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.
On the evening of June 20th, 1931, a chilling and perplexing tragedy unfolded at Blackdown Camp in Camberley, Surrey, England. Lieutenant Hubert George “Hugh” Chevis, a twenty-eight-year-old officer in the Royal Artillery of the British Army, sat down to dinner with his wife, Frances, in their bungalow. The meal, featuring Manchurian partridge—a dish Hubert favored—would … More Hubert Chevis
Thirty-seven-year-old Ernest Melville was a familiar figure in the North Hill area of Swansea, Wales, living with his parents at 11 Watkin Street, just a short walk from where his life would end. Described as a slight man, standing at about five feet five inches tall, Ernest was the youngest of six children. He suffered … More Ernest Melville
Fifty-one-year-old Mary Speir Gunn was born in Stevenston, North Ayrshire, Scotland, to Jane Speir and Gilbert Gunn, a well-known railway contractor, and lived a varied life. Known as the “Beauty of Beith” in her youth, she worked as one of Scotland’s first telephone operators in Ardrossan and briefly lived in Canada with her sister before … More Mary Speir Gunn
Sixty-nine-year-old Jean Milne was born in Dundee, Scotland and lived a life of considerable wealth, inherited from her brother, James Milne, a tobacco manufacturer who purchased a twenty-three room mansion called Elmgrove in 1895. After his death in 1903, Jean inherited an annual income equivalent to over £100,000 in today’s money, allowing her to maintain … More Jean Milne
Seventy-five-year-old Alexander Norval was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and trained as a currier in Edinburgh, where he met his wife, Alison, from East Lothian. The couple had eight children, with their first two born in Edinburgh, one in Ireland, and the remaining five in Carlisle, Cumbria, northern England, where Norval had established a successful business … More Alexander Norval
Ten-year-old Amy Margaret Reeves lived with her family at Kitsmead Cottage, a modest home near Chertsey Common in the village of Longcross, Surrey, England, where her father worked as a gardener. Longcross, a little over twenty-one miles west of central London, was a small, hilly village with no central pub or green, known for its … More Amy Reeves
Seventy-one-year-old Evan David Harris lived a modest and reserved life at 21 Lon Draenen in Tycoch, Swansea, Wales with his elder daughter, whose husband had been called up for military service. A widower and retired chemist, Harris had spent nearly two decades working at the English Crown Spelter Works, followed by stints at Pritchard’s Oxalic … More Evan Harris
Fifty-three-year-old Iris Thompson lived with her husband Kenneth and her elderly mother, seventy-nine-year-old Caroline Woodcock, in the quiet suburban neighborhood of Coombe Rise in Shenfield, near Brentwood, Essex, England. Caroline, a widow, was described as a frail but independent woman who relied on her daughter for support, and mother and daughter were reportedly very close. … More Iris Thompson and Caroline Woodcock
On September 29th, 1996, forty-three-year-old father of two Andrew Mordowicz was working the early morning shift for United Yellow Taxis. At approximately three forty-seven a.m., a booking came through for a four thirty a.m. pickup at 79 Fife Street in Klemzig, a northeastern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, with instructions to take the passenger into … More Andrew Mordowicz
Eighty-one-year-old Léa Florentina Brooke was a cherished figure in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Born in Belgium, she’d moved to the area nearly sixty years earlier after marrying Lindsay Brooke, a local building contractor who served in the British Army during World War II. The couple had five children and twelve grandchildren, and Léa herself was … More Léa Brooke
Crime Immemorial 