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WEBVTT
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They never learn to die Names buried in the silence
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Still calling from the night Down a road where
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the cold wind moans Past the places nobody goes
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Every secret leaves a mark Every shadow knows
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the dark The evidence fades The questions remain
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and somewhere in the dark The story is still
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calling your name Monstrous Every shadow has
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a name. This is Monstrous. Monstrous covers true
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crime, violence, and other unsettling subject
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matter. Listener discretion is advised. Hey y
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'all, I'm Carrie. I'm Momo. And welcome back.
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is another spooky bonus. You get used to it living
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with her. Okay, so for this one, we're going
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to head into the mountains of West Virginia for
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a story that has survived for more than a century.
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It's a story about a newlywed, a suspicious husband,
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a mother who refused to accept an easy explanation,
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a grave that had to be opened, and depending
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on what you believe, a woman who came back from
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the dead to name her own killer. This is the
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story of Elva Zona Hester Sue. Most people simply
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called her Zona. So her husband was Edward Sterbling
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Sue, though he was widely known by the nickname
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of Trout. Nothing like having the nickname of
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Fish. And I feel like that says a lot about who
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he was. And according to one of America's most
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famous ghost legends, Zona did not remain silent
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after she died. In fact, she came back and she
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appeared to her mother. She told her that Trout
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had murdered her. And when authorities finally
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looked again, they found evidence that something
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violent had in fact happened to her. This is
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the story of the Greenbrier Ghost. This one takes
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us to Greenbrier County, West Virginia in the
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winter of 1897. At that time, Greenbrier County
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was rural, close -knit and shaped by mountain
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roads, farms, churches. small communities, and
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families who often knew more about their neighbors
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than their neighbors realized. In a place like
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this, a sudden death does not stay private for
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long. People talked, they watched, they noticed
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who was grieving, they noticed who was avoiding
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questions, and they noticed when something did
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not feel quite right. Zona Hester, I think that's
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how you say it. I could be mispronouncing it.
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I'm sorry if I am. Had already experienced hardship
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before she married Edward Shue. Her first marriage
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had ended badly. and she'd returned home to live
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with her mother, Mary Jane Hester. She had also
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given birth to a son in November of 1895 before
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her marriage to Trout, who is Edward. Okay, we're
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going to go back and forth between those two
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names. I'm sorry. Now, later, Zona had met Trout.
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Some versions of this story describe him as a
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stranger who drifted into Greenbrier County from
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somewhere else. But the truth is a little more
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complicated than that. His family did, in fact,
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have ties to the region, including a homestead
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near Droop Mountain along the border of Greenbrier
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and Pocahontas counties. He had lived and married
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locally before, and he was not simply an unknown
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man who appeared out of nowhere. But after Zona's
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death, people began looking closely at his past.
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So Trout had been married twice before he married
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Zona. His first marriage to Allie E. Cutlip ended
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in divorce. His second wife, Lucy Ann Tritt,
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died suddenly in 1895. There's no confirmed record
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explaining exactly how Lucy Ann died, and there's
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no proof that Trout had actually harmed her.
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However, after Zona's death, rumors spread that
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he might have also been responsible, or that
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he might have been responsible. So it is important
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to say this clearly. Rumors are not evidence.
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Lucy Ann's death was never legally connected
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to Trout's shoe. Still, people remembered it.
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and it shaped the way that many in the community
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looked at him after Zona's
Load full transcript
death became suspicious.
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One part of Trout's past that is documented is
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that he had been convicted of stealing a horse
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and had served time in prison. He was the horse
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thief? Yep. He would later admit that during
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his own murder trial. So on October 21st, 1896,
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Zona and Trout were married. Their marriage would
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last a little over three months. Then... Zona
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was dead. Now, the exact date of her death is
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unclear, but her official death record lists
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January 23rd, 1897. Now, some contemporary newspaper
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accounts say that she had actually died on January
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24th, but in the official records, it's the 23rd.
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So it just kind of depends on the record and
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which one you read, really. So Zona died either
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on a Saturday or a Sunday in late January 1897.
