Episode 352 LIVE: Brenda Spencer – The “I Don’t Like Mondays” Shooting

School shootings are depressingly common nowadays, but back in 1979, they were practically unheard of. And though many people may not be aware of it, the first “modern” type of school shooting to take place in the United States was perpetrated by a slight, red-haired, sixteen-year-old girl named Brenda Spencer, who decided on one January morning to open fire on Cleveland Elementary School across the street from her house, killing two and wounding nine others. Famously, when asked for her reasons for committing such a horrible crime, she apparently answered, “I don’t like Mondays. This livens up the day.” This callous phrase would become immortalized by the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats, whose chart-topping song “I Don’t Like Mondays” was inspired by the heinous rampage of Brenda Spencer. Join Tom and Jenny as we delve into more true crime on a bleak and baffling episode 352.

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Published by Jenny Ashford

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