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.
Because there are, sadly, way more worthwhile horror books out there than I will ever have time enough in my life to read, when I’m looking for something new to read and review, I rely a lot on recommendations from friends and other horror channels and sites. And because the book I was going to … More Books: The Rotting Within by Matt Kurtz
Ever since bursting onto the world stage with his surrealistic debut feature Pi in 1997, director Darren Aronofsky has been seen as a somewhat provocative filmmaker, but I don’t remember any of his movies drawing the controversy, and in some cases even passionate hatred, as his 2017 film mother! did. I had been hearing wildly … More Movies: mother! (2017)
If any of you guys are fans of “killer kid” horror, then you’ve probably heard of the book Baby Teeth, which was Zoje Stage’s debut novel and got all sorts of positive buzz when it was released in the summer of 2018. I noticed from a quick perusal of reviews that it seemed somewhat polarizing … More Books: Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
On the second installment of this potentially very long-running series (the first installment is here), I’m discussing 1973, which was an absolutely cracking year for iconic horror movies. There was a treasure trove of amazing stuff to choose from, but honestly, my five favorite ones were a no-brainer, and took me literally less than two … More My Favorite Horror Movies from Every Year Since I Was Born: 1973
Directed by Peter Newbrook and released in 1972, The Asphyx was also known under the titles Spirit of the Dead and The Horror of Death. Set in 1875, it explores many of the same themes as Frankenstein, what with all the hubris about scientists tampering in God’s romaine and suchlike. Sir Hugo Cunningham (Robert Stephens) is a widower, a gentleman scientist, and a … More Movies: The Asphyx (1972)
I had read a couple of novels by Ania Ahlborn before—those being 2017’s The Devil Crept In and 2019’s If You See Her—and I enjoyed them both enough to want to read another one of hers when it popped up in my Kindle Unlimited recommendations. If you’re unfamiliar, Ania Ahlborn is quite a popular and … More Books: The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn
Horror comedies are a genre I have something of an uneasy relationship with. On the one hand, when done well, the humor of the film in question can enhance the fright factor immensely, making the movie greater than the sum of its parts. I’m talking here about fun, smart, and over-the-top grisly films like Shaun of … More Horror Comedy Double Feature: Welcome to Willits (2017) and Ava’s Possessions (2015)
Bob Clark was in interesting filmmaker; though he was born in the United States, he did most of his iconic work in Canada, and his directorial resume is all over the map, comprising horror cult classics like Black Christmas and Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things, beloved 1980s comedies like Porky’s and A Christmas Story, … More Movies: Deathdream (1974)
I’m ashamed to say that I had never heard of this movie until fairly recently, when it was recommended to me by a friend on Facebook. The phenomenal British film Séance on a Wet Afternoon is an absolute marvel of atmospheric mood and incredible psychological depth. It’s not a horror movie per se, but it is … More Movies: Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
Published in 1983, Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black has become a modern classic of old-school British gothic ghost stories. Not only has it had two film adaptations (a made-for-TV English production from 1989 with a screenplay by Nigel Kneale; and a financially successful 2012 adaptation starring Daniel Radcliffe and produced by a revamped Hammer … More Books: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
