Greenbrier Ghost

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Zona Heaster Shue, before 1897

The Greenbrier Ghost is the alleged ghost of a young woman who died in Greenbrier County in the US state of West Virginia in 1897 .

Originally judged as a natural death, a court later ruled on the husband's murder after the victim's mother testified that her daughter's ghost revealed the true cause of death.

background

The future victim Elva Zona Heaster was born in Greenbrier County around 1873, grew up near Richlands and was the mother of an illegitimate child in 1895. In October 1896, Zona made the acquaintance of Edward Stribbling Trout Shue shortly after he had settled in Greenbrier County and found work in a James Crookshank's business. The two fell in love and married, despite objection from Zona's mother, Mary Jane Heaster, who had an aversion to Shue.

On January 23, 1897, a boy Shue had sent to her home on an errand found Zona's body sprawled at the foot of the stairs. About an hour later, the doctor and coroner , George W. Knapp , who had been informed by the boy's mother , arrived. During this time, the husband Zonas, who had meanwhile arrived, had laid his wife's body on the bed upstairs, dressed in a high-necked dress with a stiff collar and covered her face with a veil. This was unusual because traditionally the body washes and burial clothes were done by the women of the community. During the coroner's inquest, Shue sobbed his wife's head and sobbed. When the doctor found bruises on the body's neck, Shue reacted so violently that he stopped the exam and left the house. Initially, the cause of death from Zona was "persistent weakness"; later this was changed to "birth". Almost two weeks before her death she had been treated for "women's complaints", but whether or not she was pregnant is unknown. When Zona's parents were informed of her death shortly afterwards, her mother reportedly told Mary Jane Heaster that "the devil had killed her".

Zonas body was at her parents laid out . On the way there, her husband stayed at the top of the open coffin. During the wake , his demeanor, which went from overwhelming sadness to incredible energy, soon aroused suspicion. He didn't let anyone get close to the coffin, especially while placing a pillow on one side of her head and a rolled sheet on the other so that his wife could "rest more easily". He also tied a large scarf around her neck and said, crying, that it was Zona's favorite scarf.

Apparition

Before the funeral, her mother took the scarf and washed it, because she noticed a strange smell on it. When she dipped the cloth, the water first turned red, then the scarf turned a permanent pink color; a sign for Zona's mother that her daughter had been murdered. For four weeks she prayed in the hope that Zona would return to her and clear up what had happened. According to local legend, Zona's ghost appeared four weeks after the funeral and told her mother about the cruelty of Shue, who killed her in a fit of anger by breaking her neck for not preparing meat for dinner. To prove it, the ghost turned its head until it was pointed back. Allegedly the ghost appeared for four nights, first as a bright light, before gradually taking shape and at the same time filling the room with cold.

Investigations

Mary Jane Heaster then persuaded local prosecutor John Alfred Preston to investigate the cause of her daughter's death. It is not known whether he believed her ghost descriptions or responded to the opinions of numerous locals who suspected Zona was murdered, but he ordered an investigation into which the mourners, among others, were questioned. Preston himself spoke to Dr. Knapp, who stated that he had not done a full examination of the body. An exhumation was then ordered and a commission of inquiry was formed. On February 22, 1897, the autopsy took place in the local school building, despite considerable protests from the husband, who allegedly said he knew he would be arrested but that no one could prove his guilt. The report of the three-hour autopsy published on March 9, 1897 names a broken neck between the first and second cervical vertebrae , torn ligaments , a crushed windpipe and bruises on the neck as signs that the victim had been strangled.

As a result, Shue was jailed in Lewisburg Prison on suspicion of murder. The investigation revealed that Shue had been married twice before. The first marriage was divorced in 1889 because of great cruelty to his wife, Allie Estelline Cutlip, while Shue was in prison for horse theft ; his second wife Lucy Ann Tritt died in 1894 under unknown circumstances eight months after the marriage. The trial began on June 22, 1897, with Mary Jane Heaster as the lead witness. Preston limited the questioning to the facts, avoiding questions of her ghostly sightings. Shue's attorney cross-examined her at length about her daughter's apparition, presumably hoping to belittle her credibility. Although the court ordered the jury to ignore this aspect, many of those present believed the account. On July 11, Shue was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and transferred to the West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville on July 14.

He died of an unknown epidemic on March 13, 1900 and was buried in an unmarked grave in the local cemetery. Mary Jane Heaster died in September 1916. She held on to the account of the appearance of the spirit that was never seen again throughout her life.

Commemoration

The state of West Virginia had a plaque placed near Zona's grave with the text
" Interred in nearby cemetery is Zona Heaster Shue. Her death in 1897 was presumed natural until her spirit appeared to her mother to describe how she was killed by her husband Edward. Autopsy on the exhumed body verified the apparition's account. Edward, found guilty of murder, was sentenced to the state prison. Only known case in which testimony from a ghost helped convict a murderer. "
( Buried in the nearby cemetery is Zona Heaster Shue. Her death in 1897 was taken natural until her mother appeared her ghost to describe how she was killed by her husband Edward. The autopsy of the exhumed body confirmed the ghost's testimony: Edward, guilty of murder , was sentenced to prison. This is the only known case where a ghost testimony helped convict a murderer .)

The story of the Greenbrier Ghost was adapted for two stage plays. Jan Buttram's play Zona was produced by the Greenbrier Valley Theater in 1998. The Greenbrier Ghost , a musical adaptation, was produced by Cathey Sawyer (book and lyrics) and Joe Buttram (music) and performed at the Greenbrier Valley Theater in 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2013.

literature

  • Dennis Dietz: The Greenbrier Ghost and Other Strange Stories . Mountain Memories Books, South Charleston / West Virginia, 1990, ISBN 0-938985-08-6
  • Pat Fitzhugh: Ghostly Cries From Dixie . The Armand Press, Nashville / Tennessee, 2009, ISBN 0-9705156-5-0

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mother-in-law's Vision as Evidence ( en ) In: Baltimore American . S. July 5, 1897. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  2. ^ Greenbrier Valley Theater: Past Productions . Retrieved October 29, 2016