Resurrection Mary

One of the most famous, ghostly hitchhikers is Chicago’s Resurrection Mary.

Reports and eyewitness accounts attest that beautiful, blonde, Mary was sighted on numerous occasions near Resurrection Cemetery wearing a long, white, flowing gown.

The first claims began back in 1930, after young Mary attended a dance at the O'Henry Ballroom (now called The Willowbrook Ballroom) and subsequently had an argument with her boyfriend. Mary fled the scene of the fight and hitchhiked down Archer Avenue on that cold winter night when she was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident.

She was then buried in Resurrection Cemetery, which utilizes heavy bars on the front gate. Witnesses claim that Mary did not pass into the other world because they have seen her ghost haunting both Archer Avenue and the ballroom at which she danced that fateful night.

Several things remain common to those who encounter Resurrection Mary. She is a young blond-haired, blue-eyed girl, simply stunning to look at. Her attire has always been a long ball gown and dancing shoes. Her skin is cold and clammy to touch to those who have contact. If she was picked up by a driver, she disappears through the car or asks to be let off when they pass the cemetery.

In 1976, a passerby called the police after noticing a woman who appeared to be locked inside Resurrection Cemetery. When the police arrived, the woman was nowhere to be seen but there was physical evidence that the bars on the gate were bent apart. Not only that, her handprints were embedded into the bars.

It's unknown just who Resurrection Mary is and exactly what occurred the night she died. Nonetheless, she will remain one of Chicago's favorite ghosts because apparently, she does not want to be forgotten.