THE LEGEND OF RESURRECTION MARY

Chicago's most popular ghost

Since Halloween is just one week away, I thought I would share with you one of Chicago’s most famous ghost stories.

I grew up in Chicago and I remember hearing stories about Resurrection Mary. It was said that she haunted the neighborhood along Archer Avenue between the Willowbrook Ballroom and Resurrection Cemetery. Since the 1930s, several men have reported picking up a young female hitchhiker who vanished into thin air as the driver approached Resurrection Cemetery. They described her as a blonde with blue eyes and wearing a white party dress. Other reports claimed that she wore a thin shawl, dancing shoes, and carried a small clutch purse.

According to one legend, Mary had spent the evening dancing with her boyfriend at the Oh Henry Ballroom—named after its candy bar sponsor (later changed to the Willowbrook Ballroom). At some point, they got into an argument and Mary stormed out. She left the ballroom and started walking up Archer Avenue.

She had not gotten very far when she was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver, who fled the scene. Her parents found her dead body the next day. They buried her in Resurrection Cemetery, dressed in a beautiful white dancing dress and matching dancing shoes. The hit-and-run driver was never found.

Over the years, countless paranormal researchers have attempted to link Resurrection Mary to one of the many thousands buried in Resurrection Cemetery. One of the names that came up during their research was Mary Bregovy, who died in 1934, although her death came in an automobile accident in downtown Chicago. In 1999, Chicago author Ursula Bielski documented a possible connection to Anna 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.

The Willowbrook Ballroom

Although the stories vary with regard to her true identity, the reports of her sightings are all the same. She is usually spotted hitchhiking down Archer Avenue. She always appears at night wearing her trademark white gown and she usually asks for a ride, only to disappear upon reaching her destination. Some have even claimed to have spotted her around various dance halls and nightclubs around Chicago’s Southside.

The first person who claimed to encounter Resurrection Mary was a man named Jerry Palus. In 1939, Jerry was at a popular dance hall on the Southside of Chicago, when he was lovestruck by a young blonde woman. He approached her, and the two hit it off and spent the night dancing away. They even shared a kiss. But something was not quite right. According to Jerry, her hands were as cold as ice. He described her as having “cold hands but a warm heart.”

When closing time came around, Jerry offered the woman a ride home, as she had said that she lived on the Southside. However, she asked to be taken down to Archer Avenue instead. Jerry was confused, Archer Avenue was in the opposite direction. As the couple drove towards Archer, Mary motioned for Jerry to stop in front of Resurrection Cemetery. When he stopped the car, she got out and vanished before his eyes.

Sadly, historic Willowbrook Ballroom was gutted by fire on Friday October 28, 2016. So question remains, where does Mary go dancing these days?