Greenbrier Ghost of Sam Black Church

One of the best ghost stories in history took place in this southeast county of Greenbrier, West Virginia. According to legend, in 1897, young bride Zona Heaster Shue was found dead in her home, lying at the bottom of the stairs. 

Initially, townspeople assumed she had died of natural causes, until Zona’s mother, Mary, reported multiple visits from Zona’s ghost saying that, actually, she had died at the hands of her enraged husband, Edward. 

At the Greenbrier County Courthouse, now a national historic site in downtown Lewisburg, it took the jury just an hour to arrive at the verdict: guilty. After exhuming and reexamining the body, officials determined that her cause of death was strangulation. Mr. Shue went on to serve time and eventually died in prison. 

In 1991, the West Virginia Department of Culture and History erected a highway sign near the small town of Smoot, a little over 20 miles west of the historic Greenbrier Hotel. The marker notes Zona’s final resting place and reads: “the only known case in which testimony from a ghost helped convict a murderer.” 

For over a century, the legend has captivated everyone from historians and authors to playwrights. Several adaptations of the tale made their way to the stage, including in 2004 at New York City Fringe, and there’s even an opera inspired by the story.

While you're there, stop by Sam Black Church, a charming, white-framed chapel. Built in 1901, the church became an important navigational landmark before the area’s post office. It was named in honor of a local Black Methodist minister who rode on horseback, preaching throughout rural West Virginia.