“Most mothers are
instinctive philosophers.”
~ Harriet Beecher Stowe
In 2016, I was planning a trip to Eureka Springs with my mother and wanted us to have a ghostly excursion on the
first day of driving. Zona and her mother’s story seemed like the exact type of
journey a mother and daughter should take on a ghostly vacation. Plus, the cemetery is a little over three hours from my home and right off Interstate 64 in Greenbrier, West Virginia. It seemed like the perfect place to stop, give a wink to our vacation, and pay our respects to the Heaster family.
Mom
and
I visited both the cemetery and the historical marker.We left flowers
for Zona and it appears that others do as well since there were already
flowers placed on her grave. I actually forgot to snap a picture of our
flowers and took pictures before placing them. I'm noting this because
I'm a bit of an artificial-flowers-on-graves snob. :-/ Sorry!
On January 23, 1897, Zona's body
was found lying at the foot of the stairs, stretched out with her feet together
and one hand on her stomach. The local doctor and coroner, George W. Knapp was
summoned and arrived within an hour. Yet, by that time, Shue had already
carried his Zona’s body upstairs to the bedroom. He had washed and dressed her
for burial, something unusual for the time since it was customary for the women
of the community to do this, not the husband. Zona was wearing a high-necked
dress with a stiff collar. Shue had placed a veil over her face and remained by
her side while Knapp examined the body. Each time that Knapp moved closer to
Zona’s body, Shue would begin cradling his wife's head and sobbing. Knapp was
only able to give a brief examination and noted that there were some bruising
on the neck.
Zona's
cause of death was listed as "everlasting faint” which was later changed
to "childbirth". Knapp had been treating Zona for "female
trouble" shortly before her death, but there was no documented pregnancy
before her death.
Shue
kept a vigil at the head of the open coffin which had been laid out in the
Heaster’s house. His behavior was suspicious since he would grieve and them
show great liveliness. Shue wouldn’t allow anyone close to the coffin. He
rolled a sheet up and tucked it by Zona’s head explaining that this would help
her rest. He also tied a large scarf around her neck noting that it had been
Zona’s favorite.
As
Zona’s body was being taken to the cemetery, some noticed that was an odd
looseness to her head.
Zona’s
mother, Mary Jane Heaster, was convinced that her son-in-law had murdered his
wife. Sshe removed the sheet from inside the coffin and when she noticed a
stain and washed it, the water ran red. Mrs. Heaster began to pray.
Zona
was buried in the local cemetery now known as the Soule
Chapel Methodist Cemetery. This wasn’t the easiest place to find. The Find
a Grave website did not have the typical gps locations, nor did it have the
address listed. Mostly when I searched about the story, I was directed to the
historical marker but I’ll get to that in a minute. When I finally found the
directions, this became our excursion on the way to the 1886 Crescent
Hotel. We made our way to the cemetery
by following several narrow, winding roads. One road was one lane and since we
were going straight up a hill, I had to honk to make sure that we didn’t
collide with another vehicle. Interestingly enough, we did not see any other
vehicles on any of the roads heading to the cemetery. It’s that out of the way.
After
her death, Zona appeared to her mother in a dream and stated that Shue was a
cruel man who abused her. He had attacked her and broke her neck. Some legends
note that to prove this the ghost turned its head around until it was facing
backwards.
Mrs.
Heaster went to the prosecutor, John Alfred Preston, and convinced him to
reopen the case of her daughter's death. Preston sent deputies to interview Dr.
Knapp who explained that he had been unable to complete a thorough examination
of the body. The statement was sufficient justification for an autopsy, and
Zona’s body was exhumed and examined on February 22, 1897 in the local one-room
schoolhouse.
The autopsy showed that Zona's neck had indeed been broken. The
report was published on March 9, 1897 and read, "The discovery was made
that the neck was broken and the windpipe mashed. On the throat were the marks
of fingers indicating that she had been choked. The neck was dislocated between
the first and second vertebrae. The ligaments were torn and ruptured. The
windpipe had been crushed at a point in front of the neck." Shue was
arrested and charged with the murder of his wife.
The
trial began in June and Zona’s mother was their main witness. Preston tried to
avoid the ghostly sightings but Shue's lawyer focused on this during
cross-examination. The judge found it difficult to instruct the jury to
disregard the story of the ghost, and many people in the community seemed to
believe it. Consequently, Shue was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life
in prison.
The
state of West Virginia has erected a state historical marker on Route 60, a few
miles away from the cemetery.
The
cemetery is out in the middle of some serious rural country! The graveyard is old and quite uneven. I worried about
my mother walking but she seemed more annoyed by the hot sun beating down on
us and having left her hat in the car.
The grass was maintained but many of the stones were in need of repair,
including Zona’s mother’s gravestone which was broken and propped up. Zona’s
grave is near the middle of the graveyard toward the back. It appears to be a large, newer
marker.
The
story of the Greenbrier Ghost has been adapted to the stage. Jan
Buttram's play Zona (1998) and Cathey
Sawyer and Joe Buttram’s The Greenbrier Ghost (2003).
