Unfinished Business

​Everything is still. The crickets have stopped chirping. The peepers are silenced. The wind itself has stopped moving about the trees. The world around us has slowed to focus on Joseph Wells, standing here in his ghostly form.
 
Joseph, why did you guide us here from the crossroads? What is our use to you?
 
He raises his arm and extends his finger. He is pointing somewhere! To the edge of the graveyard, it appears…maybe something is beyond the last headstone. What are we meant to find? Where are we to go?
 
 
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Welsh folklore suggests that there are three types of ghosts: Spirits of the dead, spirits of the living, and goblins and demons raised by witches. Goblins and demons are maliciously summoned in order to cause harm and torment to an individual. Ghosts of the living are glimpses of a spirit wandering about while the body sleeps. An example of this would be to see your spouse walk through the kitchen only to find them napping in bed. Spirits of the dead, on the other hand, are the ghosts of those who have departed this plane of existence but have unfinished business remaining. These spirits will eventually find rest when their work is completed, but they need mortal assistance for this to occur.
 
Elva Zona Heaster Shue was one such spirit. A young newlywed woman from Lewisburg, West Virginia, Zona was discovered unresponsive in her home by a neighbor boy. It appeared based on her positioning of her body at the bottom of a staircase, the distraught state of her husband, and the medical examination by the coroner, that she has passed due to a fatal heart attack.
 
Her husband would not leave the body of his wife until she was buried, sobbing and bemoaning his loss during the entirety of the medical examination as well as while putting her into her casket.
 
Zona, however, made certain that the truth was revealed. After her funeral, Zona, in spectral form, visited her mother multiple times. She recounted that her husband had lost his temper toward her (not for the first time, mind you) and broke her neck in a fit of rage. She insisted that this come to light. Her husband needed to pay for his crimes.
 
At the bequest of Zona’s mother, her daughter’s body was exhumed and examined again—this time without physical interference and dramatic theatrics from the husband. Zona’s scarf (an item of clothing her husband placed on her body under the pretense that it was beloved by her) was removed to reveal fingerprints around her neck. Her windpipe had been crushed, her neck dislocated, and ligaments in her neck were destroyed.
 
Further investigation revealed that Zona’s husband had been married twice prior. Both of his wives passed away suddenly due to ‘accidents.’ He was sent to trial and convicted rather quickly. He lived the rest of his days at the state penitentiary in Moundsville, West Virginia.
 
No additional stories survive of Zona revisiting this realm after her husband was sent to prison. Her business was finally finished. With his conviction and subsequent punishment, Zona helped not only herself move beyond the veil but perhaps also his other former wives whom he undoubtedly murdered.
 
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Well, Joseph is not moving anywhere, and he is pointing in that direction. Let’s start walking beyond the cemetery and see what we can find while following that vague direction.
 
It is rather dark, though, so watch your step! Ah, yes! Lightning bugs are sparkling ahead. Look at them amongst the branches of that tree. So odd that I don’t see them flashing anywhere else but in those branches. We will see the type of tree as we get closer.
 
A huge willow! I must admit this is my favorite kind of tree! I know why we are to here now! We must uncover something…but, first, pay close attention to the shape of these branches. Which one should we choose, traveler?
 
 
 
Until next time,
Heather
 
 
 
 
 
Further Reading:
Farley, Jeremy T. K. Appalachian Magazine Presents Mountain Superstitions, Ghost Stories & Haint Tales: A Collection of Memories & Commentaries from the Mountains of Appalachia. StatelyTies Media, 2018.
Jenkins, David Erwyd. Bedd Gelert, Its Facts, Fairies, & Folk-Lore. L. Jenkins, 1899.
*For anyone unfamiliar with peepers (tree frogs): https://youtu.be/oNhIprMEL78