Transcript

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Welcome to this special edition of the Mystery Kids podcast. Today, we're going to be talking about a ghost that helps solve its own murder. 

 

Thanks for being here. We're so grateful to have you and I'm so so excited. So Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because we can talk about all things mysterious and spooky and ohh, it's just the best day. So today we are going to dive into this incredible episode. But first thing first we need to say thank you to our newest patron member. Our newest patron member is named Margot and I also want to wish her. A happy happy birthday this month. Thank you so much for being a Patreon and supporting this podcast and supporting our little family. Make sure to become a Patreon if you want more bonus content. For just $5 a month, you get an episode about animals, and then you get another bonus episode. And this month we talked about bats as our animal, and I did an episode all about fairies. So there's a really fun episode. Go check that out. If you would love some new episodes. One of the neatest parts about this story today about the Greenbrier Ghost is because it is actually based on a true story. So I would love for you to tell me in the comments on Instagram or in the comments on Patreon if you think this is actually what happened in this story because it's a little bit crazy.

 

 So the Greenbrier Ghost is a true ghost story. It's about this beautiful young woman who was murdered in 1897 in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, they say her ghost returned from the grave to name her killer. The story is known as the Greenbrier Ghost. There was a young woman named Elva Zona Shue who lived in Greenberg County in West Virginia. Now she was married to a man named Edward who worked as a blacksmith and they seemed extremely happy together. But Zona's mother never really liked Edward Shue and warned her daughter not to trust him. I don't really believe he's actually a nice man. So one day they've only been married for about 3 months. Edwards sent a young little boy named. Andy Jones to his house for an errand. It's like, hey, can you head over to my house to grab this for my wife? And he's supposed to ask Zona if there was anything that she needed from the store. Instead, the boy actually found Sonia's body. She was lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes were wide open, and she was staring right at him. She was dead. 

 

The boy ran home to tell his mother, and she raised the alarm. Edward went home and carried his wife's body up to the bedroom and dressed her in her Sunday best, making her look absolutely beautiful now. When the coroner arrived an hour later, he found the dead woman was wearing this stiff collared dress that covered her neck and she actually had a veil over the top of her face. Edward was acting a little strange. He was actually cradling his wife's head and he was just sobbing hysterically. I mean, I can't imagine how I would act if my husband passed away, but she was really upset. Now when the corner tried to take a closer look to figure out what happened, Edward actually reacted so violently that the coroner gave up and left. He actually listed her cause of death being due to childbirth. The strangest thing about all of this? Zona had never been pregnant, so how did she die? From childbirth, supposedly? 

 

Now when Zona's mother found out about her daughter being dead, said” Oh my goodness, the devil has killed her,” meaning Edward, because she did not like Edward from the beginning. Now, during the funeral, Zona's mother took out a sheet from inside the coffin and brought it home. When she washed it in the basin, the water turned red as blood, and the old woman believed that this was a sign that Zona had been murdered. So every night for the next 4 weeks, Zona's mother prayed that the truth about her daughter's death would be revealed. What really happened? She really wanted to know and she actually didn't have to wait very long. One night, the ghost of Zona appeared to her mother and told her exactly how she had died. She said Edward was cruel and abusive to her. One day he went too far and she told him that she had no meat for his dinner and Edward flew into this rage. He attacked his wife and he actually. Ended up breaking her neck. When she said this, the ghost slowly turned her head completely at the neck. Now the next morning, Zona's mother went to the police and told them what she had seen. 

Although they were extremely skeptical, they dug up Sonia's body again and performed a proper autopsy, since before the coroner really couldn't check the body because Edward was so upset. So they got the body back so they could figure out what really happened. Now when he heard the news, Edward began to get really nervous and he was very stressed out. He wandered around the town saying they will not be able to prove I did it, which is a total cue that you probably did it now. The autopsy revealed that Zona's neck had been broken and she had been strangled to death, which means she had been choked. On her throat were the marks of fingers. Now Edward Shue was arrested and charged with murder when the police investigated his background. They actually found some things that were really suspicious. Edward had a very violent temper and his first wife, he had been really, really mean to. His second wife had actually mysteriously died as well. So you've been really mean to his first wife. His second wife mysteriously died and now his third wife has mysteriously died. I would say this is not looking good for Edward as he sat in his jail cell. Edward was sure he would not be convinced of Zona's murder. He told everyone that would listen that there was no evidence against him. Now, during the trial, Sonia's mother was called to testify on stand. She told the jury about how Zona's ghost had appeared to her and revealed the name of a murderer. Nobody knows if the jury took her story seriously, but they did come back with a guilty verdict And Edward was actually sentenced to life in prison. He died actually a few years later in the Moundsville penitentiary. So there's actually this sign on the highway near Greenbrier and it says Greenbrier Ghost endured. In the nearby cemetery is a Zona Heister Shue. Her death in 1897 was presumed natural until her spirit appeared to her mother and described how she was killed by her husband Edward. Autopsy on exhumed body verified the apparitions account. Edward, found guilty of murder, was sentenced to the state prison. 

This is the only known case which testimony from a ghost helped convict a murderer. The Greenbrier Ghost is such an interesting story because this is truly the only time in U.S. history that a ghost helped convict a murderer of their death. So now I really want you to think, was the mother just so sure? Just so sure? That he had done something to her and maybe she talked at the corner and he's like, well, I couldn't really see her neck or really her face and kind of made it an assumption. I bet this is what happened and she just wanted the truth so bad, right? I couldn't imagine as a mother losing a child that you just want that truth so badly. So was this something that she imagined and she hoped for or truly did this spirit, this apparition, come to her and say? This is what happened to me. He shouldn't get away with it, which if you think about it, he probably ended up killing his second wife too. So I want to know, what do you think? Do you think this is a true story, that there was a true ghost that came? Or do you think that she just really wanted him to be convicted and this story helped to kind of prove her case? Let me know on Instagram or on Patreon. I hope you have a very, very happy Halloween. Don't forget to comment with your dressing up As for Halloween or tag us on Instagram at the Mystery Kids podcast. We're so grateful to you and we'll see you next time on the Mystery Kids podcast.