Monstrous is a true crime and mystery podcast that dives into legends, hauntings, and all things eerie and spine-tingling. Hosted by a Southern-born storyteller now living in the Midwest, the show explores murders, serial killers, cold cases, mysteries, cults, and the unexplained. Along with a regular guest and occasional special guests, each episode unravels the strange, the chilling, and the monstrous. Join us every Monday for new episodes. Listener discretion is advised.
In the winter of 1897, Elva Zona Heaster Shue—known as Zona—was found dead inside her Greenbrier County, West Virginia, home just months after marrying Edward “Trout” Shue.
At first, Zona’s death was treated as natural.
But her mother, Mary Jane Heaster, did not believe it.
She noticed the strange circumstances around Zona’s body. She questioned Trout’s behavior. And then, according to one of America’s most enduring ghost legends, Zona came back.
Mary Jane said her daughter appeared to her on four consecutive nights and revealed that Trout had killed her by breaking her neck.
Authorities reopened the case.
Zona’s grave was opened.
And a post-mortem examination found severe neck injuries, including a broken or dislocated neck and a crushed windpipe.
Edward “Trout” Shue was convicted of first-degree murder in 1897.
But did a ghost truly help solve the case—or did a grieving mother’s suspicion, persistence, and refusal to accept an impossible explanation finally force people to look closer?
In this spooky bonus episode, we explore the Greenbrier Ghost: the murder of Zona Heaster Shue, Mary Jane’s alleged visitations, the exhumation, the trial, and the line between documented history and Appalachian legend.
The West Virginia historical marker near Zona’s burial site calls it the only known case in which testimony from a ghost helped convict a murderer
📧 Send us case suggestions and listener stories:
monstroustcpod@gmail.com (mailto:monstroustcpod@gmail.com)
📱 Follow us on all social media links here:
https://linktr.ee/monstrouspod (https://linktr.ee/monstrouspod)
26 Sept 2026
The Chicago Tylenol Murders
A bottle of pain reliever. A familiar brand. A normal morning.
In late September 1982, seven people across the Chicago area took Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules for everyday reasons.
But within days, all seven were dead.
The capsules had been contaminated with potassium cyanide.
Mary Kellerman was 12 years old. Adam Janus was 27. Adam’s brother, Stanley Janus, and Stanley’s wife, Theresa, both took capsules from the same bottle and became victims, too. Mary McFarland, Lynn Reiner, and Paula Prince were also killed.
Investigators ultimately recovered eight cyanide-tainted bottles and identified 56 contaminated capsules. The evidence pointed to tampering after the product had left the manufacturer and entered the retail system—but the person, or people, responsible have never been identified.
In this episode of Monstrous, we examine the Chicago Tylenol murders: the victims, the terrifying realization that ordinary medicine had become a weapon, the national panic, the massive recall, the investigation into James Lewis and Roger Arnold, the changes to packaging and federal law, and the question that remains more than four decades later.
Who did it?
📧 Send us case suggestions and listener stories:
monstroustcpod@gmail.com (mailto:monstroustcpod@gmail.com)
📱 Follow us on all social media links here:
https://linktr.ee/monstrouspod (https://linktr.ee/monstrouspod)
16 Sept 2026
The Jersey Devil
It’s our first spooky-season bonus episode, and we’re heading into the forests, wetlands, and winding roads of southern New Jersey.
For nearly three centuries, people have told stories about a creature said to live in the Pine Barrens. It has been described as a winged beast with hooves, a long tail, glowing eyes, and a horse-like head. Some know it as the Jersey Devil. Others call it the Leeds Devil—or simply the Devil in the Pine Barrens.
According to the best-known legend, the creature was born in the 1730s as the thirteenth child of a woman remembered as Mother Leeds. But the story did not stay in the past. In January 1909, reports of a strange winged figure, unexplained tracks, terrified animals, and eerie screams spread across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware—causing a regional panic and turning local folklore into a national legend.
Was it a cursed child? A creature hidden in the woods? Misidentified wildlife? A hoax? Or a story that grew stronger every time someone heard something moving beyond the trees?
In this bonus episode, we explore the Mother Leeds legend, the history of the Pine Barrens, the infamous 1909 sightings, and why the Jersey Devil remains one of America’s most enduring cryptid mysteries.
Keep your lights on. Watch the tree line. And whatever you do, do not follow the sound in the woods.
📧 Send us case suggestions and listener stories:
monstroustcpod@gmail.com (mailto:monstroustcpod@gmail.com)
📱 Follow us on all social media links here:
https://linktr.ee/monstrouspod (https://linktr.ee/monstrouspod)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 41 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
