Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

The Greenbrier Ghost: The Murder of Zona Heaster Shue

Episode Summary

This week, we tell the 1897 story of Elva Zona Heaster Shue, known as Zona, whose sudden death in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, was initially treated as natural causes. After Zona’s mother said her daughter appeared to her and described what happened, an exhumation revealed a broken neck, and Zona’s husband went to trial for her murder. Since so many of you enjoyed Black Hope Cemetery, we are spending Thursdays for the rest of October on historical cases with a little mystery and a spooky season feel. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteriespodcast Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Sources: https://archive.wvculture.org/history/crime/shuearticles.html https://archive.wvculture.org/history/crime/crimeandpunishment.html https://archive.wvculture.org/history/notewv/ghost.html https://archive.wvculture.org/history/notewv/ghost1.html https://archive.wvculture.org/vrr/va_mcsearch.aspx https://archive.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcsearch.aspx https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/entries/2107 https://wvdn.com/14205/ https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=50356 https://greenbrierwv.com/editorials/the-greenbrier-ghost https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2018/01/greenbrier-ghost.html https://appalachianhistorian.org/the-greenbrier-ghost-what-the-records-really-show/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/10/31/halloween-ghost-story-time-an-apparition-helped-convict-murderer/ https://blueridgetruecrime.com/crime/the-greenbrier-ghost-did-an-australian-ghost-story-solve-a-west-virginia-murder/ https://wvmetronews.com/2026/07/21/the-greenbrier-ghost-is-an-odd-west-virginia-tale/ https://unsolvedfiles.com/greenbrier-ghost-file-complete-dossier/

Episode Notes

This week, we tell the 1897 story of Elva Zona Heaster Shue, known as Zona, whose sudden death in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, was initially treated as natural causes. After Zona’s mother said her daughter appeared to her and described what happened, an exhumation revealed a broken neck, and Zona’s husband went to trial for her murder.

Since so many of you enjoyed Black Hope Cemetery, we are spending Thursdays for the rest of October on historical cases with a little mystery and a spooky season feel.


New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday!

Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries

Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteriespodcast

Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com


Sources:

  1. https://archive.wvculture.org/history/crime/shuearticles.html

  2. https://archive.wvculture.org/history/crime/crimeandpunishment.html

  3. https://archive.wvculture.org/history/notewv/ghost.html

  4. https://archive.wvculture.org/history/notewv/ghost1.html

  5. https://archive.wvculture.org/vrr/va_mcsearch.aspx

  6. https://archive.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcsearch.aspx

  7. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/entries/2107

  8. https://wvdn.com/14205/

  9. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=50356

  10. https://greenbrierwv.com/editorials/the-greenbrier-ghost

  11. https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2018/01/greenbrier-ghost.html

  12. https://appalachianhistorian.org/the-greenbrier-ghost-what-the-records-really-show/

  13. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/10/31/halloween-ghost-story-time-an-apparition-helped-convict-murderer/

  14. https://blueridgetruecrime.com/crime/the-greenbrier-ghost-did-an-australian-ghost-story-solve-a-west-virginia-murder/

  15. https://wvmetronews.com/2026/07/21/the-greenbrier-ghost-is-an-odd-west-virginia-tale/

  16. https://unsolvedfiles.com/greenbrier-ghost-file-complete-dossier/