Mary's Ghost Story

Have you heard the story of one of Chicago’s most famous ghosts? The story of Mary began in the 1930s. Drivers driving on Archer Avenue began telling others of their strange encounters with a young woman wearing a white dress. They always assumed she was a real flesh and blood person until she suddenly disappeared. What upset the motorists was that a young woman would try to jump on the running boards of their automobiles as they were driving past Resurrection Cemetery.

Later on perhaps the young woman was lonely and longed for company. She moved on up the road away from the cemetery to the O. Henry Ballroom which is now the Willowbrook. Now people saw her on the road to the ballroom and at times in the ballroom. When a young man would meet a young woman at the ballroom he would dance with her and enjoy the evening. When the time came to go he would of course offer the young woman a ride home. She always accepted and gave directions which led northward on Archer Avenue. As the car came to the gates of Resurrection Cemetery the young woman would disappear.

Resurrection Mary

According to the reports of

One possibility was that a young hitchhiker had been killed on Archer Avenue in the early 1930s. The story is of a young woman who had spent an evening dancing with her boyfriend at the O. Henry ballroom until they got into an argument. Mary (what she had become known as) apparently left the ballroom in anger on this cold winter’s night. As she started walking up Archer Avenue a car struck her and the driver left Mary there to die. Her parents buried her in a white dress and dancing shoes in Resurrection Cemetery. From that time on the story of Mary began. However no one has been able to say for sure who this girl might have been. No one has actually been able to match any one living Mary to this