Cheryl Eddy

Which Famous Cold-Case Murder Are You Most Eager to See Solved?

When a murder turns cold, it only enhances the horror of the tragedy—and the intrigue. Cases like the Black Dahlia slaying, the death of JonBenét Ramsey, and the 1922 double homicide known as the Hall-Mills Murder all had suspects, but to this day, nobody has ever been held accountable. Let us know which notorious crime…

Zoo, The New TV Show About Killer Animals, Is Fun, Mindless Fluff

The first episode of the James Patterson adaptation Zoo is entitled “First Blood”—even though this action drama, which imagines what would happen if the animals on earth decided to rebel against their human overlords, is relatively bloodless (it is CBS, after all). That said, it does contain plenty of B-movie thrills! Spoilers follow. We open…

Creepypasta spawned the Slender Man, and now it’s invading TV, thanks to a new horror anthology series on SyFy, Channel Zero. The first season will be based on the internet horror forum-derived “Candle Cove,” a short story about a sinister TV show (meta!); future seasons will focus on other tales.

The Chilling 1948 Kidnapping That Inspired Lolita (But Was Way Scarier)

History remembers her as “the real Lolita,” because young Florence “Sally” Horner’s grim ordeal helped inspire Nabokov’s novel. But the author drew on multiple sources for his famous tale, so it’s not an exact retelling. And Sally’s real-life kidnapping was much worse than the fictional version. Acting on a dare from some of her fifth-grade…

Student Suspected of Murder After “Pocket Dial” Incident Nabbed in China

The suspected killer of Iowa State University student Shao Tong—her boyfriend, University of Iowa student Xiangnan Li—has been apprehended, nearly 10 months after the young woman’s strangled body was found crammed into her car trunk. His capture was complicated because he’d fled to China after her death. Both students were originally from China, and had…

The Unbelievable Case of the Two-Year-Old Who Was Framed For Murder

Imagine enduring 25 years of being told that when you were two, you caused the death of your four-month-old brother. Conversely, imagine being the sort of person low enough to frame a toddler for murder. In 1971, a tragedy and its prolonged aftermath would go on to shape more than one life. Tracy Rhame grew…

This “Bluebeard” Built a Deadly Dungeon and Inspired A Classic Thriller

Serial killer Harry F. Powers did not actually have “LOVE” and “HATE” tattooed on his knuckles like Night of the Hunter’s Rev. Harry Powell. But the inspiration for novelist Davis Grubb’s character, memorably brought to life on the big screen by Robert Mitchum, was still plenty unnerving. They called him “the Bluebeard of Quiet Dell,”…

It’s Only Episode 2, But True Detective Just Dropped a Huge Dose of WTF

True Detective’s first episode ended with an eyeless corpse. In “Night Finds You,” it pulls a last-scene move that’s a zillion times more shocking, and could mean that season two is about to take a dramatic turn way early in the season. Spoilers follow! As the episode begins, Frank and Jordan are in bed in…

The Pursuit of Vengeance Drives Dr. Lecter’s Angrier Victims on Hannibal

We all mourned the news that Hannibal was cancelled by NBC. But while we eagerly await more from Bryan Fuller (who suggested a second life may be in store), we still have several episodes left of what’s been a delicious third season thus far. And last night’s “Aperitivo” did not disappoint. https://gizmodo.com/spoilers-and-rumors-for-civil-war-fantastic-four-and-a-1714054758 We’re still dealing…

Wayward Pines Offers Up More Big Revelations—and Some Agonizing Irony

Wayward Pines took a week off after the 10-ton truth bomb that was episode five. Now that (some of) the characters are in on the town’s massive secret—and all of the audience is up to speed—the show returns to try and keep the momentum going with episode six, “Choices.” And it does! https://gizmodo.com/wayward-pines-reveals-the-utterly-insane-truth-on-a-bom-1710767916 Spoilers follow.…

Ted 2 Is the Most Earnest Movie You Never Wanted to See

The first Ted movie, about a teddy bear toy that comes to life for its boy owner, and causes major trouble when that boy becomes a grown-up, was gleefully dirty and intermittently hilarious. Its sequel takes a new direction, swapping raunch for earnestness. It’s problematic, to say the least. Spoilers follow! Ted 2, from Family…

Vintage Cartoons Recall When Pickpocketing Was All the Criminal Rage 

You can still step outside your door right now and have your pocket picked (or the modern version, having your iPhone snatched right out of your hand while you’re talking on it). But as these 19th century-early 20th century illustrations suggest, pickpockets and muggers used to be the pressing concern of the day. In the…

Why This Texas Nurse Suspected of Killing 40 Babies Might Soon Walk Free

Among the chilling descriptors used to describe Genene Jones during her headline-grabbing 1985 trial were “Baby-Killing Nurse” and “Angel of Death.” Convicted of one infant’s death, she was suspected of causing 40 or more babies to die on her watch. And thanks to a legal quirk, she may soon be free. In the 1980s, the…

The “Death Row Granny” Who Was Both Diabolical Killer and Political Pawn

Yesterday, we got to know Leonarda Cianciulli, who turned her victims into soap and cake. Here’s another in our series on female serial killers: North Carolina’s Velma Barfield, the “Death Row Granny” who poisoned four and maybe more, including her own mother, and was executed in 1984 at the age of 52. https://gizmodo.com/the-superstitious-murderer-who-turned-her-victims-into-1713486930 Despite her…

The 9 Most Awesomely Disturbing Zombie Movie Death Scenes

Zombie movies are, by design, all about death. Zombies kill humans, humans kill zombies, humans become zombies and are killed again, etc. What sets an exceptional zombie movie apart from the brain-munching pack? The gruesome creativity of its death scenes. Here are nine of our favorites. 1. Zombi 2 From the Lucio Fulci masterpiece that…

The Superstitious Murderer Who Turned Her Victims Into Cake And Soap

If you search Leonarda Cianciulli on the website for Rome’s Museo Criminologico, you’ll see that her nickname was “la Saponificatrice di Correggio.” What’s so sinister about a soap maker? Well, because she crafted it out of at least one of her murder victims … and then gifted the bars to her friends. That’s right: victims.…

For $1.4 Million, You Can Buy James Ellroy’s House (Books Not Included)

Here’s the just the place to pen your first/next noir masterpiece: James Ellroy’s Hollywood Hills home. The author of L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia is selling his three-bedroom 1920s abode for just under $1.4 million. Not included: multiple bookshelves filled with his own works. But if you already have a couple million lying around…

A Torrid Affair, an Inept Murder, and a Historic Execution

Sharp-witted writer Damon Runyon dubbed the 1927 killing of Albert Snyder “the dumbbell murder,” but it wasn’t due to the murder weapon; this photo shows what Ruth Snyder and her lover Henry Judd Gray used to end her husband’s life. The moniker came because the killers were, to put it bluntly, stupid. It was a…

Sad news, Hannibal fans: our cannibal won’t be getting a fourth season. Bryan Fuller thanked NBC for indulging the show’s “images that would have shredded the eyeballs of lesser Standards & Practices enforcers.” Indeed. The season two capper was epic, but look for the series finale to be a bloodbath for the ages.

The Enduring, Unsolved Mystery Of The “Deep Freeze Murder”

On December 30, 1957, 17-year-old Ann Noblett was seen getting off the bus that was returning her home from a dancing lesson. She had only a short journey on foot to reach her house, but she never made it. A month later, her body was found … frozen to the core, despite England’s mild winter…