The story of Resurrection Mary is a well-known Chicago area ghost story that has been around since the 1930s. The story is of the “vanishing hitchhiker” type, a type of folklore that is known in many cultures around the world. According to the legend, Mary’s ghost has been seen by many people over the years, and there have been several reports of cars striking or nearly striking her outside Resurrection Cemetery. She continues to appear to unsuspecting travelers along Archer Lane between the Willowbrook Ballroom and Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois. Witnesses describe her as having light blond hair, blue eyes, and wearing a white party dress. Resurrection Mary’s story stands out due to its consistency. Witnesses report that she looks the same, wears the same dress, and vanishes in the same spot each time she is encountered.
The origins of Mary’s tale can be traced back to the 1930s when drivers along Archer Avenue began reporting strange encounters with a young woman in a white dress. She would appear real to them, only to inexplicably vanish before their eyes. The sightings initially occurred near Resurrection Cemetery, where motorists claimed that the young woman would attempt to jump onto the running boards of their automobiles. Over time, the encounters with Resurrection Mary became more mysterious and alluring. The sightings shifted away from the graveyard and closer to the O Henry Ballroom, now known as the Willowbrook. Young men would meet Mary at the ballroom, dance with her, and offer her a ride home at the end of the evening. She would always accept, providing vague directions that led north on Archer Avenue. However, when the car reached the gates of Resurrection Cemetery, Mary would vanish without a trace.
One of the most peculiar accounts of Resurrection Mary occurred on the night of August 10, 1976. On this occasion, Mary left behind physical evidence, which made the event even more extraordinary. A driver passing by the cemetery around 10:30 pm spotted a girl wearing a white dress and holding onto the iron bars of the gate. Concerned, the driver promptly alerted the Justice police station, believing that someone had been accidentally locked inside the cemetery. However, when the officer arrived, there was no sign of the girl. The graveyard was dark and deserted. Upon closer inspection of the gate where the girl had been seen standing, the officer made a chilling discovery. Two of the bars had been pulled apart and bent at sharp angles. What was even more unsettling were the blackened scorch marks at the points where the bars had been pried apart. Within these marks, there appeared to be skin texture and handprints seared into the metal with intense heat. News of the small handprints spread, attracting curiosity-seekers from all over the area. Cemetery officials attempted to remove the marks with a blowtorch, but their efforts only made them look worse. Eventually, the bars were cut off, and a wire fence was installed until the bars could be straightened or replaced.
Who is Mary?
Some researchers have attempted to link Resurrection Mary to one of the many thousands of burials in Resurrection Cemetery. A particular focus of these efforts has been Mary Bregovy, who died in 1934, although her death came in an automobile accident in the downtown Chicago Loop.
In 1999, Chicago author Ursula Bielski documented a possible connection to Anna “Marija” Norkus, who died in a 1927 auto accident while on her way home from the Oh Henry Ballroom, a theory that has gained popularity in recent years.
