true crime

13 O’Clock Episode 68 – The Smiley Face Murder Theory

/ Jenny Ashford / Leave a comment

Ever since the late 1990s, there have been a bunch of strange disappearances and deaths of college-age white men that have taken place in 11 different states in the northern half of the U.S. In almost all cases, when the bodies are eventually found, the deaths are ruled as accidental drownings. But two investigators, Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, believe that there might be a serial killer, or even a gang of serial killers, responsible for the deaths of these young men. On this episode, Tom and Jenny return to the true crime well and examine the mysterious Smiley Face Murder Theory and weigh the evidence on both sides: were these men murdered by a psycho or psychos? Or did they just accidentally drown after drinking too much? Put on a happy face and settle in for the criminally fascinating episode 68.

Download the audio version here or watch the YouTube video here.

Please support us on Patreon! Don’t forget to follow the 13 O’Clock Podcast blog, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

Song at the end: “Smiley Faces” by Gnarls Barkley.

Smiley Face Killers ‘Victim Zero’ Patrick McNeill disappeared and *drowned* in NYC in 1997

Jenny’s Talking True Crime on Conspirinormal

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Listen to me discussing lots and lots of creepy cases of unsolved murders on the Conspirinormal Podcast with Adam Sayne! We covered several lesser-known murder cases from the early twentieth century that also appear in my newest book, The Faceless Villain, out now in print and ebook formats (with audio version coming soon).

Also, if you become a patron at Conspirinormal’s Patreon page, you can also hear a bonus interview that Tom and I recorded for the show, talking about the Cleveland Torso Murders as well as going off on a bunch of barely related tangents, like we do. Enjoy!

13 O’Clock Episode 66 – The Bloody Benders

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Ah, the good old days, when you could pack up your family and lay claim to hundreds of acres of prairie and set about building a life for yourself through hard work and perseverance. Or, if you happened to pass through Kansas in around 1871 on the way to set up your homestead, you could alternately get your head bashed in and your throat slashed by a “family” of twisted serial killers. On this episode of 13 O’Clock, Tom and Jenny explore one of the darkest corridors of 19th century American history, focusing on the infamous Bloody Benders, a faux family of four murderers who are thought to have brutally killed at least twenty travelers, and also seem to have largely gotten away with it. Hop in your covered wagon for the journey into episode 66, and when you see the Benders’ inn on the side of the Osage Trail, best keep moseying on by.

Download the audio version here or watch the YouTube video here.

Please support us on Patreon! Don’t forget to follow the 13 O’Clock Podcast blog, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

Song at the end: “The Bloody Benders” by Macabre.

13 O’Clock Episode 64 – H.H. Holmes: America’s O.G. Serial Killer

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You think Jack the Ripper was bad? Well, America had its very own serial killer that was a contemporary of ol’ Jack’s, and in true American fashion, this dude evidently took the whole multiple murder thing and ramped it up to eleven. Dr. H.H. Holmes was not only a bigamist and a shameless con-man, but he also took killing people to a WHOLE other level, according to the stories about him. No one knows exactly how many people Holmes murdered or how much of his story is exaggerated, but according to legend, the three-story building he constructed in Chicago, later known as the Murder Castle, apparently had lots of horrifying modifications like airtight rooms with poison gas valves, a greased chute for quickly sending bodies down to the bowels of the house, and what amounted to a medieval torture chamber in the basement. But how much of this story is true, and how much is tall tale? Check in to the horror hotel with Tom and Jenny, and listen to the unbelievable tale of Victorian madness and mayhem that comprises episode 64.

Download the audio version here or watch the YouTube video here.

Please support us on Patreon! Don’t forget to follow the 13 O’Clock Podcast blog, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

Link to Adam Selzer’s website. Song at the End: “H.H. Holmes” by Langton Drive.

13 O’Clock Episode 62 – Vanished! Five Creepy Cases of Unsolved Missing Persons

/ Jenny Ashford / Leave a comment

Murders are horrific and terrifying, sure, but there’s something that’s somehow even creepier about people who simply vanish without a trace. Were they murdered, did they die in an accident, or did they wander off of their own accord? And how to make sense of the strange clues that they often leave behind? On this episode, Tom and Jenny are continuing their eerie October theme with several of the most unsettling missing persons cases of recent times, including the case of Tara Calico and the disturbing Polaroid found in a parking lot, the bizarre disappearance of a mother and daughter from the same place nearly a year apart, the eighteen-year-old boy who vanished after leaving work and whose abandoned car was discovered with the headlights on and a live puppy inside, and many other ominous and perplexing details about people who just up and disappeared one day. Fix your location definitively in space and time and settle in for episode 62.

Also, if you have a TRUE creepy story that happened to you or someone you know (it doesn’t have to be paranormal, just scary), please email it to me at gravecake@gmail.com and we might feature it on our special Halloween episode!

