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.
Six-year-old Carol Ann Stephens was a bright, rosy-cheeked girl with brown hair and steel-rimmed glasses, described by those who knew her as confident, chatty, and endlessly curious. Born into a hardworking family, she lived with her mother Mavis, stepfather Ken, and siblings in a modest home on Malefant Street in Cathays, a working-class enclave in … More Carol Ann Stephens
Susan Southgate was born in the very house where she would meet her end: The Mill House on Writtle Road just a stone’s throw from the bustling city of Chelmsford in Essex, England. She was the last of a long line of millers who had tended the grinding wheels of the River Wid since the … More Susan Southgate
The Cameo Cinema, a modest 200-seat venue converted from a former Methodist chapel, stood at the corner of Bird Street and Webster Road in the Wavertree neighborhood of Liverpool, England. On the evening of March 19th, 1949, patrons settled in to watch Bond Street, a lighthearted British comedy-drama, oblivious to a horror that would shortly … More Leonard Thomas & Bernard Catterall: The Cameo Cinema Murders
Born on July 17th, 1921, in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England, Joan Woodhouse was the only child of John and Nellie Woodhouse. Doted on by her parents and adoring aunts Annie Blades and Ida Sheriff, she grew up in a close-knit, working-class family. Educated at Barnsley Girls’ High School from 1933 to 1939, Joan developed a passion … More Joan Woodhouse: The Arundel Murder
Jerzy Strzadala was born on April 18th, 1915, in the rural village of Zabozorzy in southern Poland. Trained as a wheelwright, his early life was upended by the outbreak of World War II. In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, and Strzadala lived under occupation until 1943, when he was briefly conscripted into the German Army—a … More Jerzy Strzadla
Thirty-nine-year-old Caroline Evans had carved out a respected life as headmistress of the infants’ school in Wern, in the quiet village of Coedpoeth in Wrexham, North Wales. She was married to Edward Daniel “Dan” Evans, a forty-year-old clerk at a local leather works. The couple resided at 20 Park Road, a modest home overlooking the … More Caroline Evans
Born Teresa Skarżyńska on April 18th, 1884, in the Podole region of what was then Russian Poland (now Ukraine), Teresa hailed from one of the country’s storied aristocratic families. The daughter of aviator and nobleman Władysław Skarżyński and Dorota Gołębiowska, she received an elite education at Jazłowiec College, a prestigious Catholic boarding school run by … More Countess Teresa Łubieńska
Born in 1919 in Stirlingshire, Scotland, Frederick Walter Jeffs moved to Birmingham, England as a child. He trained as an electrician at the Austin Longbridge car factory, a hub of wartime production, before enlisting in the Royal Army Service Corps during World War II. Captured as a prisoner of war, Jeffs endured the hardships of … More Fred Jeffs
In the quiet coastal village of Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, Wales—a place immortalized by poet Dylan Thomas for its serene estuary views and timeless charm—a single scream shattered the winter twilight on January 10th, 1953. Seventy-eight-year-old Elizabeth Thomas, a beloved local figure known for her cheerful demeanor and tireless work as a church cleaner, was brutally attacked … More Elizabeth Thomas
Twenty-eight-year-old Andrew Paterson Drury lived at 21a Carnegie Street in Dundee, Scotland, and worked as a machinist. Dundee, with its jute mills and bustling docks, was a hub for seafarers from across the Commonwealth, and on Saturday, November 25th, 1950, Andrew found himself in the heart of this transient world. According to trial testimonies, he … More Andrew Paterson Drury
Crime Immemorial 