore and taken to live in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. There, he grew up an athletic and cheerful child, much adored by his parents … More Andrew Moore
At six-thirty a.m. on the morning of January 21st, 1998, an alarm clock went off in the bedroom of twelve-year-old Stephanie Crowe, who lived in Escondido with her family. After several minutes of the clock buzzing loudly throughout the house, the girl’s grandmother went to Stephanie’s room to see why she wasn’t up yet. Horrifyingly, … More Stephanie Crowe
Sebilla Alida Johanna Niemands was thirty-two years old in late October of 1959. She had worked as a prostitute for most of her adult life after leaving an unhappy household and striking out on her own as a teenager. Though her dark, curly hair would eventually earn her the nickname Dark Molly, for some reason … More Sebilla Alida Johanna Niemands: Blonde Dolly
In mid-summer of 1978, a couple would be found murdered some distance apart, and would remain unidentified for nearly forty years. Though they have recently had their names restored, their killer is still unknown. It was June 17th, and a farmer was driving a tractor along an access road near Interstate 55 in Blytheville, Arkansas … More Jimmy Hendricks & Kim Mills
The summer of 1971 would be notable for the first disappearance of a young girl near the twenty-five-acre area of south Texas bordered by League City and the Calder Oil Field. From 1971 all the way into the mid-2000s, this desolate stretch of land would serve as the final resting place for the murdered bodies … More The Texas Killing Fields
