Resurrection Mary

Growing up in the Chicago area, I had always heard the famous ghost story about Resurrection Mary. As the legend goes, a young woman was riding home after a night out in the early morning hours in the 1930's. While on her way home, she was a passenger in a car that was involved in an accident and killed instantly.

A few years after the accident, a young man met a gorgeous blonde young woman. They spent the night having a great time dancing and drinking. He offered to drive her home, which she accepted and off they went down Archer Avenue. As they passed Resurrection Cemetery, in Justice, Illinois, she vanished from the front seat of his car. He was baffled and unable to explain the reason for her disappearance.

Since then, many young men have reported similar instances varying slightly (sometimes they met her has a hitchhiking ghost) but the outcome was always the same, she would disappear when the car would reach Resurrection Cemetery. From cab drivers, to men out on the town, the reports of "Mary" hitching a ride continued for many years.

I remember several years ago, a report came on the news about a man that had saw a blonde woman in the cemetery clutching the bars to the gate. The man that saw her, called police thinking that the young woman was somehow locked inside. When police arrived, nobody was found, but the bars of the gate were somehow bent and had imprints from hands melted into them. The cemetery was so freaked out by this that they called the Catholic church in to investigate. They actually tried to melt the bars back to their original shape but nothing worked, the imprints remained. Eventually they were removed and replaced all together.

Hitchhiking ghosts are always interesting stories to hear, but none quite compare to the tale that is Resurrection Mary.