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So that might sound like a small difference,
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but it tells us something important. From the
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beginning, the official story of Zona's death
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was confused, incomplete, and inconsistent. Now,
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on the day that Zona was found, a young black
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neighbor named Anderson Jones, usually called
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Andy, was sent to the Shue home. Accounts say
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that Trout had asked Andy more than once to stop
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by the house. In some versions, Andy was supposed
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to collect eggs. In others, he had been told
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to see whether Mrs. Shue needed anything. Now,
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when Andy arrived, the house was quiet, a little
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too quiet. He called out for Zona, but there
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was no answer. In a later retelling of the case,
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Andy described seeing something else before he
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had found her. A trail of blood that appeared
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to lead from the steps and across the house toward
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the room where Zona was found lying. That detail
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does not appear consistently across all surviving
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accounts. So can't really count it as a certain
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detail, but it is in there. Now, according to
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the version attributed to Andy, it was the first
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sign that something inside the shoe home was
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terribly wrong. So he went inside looking for
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Zona. and he found her. Now, most accounts place
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her body at the bottom of the stairs. She was
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motionless, and she was dead. In the days and
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years to come, people would question whether
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the position of her body had been staged. Andy
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then ran from the house, and he told his mother,
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Martha Jones, and the word spread quickly. People
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came to the shoe home, and Trout's shoe was there.
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Witnesses later described him as deeply emotional,
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but strange in the way that he acted around Zona's
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body. He reportedly held her head close to him.
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He did not want others to touch her. He made
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it difficult for people to get near her. And
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when the doctor arrived, Trout's behavior reportedly
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made it harder for a proper examination to take
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place. Okay, now to play devil's advocate here,
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there's two things. He could have either been
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distraught because it's his wife. You know what
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I mean? Yes. He could be holding her just like
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in emotional distress, like a lot of people would.
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Or he could be trying to keep the onlookers.
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Looking too close. Looking too close and seeing
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something suspicious. It could be either one.
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So we got to account for both. Now, Dr. George
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Knapp was called to the home. But by the time
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he arrived, Trout had already changed Zona's
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clothes. Let you ponder on that for a minute.
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Kind of hard to think of a positive side of that
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one. The man was weird. Now, later accounts said
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that he had dressed her in a high -collared garment
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and placed cloth around her neck. He reportedly
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objected when Dr. Knapp attempted to examine
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Zona's throat and neck. Some retellings say that
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Dr. Knapp had been treating Zona for an illness
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in the weeks before her death, but there are
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no surviving medical records that have been found
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to confirm that without a doubt. Now, this may
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explain why illness was initially considered
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to be her cause of death, or it may just be another
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detail that grew as the story was passed down.
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What is clear, though, is that the examination
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was incomplete. The cause of death had been reported
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differently in different versions of the story.
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Some accounts say that Dr. Knapp believed Zona
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died of heart disease, while others say that
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he used the phrase, quote, everlasting faint,
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which was an old -fashioned term for sudden and
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unexplained collapse. But the official Greenbrier
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County death record lists another cause, childbirth,
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which is odd, because if she died in childbirth,
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where's the child? What's that look for? I'm
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just listening. Now, this explanation does not
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fit in the known timeline because Zona had given
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birth to her son, the only child that we're aware
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of, in November of 1895, nearly an entire year
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before she ever married Trout. The death record
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didn't even clearly list her name. It identified
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her only as Mrs. Shue. It also did not contain
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Dr. Knapp's signature or his medical note. So
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before anyone ever spoke of a ghost, the official
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account of Zona's death was already deeply flawed.
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A woman had been found dead. Her husband had
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reportedly interfered with the examination. Her
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neck had not been properly inspected. And the
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death record offered an explanation that didn't
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make any sense. But still, nobody officially
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called it murder. So Zona was buried. Zona's
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funeral did not ease Mary Jane Hester's fears.
