Episode Sixteen: Dual Dirtbags: Serial Killers Leonard Lake and Charles Ng
Ugh. One serial killer is bad enough, but when two psycho losers team up and begin to realize their sick fantasies of keeping women in a dungeon and killing their friends and neighbors for the hell of it (not to mention shooting babies, for fuck’s sake), then the end result is unspeakable horror and tragedy. On this episode of 13 O’Clock, Tom and Jenny delve into the depraved tale of Leonard Lake and Charles Ng, two murderous creeps whose bizarre friendship resulted in the deaths of at least eleven, but possibly as many as twenty-five, innocent people. Your intrepid hosts have a rambling and possibly error-ridden discussion about this pair of scumbags, during which T & J desperately try to use dark humor as a defense mechanism against the onslaught of monstrosity (with varying results). They then each feel the need to take a nice, long, Silkwood shower. Enjoy?
FILE–Eight victims believed to have been murdered by Charles Ng and his accomplice, Leonard Lake, are shown in these undated file photos. The trial in one of California’s longest and costliest homicide cases started Monday, Oct. 26, 1998, more than 13 years after Charles Ng’s arrest for shoplifting led to his prosecution for masss murder. Ng is charged with 12 murders dating back to 1984 amd 1985. From left to right, top row: Don Guiletti, Kathleen Allen, Michael Carroll, Robin Scott Stapley and bottom row: Randy Johnson, Charles Gunnar, Donald Lake and Paul Cosner. (AP Photo/File)
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.
View all posts by Jenny Ashford