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Greenbrier Ghost
The only case in U.S. history where ghost testimony helped convict a murderer. Zona Heaster Shue appeared to her mother and described how her husband broke her neck. His conviction proved the ghost was right.
1897
Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States
1+ witnesses
The Greenbrier Ghost case is unique in American legal history.
The Death
According to court records:
On January 23, 1897:
- Zona Heaster Shue found dead
- Husband Edward present
- Doctor ruled “everlasting faint”
- Then “childbirth complications”
- Something was wrong
The Mother’s Visions
Mary Jane Heaster prayed:
- For knowledge of death
- Zona appeared to her
- Four nights in succession
- Described her murder
- Shue broke her neck
The Exhumation
Based on the vision:
- Mother insisted on autopsy
- Body exhumed
- Neck was broken
- Murder confirmed
- Ghost was right
The Trial
In court:
- Mother testified about ghost
- Prosecution allowed it
- Jury convicted Shue
- Life in prison
- Died there 1900
Legal Significance
The only case:
- Ghost testimony in U.S. court
- Led to conviction
- Proven accurate
- Historical precedent
- Famous ever since