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In fact, it made them worse. So like I said before,
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Mary Jane was Zona's mother. She had some concerns
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about Trout. And she apparently had some doubts
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about their marriage. And after watching him
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at the funeral, she began to believe that something
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terrible had happened to her daughter. According
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to later accounts, Trout would not allow people
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to get too close to Zona's head or neck during
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the viewing. He had reportedly placed a pillow
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inside the coffin. He covered Zona's face with
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a veil. And, uh, did that? He kept a scarf or
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some kind of cloth around her neck, and he stayed
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very close to her body as though he was guarding
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her. Some people later said that Zona's neck
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looked unnaturally loose or even wobbly, as though
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it needed to be supported. Others remembered
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a bruise appearing across her cheek. These details
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were repeated after Trout became a suspect, so
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they need to be treated with caution as we talk
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about this. And they also help explain why Mary
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Jane and others around her felt that something
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about Zona's death had been missed. Mary Jane
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did not believe that her daughter had died naturally.
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And according to Mary Jane, Zona came to her.
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Mary later said that Zona appeared to her at
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night, not once, not as a passing shadow, and
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not as a dream that she would forget by morning.
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Mary Jane claimed that Zona visited her on four
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consecutive nights. She said her daughter appeared
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in her bedroom and that she spoke to her. She
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said that Zona told her she had been murdered.
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According to Mary Jane's account, Trout became
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angry because Zona had not prepared meat for
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supper. An argument began. That argument became
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violent and Trout attacked her. Mary Jane said
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that Zona told her that Trout had broke her neck.
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The most famous part of the legend is what comes
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next. Mary Jane said Zona's spirit turned her
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head completely around, demonstrating the injury
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to her mother. This is one of the most chilling
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images in Appalachian ghost lore. A grieving
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mother sits awake in her bedroom. Her dead daughter
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appears, and her ghost tells her that the man
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who should have loved her is the man that killed
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her. Mary Jane said Zona told her more than just
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how she died. She claimed her daughter described
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the shoe home and the land around it in detail,
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even though Mary Jane had never visited the property
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before. Zona also allegedly directed Mary Jane
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to search specific places, including an area
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near a fence and rocky section of land, as well
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as behind a loose plank in the cellar. and a
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search was reportedly made, but nothing was found.
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Now, that does not prove Mary Jane's story was
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false, but it is important to remember that even
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within this ghost story, not every alleged clue
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led to physical evidence. And when the defense
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later suggested that Mary Jane had only dreamed
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about Zona, she rejected this completely. She
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said that she had been wide awake, that she had
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prayed for Zona to return and tell her what happened.
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And when she was pressured to call the four visits
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dreams, she reportedly answered, quote, If I'm
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going to say that, I am going to lie. There is
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no way to prove that a ghost did appear in Mary
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Jane's bedroom. There's no scientific test for
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visitation, no recording, no photograph, and
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no independent witness standing in that room.
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There's only Mary Jane's story, but she believed
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it, and she acted on it. She went to local prosecutor
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John Alfred Preston. She told him that Zona had
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appeared to her, and she said Zona told her Trout
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killed her, and she begged the authorities. to
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look again. A ghost story alone could not convict
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someone, but Mary Jane's concerns existed alongside
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some other troubling facts, like the fact that
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the examination was incomplete, the death record
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was contradictory, witnesses had concerns about
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Trout's behavior around Zona's body, and Mary
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Jane's determination helped trigger renewed attention
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to this case, and so authorities agreed to exhume
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Zona's body. On February 22nd, 1897, Zona's body
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was removed from her grave. Her remains were
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taken to a local schoolhouse. Of all fucking
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places. Well, back then, they didn't really have
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--> 00:13:48.490
morgues, honey. You know what I mean? Of all
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places, you could pick a school. It's just like,
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I love it. I love it so much. That would be awesome.
00:13:53.629 --> 00:13:55.610
What did you find on your desk today? Oh, I found
00:13:55.610 --> 00:14:01.549
a femur. That's great. Dr. Knapp, alongside other
00:14:01.549 --> 00:14:03.669
doctors, conducted a post -mortem examination.
00:14:04.110 --> 00:14:06.549
And this time, the examination was thorough.
