Resurrection Mary

Along Archer Avenue in Justice, Illinois, drivers have reported picking up a beautiful young blonde woman in a white dancing dress. She rides in silence, then vanishes—often as they pass Resurrection Cemetery. She’s become Chicago’s most famous ghost: Resurrection Mary, a phantom hitchhiker who has been appearing since the 1930s.

The Legend

The Story

A young woman was killed in a car accident while returning from a dance at the O’Henry Ballroom (now Willowbrook Ballroom) in the 1930s. She was buried at Resurrection Cemetery. Her spirit has been trying to get home ever since.

The Sightings

Typical encounters follow a pattern:

• A driver sees a young blonde woman walking or hitchhiking on Archer Avenue
• She’s dressed in a white party dress
• She accepts a ride but remains quiet or gives minimal directions
• As they pass Resurrection Cemetery, she vanishes from the car
• Or she asks to be let out at the cemetery gates and disappears

Physical Description

Witnesses consistently describe:

• Blonde hair, usually pulled back
• Blue eyes
• White dancing dress (sometimes described as outdated)
• Dancing shoes
• Cold to the touch
• Pale complexion
• Beautiful but sad

Notable Encounters

Jerry Palus (1939)

The most detailed early encounter. Palus met a blonde woman at the Liberty Grove dance hall. They danced together—he noticed she was cold to the touch. She asked for a ride home, directing him down Archer Avenue. At the cemetery, she said “This is where I have to get out” and vanished through the closed gates.

The Burned Gates (1970s)

In the late 1970s, a passing motorist saw a woman trapped inside the cemetery gates, as if trying to get out. Police found the iron bars bent apart—and marked with what appeared to be handprints burned into the metal. Cemetery workers later removed and replaced the bars.

Modern Sightings

Resurrection Mary continues to be seen:

• Drivers report narrowly missing a blonde woman who runs in front of cars
• Taxi drivers have picked up a fare who vanished
• People in the cemetery report seeing a woman in white
• The Willowbrook Ballroom employees reported encounters

Who Is She?

Mary Bregovy

Some researchers believe Mary is the spirit of Mary Bregovy, who died in a car accident in 1934 and is buried at Resurrection Cemetery. She was Polish, blonde, and loved to dance.

Anna “Marija” Norkus

Another candidate: a young Lithuanian woman killed in an auto accident in 1927 while returning from the O’Henry Ballroom. She’s buried at a different cemetery, but the details match.

A Composite

Mary may be a legend built from multiple deaths, multiple ghosts, and decades of storytelling. The “vanishing hitchhiker” is a worldwide folklore motif.

The Phenomenon

Why Archer Avenue?

Archer Avenue is considered one of America’s most haunted roads:

• Built over Native American trails
• Runs past multiple cemeteries
• Several ghost legends besides Mary
• The ballroom-to-cemetery route of her death

Vanishing Hitchhiker Legend

Resurrection Mary fits a classic folklore pattern:

• A ghostly figure hitchhikes
• They give minimal information
• They vanish at a cemetery or home
• Investigation reveals they died years ago

Similar stories exist worldwide, but Mary’s specificity and the number of witnesses make her unusual.

The Evidence

What Supports the Legend

• Hundreds of independent witness reports
• Consistent physical description across decades
• The burned gate bars (though some claim they were damaged by a truck)
• Multiple named candidates who died in similar circumstances

What Raises Questions

• The “vanishing hitchhiker” is a universal folklore type
• No single identity has been confirmed
• Some witnesses may have been influenced by the legend
• The ballroom promoted the story

The Continuing Mystery

Whether Resurrection Mary is a genuine ghost, a folklore legend, or something in between, she remains Chicago’s most famous phantom. Drivers still report seeing a blonde woman in white along Archer Avenue. Some pick her up. Some watch her disappear. And Resurrection Cemetery still waits at the end of her eternal journey.

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She stands by the side of Archer Avenue in a white dress, waiting for a ride. She’s beautiful, blonde, and cold as death. She’ll ride with you in silence until you reach the cemetery gates, and then she’ll be gone—slipped through the iron bars, back to the grave where she’s been sleeping since the 1930s. Resurrection Mary is still trying to get home from the dance.