Download the audio version here or watch the YouTube video here.

Please support us on Patreon! Don’t forget to follow the 13 O’Clock Podcast blog, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. Check out our list channel, 13 O’Clock In Minutes! Song at the end: “Missing” by Arcadia.

My New Book “The Faceless Villain” is Out in Print and Ebook Formats!

/ Jenny Ashford / Leave a comment

That’s right, at long last, my gruesome new true crime compilation, The Faceless Villain: A Collection of the Eeriest Unsolved Murders of the 20th Century, Volume One is now available on Amazon in print and ebook formats. If you would like an audio book, you will probably have to wait a couple more weeks, but trust me, it will be available soon. Please enjoy, and keep a lookout for volume two, which will be published next year. Oh, and also check out this cool book trailer I made, won’t you? Thank you.

Faceless Villain_ A Collection of the Eeriest 20th Century_ Volume One, The - Jenny Ashford

 

13 O’Clock Episode 60 – The Cleveland Torso Murders

/ Jenny Ashford / Leave a comment

It’s true crime time again on the show, kids, and today we’re discussing a particularly gruesome and infamous series of unsolved murders that also makes an appearance in Jenny’s brand new book, The Faceless Villain. The Cleveland Torso Murders were exactly what they claim on the tin: they happened in Cleveland in the 1930s, and most of the victims were found in varying states of grisly dismemberment. Many of the victims were never even identified, and the killer never was either, so hopefully that makes you sleep better at night. Gird your loins or other appropriate anatomy, because this one’s a tad icky, and if you’re watching on YouTube, I’ll slap a GROSS PHOTO WARNING right down here. Try to keep all your limbs attached as you settle in for episode 60 of 13 O’Clock.

Also, if you have a TRUE creepy story that happened to you or someone you know (it doesn’t have to be paranormal, just scary), please email it to me at gravecake@gmail.com and we might feature it on our special Halloween episode!

Download the audio version here or watch the YouTube video here.

Please support us on Patreon! Don’t forget to follow the 13 O’Clock Podcast blog, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. Check out our list channel, 13 O’Clock In Minutes! Check out the heavy metal band Predator! Check out Dan Bell’s Dead Mall Series on YouTube! Song at the end: “The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run” by Black River Drifters.

13 O’Clock Episode 58 – Corpsewood Manor and the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders

/ Jenny Ashford / Leave a comment

To celebrate the upcoming release of Jenny’s new true crime book, The Faceless Villain, we decided to devote episode 58 to a double feature of some super creepy crime cases (both of which were suggested by fans)! First up, the terrifying murder of Dr. Charles Scudder and Joseph Odom at their castle in the woods, Corpsewood Manor; and second, the bizarre kidnapping/murder case on which the 2008 movie Changeling was based: the so-called Wineville Chicken Coop Murders. Get your true crime on with the latest gruesome installment of 13 O’Clock, and also treat yourself to a slice of virtual cake because it’s Jenny’s birthday today (September 26th)!

Also, if you have a TRUE creepy story that happened to you or someone you know (it doesn’t have to be paranormal, just scary and true to the best of your knowledge), please email it to me at gravecake@gmail.com and we might feature it on our special Halloween episode!

Download the audio version here or watch the YouTube video here.

Please support us on Patreon! Don’t forget to follow the 13 O’Clock Podcast blog, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. Check out our list channel, 13 O’Clock In Minutes! Songs at the end: “Murder by Numbers” by The Police and “Rosegarden Funeral of Sores” by Bauhaus (John Cale cover).

13 O’Clock Episode 49 – Murder By Witchcraft?

/ Jenny Ashford / Leave a comment

In the English Midlands in the 1940s, there were two very creepy unsolved murders: in one, a woman’s skeleton was found stuffed inside a wych-elm tree, and in the other, an old farmer was murdered in broad daylight by having his throat slashed and his body pinned to the ground by a pitchfork. Neither of the killers was ever caught, and in fact, the identity of the woman found in the wych-elm is still unknown. Eerily, both cases had details that suggested that they could possibly have been occult related. Were these killings part of some weird black magic rite? On this episode, Tom and Jenny discuss two infamous unsolved murders: the case known as Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm, and the Charles Walton Pitchfork Murder. Along the way, we also discuss legends about witchcraft in rural England, as well as the possible Nazi spy connection of the mysterious Bella skeleton. Put on your goat’s head and light a few black candles, because episode 49 of the 13 O’Clock Podcast has just been summoned from the underworld.

Download the audio podcast here, or watch the YouTube version here. Also, don’t forget to follow the 13 O’Clock Podcast blog, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And be sure to check out our shiny new list channel, 13 O’Clock In Minutes!

Song at the end: “Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?” by Gravenhurst.