00:14:07.950 --> 00:14:11.210
and no one was there to keep them away from Zona's
00:14:11.210 --> 00:14:14.029
neck. This time around, they found evidence of
00:14:14.029 --> 00:14:16.570
violence. Her neck was probably broken. Zona's
00:14:16.570 --> 00:14:20.009
neck was in fact either broken or dislocated.
00:14:20.850 --> 00:14:24.470
Ow. Her windpipe was crushed, and reports described
00:14:24.470 --> 00:14:26.730
serious damage to the ligaments in her neck.
00:14:26.909 --> 00:14:29.070
Some accounts described an injury involving the
00:14:29.070 --> 00:14:32.490
first and second cervical vertebrae high inside
00:14:32.490 --> 00:14:34.710
her neck. Other descriptions indicated marks
00:14:34.710 --> 00:14:36.990
believed to be consistent with strangulation.
00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:43.320
Her having those damaged ligaments and it being
00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:45.720
broken and her windpipe crushed, that would have
00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:49.480
given her ghost the ability to completely turn
00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:51.320
her neck around because there's no ligaments
00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:54.179
holding it in place. Ow. And Zona's ghost told
00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:57.620
her mother that her neck had been broken. Isn't
00:14:57.620 --> 00:15:00.000
that wild? Ow. What do you think? Anything's
00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:02.139
possible. You think it's mother's intuition or
00:15:02.139 --> 00:15:04.820
Zona's ghost really did come back to her? I believe
00:15:04.820 --> 00:15:08.149
the ghost did come back. is a wild isn't it the
00:15:08.149 --> 00:15:10.129
post -mortem findings strongly supported the
00:15:10.129 --> 00:15:13.049
conclusion that zona had died violently but it
00:15:13.049 --> 00:15:15.590
is important to be precise the autopsy supported
00:15:15.590 --> 00:15:18.190
the core accusation that zona had in fact been
00:15:18.190 --> 00:15:21.350
murdered it did not completely verify every day
00:15:21.350 --> 00:15:24.190
every detail of the ghost story exactly as later
00:15:24.190 --> 00:15:27.769
retellings told it but it did back up the ghosts
00:15:27.769 --> 00:15:30.250
saying she was killed the reported medical findings
00:15:30.250 --> 00:15:32.370
were more specific and more complicated than
00:15:32.370 --> 00:15:35.000
the legend alone a damaged neck Torn ligaments,
00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:37.379
a crushed windpipe, and signs consistent with
00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:39.899
strangulation. Whatever happened to Zona, it
00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:42.620
was not an everlasting thing. It was not an ordinary
00:15:42.620 --> 00:15:45.759
natural death. And it was definitely not childbirth.
00:15:45.940 --> 00:15:48.220
After this autopsy, the case changed completely.
00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:51.399
Edward Trout Shue was arrested. Zona's death
00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:53.960
was now being treated as a murder. And the story
00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:56.179
of the Greenbrier ghost had moved from a grieving
00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:58.899
mother's bedroom into the criminal justice system.
00:15:59.309 --> 00:16:00.929
Now, while trial waited in the Greenbrier County
00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:03.690
Jail for a trial, a newspaper report in May of
00:16:03.690 --> 00:16:06.230
1897 claimed that he had threatened suicide.
00:16:06.610 --> 00:16:09.149
Now, whether that was a genuine attempt, a threat,
00:16:09.250 --> 00:16:11.769
or simply a jailhouse rumor, that's unclear.
