The legend of the Greenbrier Ghost will make you second-guess everything you ever thought about ghosts. You certainly won’t quickly dismiss a ghostly encounter after reading this bizarre tale.
The Greenbrier Ghost: The Ghost Who Solved Her Own Murder
On October of 1896, Elva Zona Heaster met a charming blacksmith named Erasmus Stribbling Trout Shue. The two of them had a whirlwind romance and married soon after meeting. On January 23, 1897, Elva—or Zona as everyone called her—was found dead in the couple’s home. She had died in childbirth, but Zona told another story beyond the grave.
Story has it that Erasmus wouldn’t allow the coroner near Zona’s body. He insisted on preparing her body for burial. He’d dressed her in a high-collared gown, tying the scarf in a large bow around her neck.
Mary Jane Heaster, Zona’s mother, claimed that Zona had come to her in a dream or a vision. One night, Zona appeared at her mother’s bedside and swore Erasmus murdered her. Zona claimed that he had strangled her and broken her neck. Apparently, to prove this to her mother, Zona spun her head 180 degrees.
Mary Jane went to the local prosecutor with the bizarre story. The tale must have moved the prosecutor because he ordered the body to be exhumed, and an autopsy was performed. It was revealed that Zona’s neck had indeed been broken from strangulation.
Like ghost stories? Check out this one of a haunted carousel horse.
During the trial, Mary Jane told jurors about seeing her daughter’s ghost and what she’d said to her. Shue was sentenced to life in prison. A plaque near Zona’s grave reads: “…only known case in which testimony from a ghost helped convict a murderer.”
[…] If you enjoy dark history, check out The Greenbrier Ghost. […]