7. The Tell-Tale Ghost
Kirsty Logan on why ‘The Greenbrier Ghost’ is the only known case where a ghost’s testimony helped convict a murderer. From 2020
In Greenbrier County, West Virginia, USA, there is a trail marker with the following emblazoned on it. ‘Interred in nearby cemetery is Zona Heaster Shue. Her death in 1897 was presumed natural until her spirit appeared to her mother to describe how she was killed by her husband Edward.
Autopsy on the exhumed body verified the apparition's account. Edward, found guilty of murder, was sentenced to the state prison. Only known case in which testimony from a ghost helped convict a murderer.'
Kirsty tells the story of The Greenbrier ghost.
She also explores why tales of murder victims coming back to seek justice have always loomed large in the history of ghost lore.
Illustration by Seonaid Mackay.
Produced at BBC Scotland by Elizabeth Duffy.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2020.
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Alan Murdie - The Hammersmith Ghost
Our Extra Interview today is Alan Murdie. Alan Murdie is a barrister, a council member of the Society for Psychical Research and chairman of Ghost Club. Founded in 1862, it is the oldest organisation in the world associated with psychical research.
Alan talks to us about the strange case of the Hammersmith Ghost, the only case in English legal history where someone was murdered, because they were believed to be a spirit. This spectre did not just loom over Hammersmith, it haunted the British Legal system for over 200 years, and helped change the way we view the guilty mind.
Broadcasts
Tue 27 Oct 202013:45BBC Radio 4- Fri 22 Oct 202114:45BBC Radio 4
- Tue 3 Nov 202609:30BBC Radio 4 Extra