00:16:11.950 --> 00:16:14.750
But it did add another layer of drama to an already
00:16:14.750 --> 00:16:17.129
sensational case. Now, the murder trial began
00:16:17.129 --> 00:16:20.129
in Greenbrier County in June of 1897. The case
00:16:20.129 --> 00:16:22.029
was heard in Greenbrier County Circuit Court
00:16:22.029 --> 00:16:25.750
before Judge J .M. McWhorter. Prosecuting attorney
00:16:25.750 --> 00:16:28.350
John Alford Preston led this state's case, assisted
00:16:28.350 --> 00:16:31.149
by Henry Gilmer. Child was defended by Dr. William
00:16:31.149 --> 00:16:34.149
Rucker and James P .D. Gardner. Gardner was later
00:16:34.149 --> 00:16:36.450
reported to have been the first black lawyer
00:16:36.450 --> 00:16:39.370
to practice in Greenbrier County Court. How cool
00:16:39.370 --> 00:16:42.529
is that? That is cool. The trial drew major attention,
00:16:42.710 --> 00:16:46.529
as you could only imagine. A newlywed had died
00:16:46.529 --> 00:16:48.929
suddenly. Her death had first been treated as
00:16:48.929 --> 00:16:51.710
natural. Her body later examined. Doctors found
00:16:51.710 --> 00:16:53.870
fatal neck injuries, and the victim's mother
00:16:53.870 --> 00:16:56.549
said that the victim herself had returned from
00:16:56.549 --> 00:16:59.370
the grave to identify her killer. That is the
00:16:59.370 --> 00:17:02.070
part that people remember. Right. But here's
00:17:02.070 --> 00:17:04.630
the important distinction. Zona didn't testify
00:17:04.630 --> 00:17:06.970
in court. A ghost didn't appear on the witness
00:17:06.970 --> 00:17:12.230
stand. What? That's just funny. The way it was
00:17:12.230 --> 00:17:15.670
said. The court did not formally accept paranormal
00:17:15.670 --> 00:17:17.789
evidence as proof that the dead could speak.
00:17:18.089 --> 00:17:20.890
Instead, Mary Jane testified about what she said
00:17:20.890 --> 00:17:23.170
she experienced. She told the court about her
00:17:23.170 --> 00:17:25.490
daughter's appearance. She said Zona told her
00:17:25.490 --> 00:17:27.990
that Trout had broke her neck. The defense questioned
00:17:27.990 --> 00:17:30.349
her about those visions, likely hoping that the
00:17:30.349 --> 00:17:32.710
jury would see her as a mother who was overcome
00:17:32.710 --> 00:17:35.849
by grief, sucked into superstition, or even just
00:17:35.849 --> 00:17:39.329
drugged down by emotion. But Mary Jane didn't
00:17:39.329 --> 00:17:41.710
back down. She said she'd been wide awake. She
00:17:41.710 --> 00:17:44.450
said the visits had been real. And she said that
00:17:44.450 --> 00:17:47.019
her daughter had told her the truth. The ghost
00:17:47.019 --> 00:17:49.500
story made this trial unforgettable, but the
00:17:49.500 --> 00:17:52.640
prosecution's case didn't rest on a ghost. The
00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:55.160
evidence against Trout was circumstantial. It
00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:57.599
included the suspicious and inconsistent handling
00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:00.000
of Zona's death, the incomplete first examination,
00:18:00.460 --> 00:18:03.140
the injuries found after her exhumation, the
00:18:03.140 --> 00:18:05.519
damaged neck, her crushed windpipe, the testimony
00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:08.079
about Trout's behavior, and the questions surrounding
00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:10.980
what happened inside the shoe home. Trout took
00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:13.619
the stand in his own defense. Contemporary newspaper
00:18:13.619 --> 00:18:15.599
reporting described him as speaking at length
00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.319
and focusing heavily on small, unimportant details.
