Greenbrier Ghost by
Music and lyrics by Clay Zambo
Book by Susan Murray
Greenbrier Ghost is based on an 1897 murder case, the only time in U.S. history when the testimony of a ghost was admitted into trial.
In Greenbrier County, West Virginia, something awful has happened. Eighteen-year-old ZONA HEASTER SHUE was found dead in her home, only a few short months after marrying a newcomer,...
Book by Susan Murray
Greenbrier Ghost is based on an 1897 murder case, the only time in U.S. history when the testimony of a ghost was admitted into trial.
In Greenbrier County, West Virginia, something awful has happened. Eighteen-year-old ZONA HEASTER SHUE was found dead in her home, only a few short months after marrying a newcomer,...
Music and lyrics by Clay Zambo
Book by Susan Murray
Greenbrier Ghost is based on an 1897 murder case, the only time in U.S. history when the testimony of a ghost was admitted into trial.
In Greenbrier County, West Virginia, something awful has happened. Eighteen-year-old ZONA HEASTER SHUE was found dead in her home, only a few short months after marrying a newcomer, blacksmith ERASMUS SHUE. The marriage had seemed so promising too, just the perfect thing to settle the high-spirited girl while rooting the town’s only blacksmith, a man in his thirties, to the farm community. Zona’s death is declared a heart attack; these things do occasionally happen, they say. Folks would rather speculate about the handsome blacksmith—will he stay on?—a growing town needs a blacksmith after all. Perhaps in time poor Shue will find another wife among the young women right here in Greenbrier. MARY JANE and JACOB HEASTER only know that they have lost their only child. They are now trying to live with the nearly unbearable loss in the few short weeks since Zona was laid to rest.
But is Zona at rest? Late one night, sitting in her rocking chair, Mary Jane sees something. Zona steps out of the darkness, telling a tale of how she died. Roused to action, Mary Jane battles resistance from her sheriff husband, the doctor, and even Shue himself—couldn’t this all have been just a dream?—until an autopsy does in fact take place. The post-mortem, something virtually unheard of in 1897, reveals strangulation marks and a broken neck. The evidence while circumstantial is enough: Shue is arraigned and the trial begins. Shue maintains his innocence; he charms the court, speaking eloquently—ever the grieving widower with a broken heart. The prosecution’s chances seem slim until Zona once again appears, guiding her mother not only through the testimony but also through the darkness, the loss and anger. Mary Jane turns from the abyss, from the cold bloodlessness of a killer and back to her husband; back to peace.
Greenbrier Ghost is a story of love, betrayal, and redemption exploring the thin line between what is believed to be true and what can be proven.
Book by Susan Murray
Greenbrier Ghost is based on an 1897 murder case, the only time in U.S. history when the testimony of a ghost was admitted into trial.
In Greenbrier County, West Virginia, something awful has happened. Eighteen-year-old ZONA HEASTER SHUE was found dead in her home, only a few short months after marrying a newcomer, blacksmith ERASMUS SHUE. The marriage had seemed so promising too, just the perfect thing to settle the high-spirited girl while rooting the town’s only blacksmith, a man in his thirties, to the farm community. Zona’s death is declared a heart attack; these things do occasionally happen, they say. Folks would rather speculate about the handsome blacksmith—will he stay on?—a growing town needs a blacksmith after all. Perhaps in time poor Shue will find another wife among the young women right here in Greenbrier. MARY JANE and JACOB HEASTER only know that they have lost their only child. They are now trying to live with the nearly unbearable loss in the few short weeks since Zona was laid to rest.
But is Zona at rest? Late one night, sitting in her rocking chair, Mary Jane sees something. Zona steps out of the darkness, telling a tale of how she died. Roused to action, Mary Jane battles resistance from her sheriff husband, the doctor, and even Shue himself—couldn’t this all have been just a dream?—until an autopsy does in fact take place. The post-mortem, something virtually unheard of in 1897, reveals strangulation marks and a broken neck. The evidence while circumstantial is enough: Shue is arraigned and the trial begins. Shue maintains his innocence; he charms the court, speaking eloquently—ever the grieving widower with a broken heart. The prosecution’s chances seem slim until Zona once again appears, guiding her mother not only through the testimony but also through the darkness, the loss and anger. Mary Jane turns from the abyss, from the cold bloodlessness of a killer and back to her husband; back to peace.
Greenbrier Ghost is a story of love, betrayal, and redemption exploring the thin line between what is believed to be true and what can be proven.