The Greenbriar Ghost

I would like to christen my blog with what is perhaps one of the most interesting claims of a paranormal entity in the history of the United States. It’s the only case that I’ve found in which the alleged indirect testimony of a spirit led to the conviction of the spirit’s killer. Fortunately, there are even period newspaper articles detailing the circumstances and the trial. These are included in this entry. And now, please join me in our first trip down the rabbit hole.

Elva Zona  Heaster-Shue, or Zona (as she went by) was born in Greenbrier County, West Virginia sometime between 1870 and 1873. Not much is known about her earlier life except that her Mother’s name was Mary Jane Heaster. There are claims of a child out of wedlock, but sufficient evidence is lacking. It’s generally accepted that Zona met a drifter in October of 1896 and that the had a whirlwind romance and were married soon after.  That all ended on January 22, 1897. Her body was found at approximately ten in the morning by a boy that Mr. Shue from the boy’s home  had sent to their home to check if Mrs. Shue needed anything from the store. The boy found her in a rather unnatural position. He quickly left to tell his mother, and then to Mr. Shue.

The doctor arrived after her body had been laid out and attempted to examine her. Mr. Shue stopped the doctor from further examination when the doctor had reached to her neck, which displayed bruising. The body was soon buried. It’s at this point that the story makes a turn for the peculiar.

Mary Jane Heaster started professing claims of visitations by her deceased daughter, Zona, in the weeks following her death. In these, Zona was said to have stated that she did not die of natural causes (as the report showed), but that she was murdered by her husband. Ms. Heaster was eventually able to convince the doctor that Zona should be further examined. This autopsy showed Zona to have suffered a broken neck, damaged ligaments, and a crushed trachea. The rest of her body was in an unremarkable condition. Zona was indeed murdered.

Mr. Erasmus Shue was brought up on murder charges. Despite his not guilty plea and the lack of witnesses, he was found guilty and sentenced to life due in no small part to the testimony of her mother (that very interesting testimony is found within the included links) and his behavior throughout the trial.

I highly recommend that you read the articles in the following links, especially the ones in the first link. They include the court testimony from her mother regarding her visions and are a great read.

Thank you for taking the time to read this piece. I hope to have given you some entertainment with education. This being my first entry, my hope is to improve as time and progress allows. I invite you to come back often as I will do my best to provide more articles, videos, opinions, and posts as often as possible.

http://www.wvculture.org/history/crime/shuearticles.html

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=o9tdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=t14NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1068,3035905&dq=shue&hl=en