00:18:18.660 --> 00:18:21.319
He denied killing Zona. He claimed that the prosecution
00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:24.619
was motivated by spite. He insisted that he loved
00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:26.640
his wife. He admitted that he had served time
00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:28.839
in prison for horse theft, and he reportedly
00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:31.099
asked the jurors to look into his face and decide
00:18:31.099 --> 00:18:33.720
whether he looked like a guilty man. Newspaper
00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:36.039
coverage suggested that his testimony did not
00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:38.079
make a favorable impression on the people who
00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:40.420
heard it. The jury had the evidence. They heard
00:18:40.420 --> 00:18:42.960
Mary Jane's account, the medical findings, They
00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:46.480
heard Trout deny killing Zona, then they deliberated
00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:50.019
for only one hour and ten minutes. On July 1,
00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:53.619
1897, the jury returned with its verdict. Edward
00:18:53.619 --> 00:18:56.440
Trout Shue was found guilty of first -degree
00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:59.019
murder. He was sentenced to life in the West
00:18:59.019 --> 00:19:01.839
Virginia State Penitentiary at Moundsville. For
00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.440
some people in Breyer County, a life sentence
00:19:04.440 --> 00:19:07.259
was too much. After the conviction, a lynch mob
00:19:07.259 --> 00:19:09.740
reportedly formed. They intended to take Trout
00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:12.369
from the county jail and hang him. Accounts say
00:19:12.369 --> 00:19:14.849
that they arrived armed with Winchester rifles,
00:19:15.069 --> 00:19:17.509
revolvers, and a new rope. Sheriff Nickel and
00:19:17.509 --> 00:19:19.789
George Hurrah confronted the crowd. The sheriff
00:19:19.789 --> 00:19:22.890
persuaded them to disband, but by then, Deputy
00:19:22.890 --> 00:19:26.109
Sheriff John G. Dyer had already moved Trout
00:19:26.109 --> 00:19:28.849
somewhere safe outside of Lewisburg. The mob
00:19:28.849 --> 00:19:31.849
had arrived too late. That jail cell was already
00:19:31.849 --> 00:19:34.089
empty. Now, Trout was eventually transferred
00:19:34.089 --> 00:19:36.630
to the West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville,
00:19:36.750 --> 00:19:38.789
and he would die there in the late spring of
00:19:38.789 --> 00:19:41.779
1900, reportedly during a per - tuberculosis
00:19:41.779 --> 00:19:44.500
outbreak. He had served less than three years
00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:47.019
of his life sentence. Now before we close out,
00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.440
it is important to say this clearly. The surviving
00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:51.559
historical record of the Greenbrier ghost case
00:19:51.559 --> 00:19:54.680
is incomplete. Some original documents are missing.
00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:57.019
Newspaper accounts conflict with one another.
00:19:57.240 --> 00:19:59.779
Many details have been repeated, embellished,
00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:02.119
and reshaped for more than a century. So when
00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:03.940
we tell this story, we have to separate what
00:20:03.940 --> 00:20:06.500
is documented from what belongs to legend. What
00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:09.119
we can say with confidence is this. Elvazona
00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:12.160
Hester Shue died after only a few months of marriage.
00:20:12.380 --> 00:20:15.140
Her death was initially treated as natural. Her
00:20:15.140 --> 00:20:17.599
body was later exhumed, and medical examiners
00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:20.519
found fatal neck injuries. Her husband, Edward
00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:23.259
Trout Shue, was then convicted of first -degree
00:20:23.259 --> 00:20:26.099
murder. Everything beyond that exists in a space
00:20:26.099 --> 00:20:28.599
between history and haunting. The blood trail,
00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:31.480
the ghost message, the exact motive, or not,
00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:34.000
the four -night visitation. the ghost turning
00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:36.579
its head, whether Zona truly appeared to Mary
00:20:36.579 --> 00:20:39.720
Jane. Those details could be history. They could
00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:42.339
be fact. They may just be folklore. They could
00:20:42.339 --> 00:20:44.579
be grief transformed into something powerful
00:20:44.579 --> 00:20:47.859
enough to make people listen. So did a ghost
00:20:47.859 --> 00:20:50.819
help convict a murderer? Maybe. Did a ghost testify
00:20:50.819 --> 00:20:53.500
in court? Definitely not. Did the court accept
00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:56.279
the paranormal evidence as legal proof? Of course
00:20:56.279 --> 00:20:59.019
not. Was Trout convicted only because Mary Jane
00:20:59.019 --> 00:21:01.619
said Zona appeared to her? No. The conviction
00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:04.160
rested on circumstantial and medical evidence,
00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:07.039
especially the injuries discovered after Zona's
00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:09.980
body had been exhumed. But did Mary Jane's story
00:21:09.980 --> 00:21:11.799
help change the course of this investigation?
