Episode Ninety-Two: Spring-Heeled Jack, Mad Gasser, and Devil’s Footprints
Victorian London is terrorized by a diabolical, high-jumping figure with metal claws and eyes of flame. A town in Illinois falls prey to a phantom gasser in the mid-1940s. And an estuary in Devon, England plays host to a very long and mysterious trail of hoofprints that might have been left by Satan himself. On this fun, folkloric episode, Tom and Jenny are discussing three weird cases of possibly paranormal origin: the legend of Spring-Heeled Jack, the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, and the Devil’s Footprints. In our news segment, we’re also giving an update on our old pal the Angry Gay Pope, whose anti-Scientology channel has been the subject of a YouTube ban, and we’re discussing the recent death of renowned parapsychologist Guy Lyon Playfair, famous for his extensive work on the Enfield Poltergeist case. Settle in for a creepy rundown of urban legends, mass hysteria, and more on episode 92.
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13 O’Clock is hosted by Jenny Ashford & Tom Ross. Channel art and audio & video editing by Jenny Ashford. Music & sound effects courtesy of freesound.org users jamespotterboy, corsica-s, enjoypa, capturedlv, luffy, kiddpark, and justkiddink. Video clips courtesy of Videezy.
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