The Greenbrier Ghost

In 1897, Elva Zona Shue was found dead in her Greenbrier County, West Virginia, home. The initial report ruled the cause of death as an unfortunate happening but nothing sinister.

However, four weeks after her death, Zona appeared to her mother in a series of dreams and told a story of murder.

Dreaming of Ghosts

For many, dreaming of a family member rotating their head completely around might be a puzzling, if not terrifying experience. In 1897, Mary Jane Heaster had such an experience. Four weeks after burying her recently deceased daughter Zona, Mary had some quite bizarre dreams that turned out to be much, much, more. Zona appeared to her mother and told that her death was in fact murder and that the killer was her husband Erasmus (Edward) Stribbling Trout Shue. The reason for the killing… that she had not cooked him any meat for dinner. He had struck out in a rage and broken her neck. It was at this point that the ghost of Zona turned her head completely around on her shoulders, in order to illustrate this point. Mary took this information to the local prosecutor who no doubt didn’t buy the story. but she was able to convince him to exhume her daughters body and perform a thorough autopsy. It was here, with the potential killer husband present, that it was discovered that Zona did indeed have a broken neck. Murder had been discovered… revealed in a dream by the ghost of the victim.

A Short Lived Marriage

Elva ‘Zone’ Heaster

Elva ‘Zona’ Heaster had been born in Greenbrier County in 1873. Her early life was not too kind to her, and when she gave birth to a child out of wedlock in 1895, it was almost certain she would never be able to marry – birth out of wedlock back then was seen to show a woman with loose morals, someone not very desirable. However, she met a man named Edward Stribbling Trout Shue who had moved into the county to begin life anew. Both looking for a new start and a brighter future, fate would have them meet and fall in love soon thereafter. It was on October 20, 1896 that the pair were married, though against the wishes of Zona’s mother Mary. The couple lived quite peacefully for the time they were to remain together. Well so it seemed from the outside. On January 23, 1897, barely three months after their marriage, the body of Zona Heaster Shue was discovered at her home by a young boy running errands. She was lying on the ground, at the foot of the staircase.

House where Edward and Zona lived

The local doctor was sent for, but by the time he had arrived, Zona’s body had been moved by her husband, who placed her upstairs, on the bed and dressed her in a high necked dress, ready for her eternity. The doctor attempted an examination but was interrupted constantly by a sobbing Edward Shue, who was cradling his wife’s head and crying. Any attempt to get close to Zona’s head for examination saw Shue react violently towards the doctor, who soon left. The cause of death was listed as ‘everlasting faint’ and later changed to ‘childbirth’, though it is not known whether Zona was in fact pregnant. During the funeral, Edward Shue never strayed far from the head of his wife’s open coffin. No one was able to get close to the coffin, and later into the service he tied a scarf around his deceased wife’s neck.

Murder Uncovered

Mary Heaster

Mary Heaster, Zona’s mother, was always from the outset convinced that Edward Shue had murdered her daughter, but could do nothing about it. The ‘examination’ had been carried out and the body was buried. It was not until her daughter visited her in her dreams that she thought she had something to go on. When she was able to convince the county prosecutor to reopen the case, she new Edward would be found guilty. The prosecutor saw many friends and neighbours of the Shues interviewed, and many were of the opinion that Zona had likely been murdered. When the exhumation was set to take place, Edward was told he would have to be present as he was the next of kin to the deceased. It was then that he stated he knew he was going to be arrested. A new examination was carried out, and the broken neck was discovered. Zona’s windpipe had been broken and finger marks were found on the neck. Zona had been savagely strangled to the point that the vertebrae were dislocated and the ligaments torn. Edward Stribbling Trout Shue was arrested on the spot for his wife’s murder.

Info plate regarding this case

During the trial it was discovered that Shue had been married twice before – his first marriage ending in divorce due to great cruelty towards his wife – the second marriage ended after his second wife died under mysterious circumstances (different sources state different ways – poisoning, falling on ice, strangled, a brick dropped on her head…) It also came to light that Shue had plans to marry seven women over his lifetime. Edward Shue was found guilty of murder on July 11, 1897, and sentenced to life imprisonment (although most jurors were keen on the death penalty, it was not unanimous). He nearly did not make it that far after a lynch mob formed in order to see greater justice carried out. However they were dispersed, and Shue was jailed at West Virginia State Prison where he died three years later, one of many who died during an undiagnosed epidemic of deaths.

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