00:21:12.180 --> 00:21:15.640
Most definitely. She refused to accept the official
00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:18.140
explanation. She demanded that authorities take
00:21:18.140 --> 00:21:20.160
another look. She insisted that Zona's death
00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:22.400
could not be explained away. And after the grave
00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:24.960
was opened, doctors found evidence that a violent
00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:27.859
death had, in fact, been missed. So maybe Mary
00:21:27.859 --> 00:21:30.440
Jane truly did see her daughter. Maybe Zona's
00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:32.900
spirit really did come home and tell her mother
00:21:32.900 --> 00:21:35.460
what happened. Maybe grief, fear, suspicion,
00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:38.000
and a mother's instinct came to Mary Jane in
00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:40.519
her dreams. Maybe she noticed things that others
00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:43.240
ignored. The scar from around Zona's neck, Trout's
00:21:43.240 --> 00:21:45.880
strange behavior, the inadequate medical examination,
00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:48.539
the impossible explanation written on the death
00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:51.339
record. Whatever Mary Jane experienced, she did
00:21:51.339 --> 00:21:54.660
something that changed everything. She refused
00:21:54.660 --> 00:21:56.740
to let her daughter's death disappear into a
00:21:56.740 --> 00:21:59.460
grave without answers. Today, Zona Hester Shue
00:21:59.460 --> 00:22:01.859
was buried near Stan Black Church in Greenbrier
00:22:01.859 --> 00:22:04.619
County, West Virginia. A West Virginia historical
00:22:04.619 --> 00:22:07.680
marker commemorates the case and describes it
00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:10.599
as the only known case in which testimony from
00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:13.839
a ghost helped convict a murderer. That is commemorative
00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:16.240
language, not a statement that a ghost formally
00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:18.960
testified in court. But it captures why this
00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:21.619
case has endured for so long. The Greenbrier
00:22:21.619 --> 00:22:24.019
ghost is not only a ghost story. It's a warning
00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:26.160
about what can happen when a suspicious death
00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:29.140
is not properly investigated. It's a story about
00:22:29.140 --> 00:22:31.940
the limitations of early forensic medicine. It's
00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:34.200
a story
about how difficult it could be for a
00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:37.500
grieving woman in 1897 to make authorities listen.
00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:40.059
And it's a story about a truth that refused to
00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:42.640
stay buried. So whether you believe Zona Hester
00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:45.059
Sue returned from the grave or not, there is
00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:47.640
one thing you can believe for certain. Her death
00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:50.940
was nearly dismissed. Her body was nearly left
00:22:50.940 --> 00:22:53.170
in the ground. And without Mary Jane's refusal
00:22:53.170 --> 00:22:55.849
to accept an easy answer, Edward Trout's shoe
00:22:55.849 --> 00:22:58.250
may never have been held accountable. So if you
00:22:58.250 --> 00:22:59.869
ever find yourself driving through Greenbrier
00:22:59.869 --> 00:23:02.589
County, surrounded by mountain roads, old cemeteries,
00:23:02.589 --> 00:23:05.130
and the deep quiet of West Virginia, remember
00:23:05.130 --> 00:23:07.369
Zona. Remember the mother who would not stop
00:23:07.369 --> 00:23:09.789
asking questions. And remember that some truth
00:23:09.789 --> 00:23:12.369
refused to stay buried. And that's the Greenbrier
00:23:12.369 --> 00:23:14.910
ghost. What do you think about that one? That
00:23:14.910 --> 00:23:16.750
was wild. Have you ever heard of that one before?
00:23:16.970 --> 00:23:18.970
Uh -huh. It was pretty cool, wasn't it? It was.
00:23:19.190 --> 00:23:21.990
Like to imagine a ghost, like... she came back
00:23:21.990 --> 00:23:24.609
and told her mom that she did not die of natural
00:23:24.609 --> 00:23:27.369
causes. How wild would that be? Okay, so, right.
