Читать книгу Chicago Haunted Handbook - Jeff Morris - Страница 26

RESURRECTION CEMETERY

7200 Archer Road, Justice, Illinois 60458

directions

From the center of Chicago, take I-55 South for a little more than 10 miles until you get to Exit 282, IL-171 South towards 1st Avenue. Follow IL-171 for about 1.5 miles before merging to the right onto Archer Avenue. Follow Archer Avenue for about 2.5 miles. The cemetery will be on your right.

history

A small, unassuming headstone in Resurrection Cemetery holds the name Mary Bregovy. She died in an automobile accident in 1934. The world knows her as Resurrection Mary.

Mary was at the Oh Henry Ballroom (see Willowbrook Ballroom chapter) with her boyfriend when they got into a fight. It was a cold, dark night, but Mary was so upset that she opted to storm out of the ballroom and face the freezing walk home. She walked out onto Archer Avenue. Not far down the street, a car hit her. She fell to the side of the road. Had the driver stopped, she may have gotten to the hospital in time, but the driver drove on. Mary died from her injuries and the cold.

Her parents, worried since she had not arrived home, went out looking for her. They came across her body beside Archer Avenue. They were completely distraught. They decided that they would bury her in her beautiful white dancing dress and shoes because she had loved dancing so much.

ghost story

Perhaps the most famous ghost in the Chicagoland area is that of Resurrection Mary. While phantom hitchhikers have become somewhat of an urban myth throughout the country, the legend seems to have started here, and upwards of 50 documented cases of her appearance have only bolstered the legend over the years.

As early as the 1930s, men have reported seeing a woman in a white dress walking alongside Archer Avenue between the Willowbrook Ballroom and Resurrection Cemetery. Sometimes these men will pick her up because it’s cold outside and she seems upset. Other times, she will be hitchhiking, so they will stop to pick her up. She is always described as a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is always wearing a white dress, dancing shoes, and will often be carrying a small purse.

The men will pick her up and begin driving down Archer Avenue. At Resurrection Cemetery, she will be asked to be let out. Sometimes she will get out of the car and walk into the cemetery and vanish. Other times, she will vanish from the car, the door never having opened at all.