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 February of 1945, a horrific murder in a sleepy English village would prompt furtive whispers about witchcraft, black magic, and occult sacrifices. Charles Walton was a 74-year-old farm laborer who had called the little town of Lower Quinton home for his entire life. He lived in a modest cottage with his niece, Edith Walton, … More Charles Walton: The Pitchfork Murder
Late October, 1957, and twenty-four-year-old Rosemarie Nitribitt was living the high life in postwar Germany. Despite her humble origins—she had spent most of her childhood and teenage years in foster homes and juvenile correctional facilities—she had eventually clawed her way to wealth and notoriety, establishing herself as one of the best-known and highest-paid call girls … More Rosemarie Nitribitt
As the holiday season of 1988 approached, a transgender performer would be savagely murdered in a New York City hotel room in a crime that would be immortalized in an iconic 1990 documentary. Born Thomas Pellagatti in New Jersey, Venus Xtravaganza moved out of her conservative family home in the early 1980s and made her … More Venus Xtravaganza
Wonnangatta Station was a lonely cattle ranch in a remote valley of the Victorian Alps in Australia, overseen by a widower named James “Jim” Barclay. Finding the need for the services of a cook and handyman in the latter part of 1917, James hired a man by the name of John Bamford, who had been … More The Wonnangatta Station Murders
In the summer of 1974, a gruesome find near a beach in the Northeastern United States would mark the beginning of one of Massachusetts’ most compelling mysteries. It was the afternoon of July 26th, and a thirteen-year-old girl was looking for her dog, which had run from a nearby cottage on the Cape Cod National … More The Lady of the Dunes
Olive May Bennett was around forty-five years old, a Scottish woman who made her living as a nurse. Though the first half of her life had reportedly been rather dull and uneventful, by the time 1954 rolled around, it appeared that Olive had decided to let her hair down and have a little fun. She … More Olive May Bennett: The Tombstone Murder
Thursday, March 26th, 1998 was the last day of school before Easter break in Frankfurt, Germany. At a little before eight o’clock that morning, thirteen-year-old Tristan Brübach got up for classes; his father Bernd had left for work nearly four hours before, as usual. Tristan was being raised by his father and grandmother, after enduring … More Tristan Brübach
The Walker Family The last few days of 1959 would be tragically notable for the shocking massacre of an entire family that recalled the infamous slaughter at the Clutter farm in Kansas only a little more than a month before. In fact, recent developments may point to a connection between the case that inspired Truman … More Three Family Massacres
Twenty-eight-year-old Carolyn Montgomery lived in North Dallas, Texas with her son Dequin, who was six years old in 1971. She shared a flat in the Sherwood Forest Apartments complex with another female roommate, who also worked at the same upscale nightclub where Carolyn was employed as a cocktail waitress. After a long shift, Carolyn came … More Carolyn Montgomery
In the early 1950s, a vicious murder in Australia would grab country-wide headlines, mainly due to the random brutality of the killing, and the well-liked and beautiful young victim. To this day, the murder is the oldest cold case in Queensland, and is often cited as the crime that robbed the sleepy town of Brisbane … More Betty Shanks