00:23:27.509 --> 00:23:30.630
So I have a picture of the historical marker,
00:23:30.789 --> 00:23:34.329
right? Okay, so it says Greenbrier Ghost. Interred
00:23:34.329 --> 00:23:37.369
in nearby cemetery is Zona Hester's shoe. Her
00:23:37.369 --> 00:23:40.410
death in 1897 was presumed natural until her
00:23:40.410 --> 00:23:42.470
spirit appeared to her mother to describe how
00:23:42.470 --> 00:23:44.910
she was killed by her husband, Edward. Autopsy
00:23:44.910 --> 00:23:46.930
on the exhumed body verified the apparitions
00:23:46.930 --> 00:23:49.109
account. Edward, found guilty of murder, was
00:23:49.109 --> 00:23:51.579
sentenced to the state prison. Only known case
00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:54.359
in which testimony from ghosts helped convict
00:23:54.359 --> 00:23:57.400
a murderer. How wild is that? That is wild. Yeah,
00:23:57.420 --> 00:23:59.380
I thought that was a fun one. Like, it's sad,
00:23:59.539 --> 00:24:03.180
obviously, but I thought it was a fun, like...
00:24:03.180 --> 00:24:06.460
Fun little ditty. Right, like, it's not really
00:24:06.460 --> 00:24:09.619
lighthearted, but it's not, like, the gory...
00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:11.720
Stuff we're used to. True crime stuff that we
00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:13.380
normally do, yeah. A little bit lighter than
00:24:13.380 --> 00:24:18.599
normal. Yep, that's your bonus. Yay! Yay! I'm
00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:21.279
excited for the next bonus. That one's a good
00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:24.400
one. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. You got anything
00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:28.160
to end this one? Nothing? Nope. All right. With
00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:31.140
that, guys, make sure you come back for the next
00:24:31.140 --> 00:24:35.720
one. I know this one is late also. And the next
00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:38.240
one we're going to release is also late. So make
00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:40.440
sure you have those notifications on. So that
00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:42.720
way you get notification when the next couple
00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:46.700
ones that are late come out. Socials and email
00:24:46.700 --> 00:24:48.569
are in the email. Are in the episode description.
00:24:48.890 --> 00:24:52.009
Give us a rate. A review. Follow. You can follow
00:24:52.009 --> 00:24:54.029
us on TikTok. That's in the social links. Also
00:24:54.029 --> 00:24:56.029
inside the link tree. You can find everything.
00:24:56.730 --> 00:24:59.609
And that's all I have. So with that. We hope
00:24:59.609 --> 00:25:01.430
y 'all keep listening. And remember to. Watch
00:25:01.430 --> 00:25:03.829
out for monsters. Don't kill people. And we'll
00:25:03.829 --> 00:25:05.970
catch y 'all next time. Bye y 'all. Bye y 'all.
00:25:06.670 --> 00:25:14.829
There are stories in the dark. That never learn
00:25:14.829 --> 00:25:20.380
to die. Names buried in the silence Still calling
00:25:20.380 --> 00:25:26.180
from the night Down a road where the cold wind
00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:31.400
moans Past the places nobody goes Every secret
00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:36.940
leaves a mark Every shadow knows the dark Hear
00:25:36.940 --> 00:25:41.039
the footsteps count to three Something's waiting
00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:52.950
patiently Monstrous Monstrous Where the truth
00:25:52.950 --> 00:25:56.589
wears someone else's face From the graveyard
00:25:56.589 --> 00:26:01.630
to the crime scene From the legend to the scream
00:26:01.630 --> 00:26:08.970
If you listen close enough You'll hear the monstrous
00:26:08.970 --> 00:26:25.500
things Photographs and a crooked smile Missing
00:26:25.500 --> 00:26:30.019
pieces mile by mile A locked door and a midnight
00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:36.519
call A whispered name behind the wall The evidence
00:26:36.519 --> 00:26:42.740
fades The questions remain And somewhere in the
00:26:42.740 --> 00:26:52.650
dark The story is still calling your name their
00:26:52.650 --> 00:26:58.069
trace Monstrous Where the truth wears someone
00:26:58.069 --> 00:27:03.750
else's face Murders, mysteries, secrets untold
00:27:03.750 --> 00:27:08.269
Hauntings hiding in the cold If you listen close
00:27:08.269 --> 00:27:28.750
enough Every shadow has a name This is monstrous