When it comes to Chicago’s ghost stories, Resurrection Mary is, by far, one of the most chilling. And iconic. She’s the infamous ghost at the heart of many classic “vanishing hitchhiker” tales and an unsetting legend that has haunted the city for nearly a century.
Honestly, if you’ve heard any ghost stories from Chicago, you’ve probably heard of her.
Many say they’ve seen her along Archer Avenue—a dark, eerie stretch of road connecting the historic Willowbrook Ballroom (previously the Oh Henry Ballroom) in Willow Springs to Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois. Here, for decades, unsuspecting drivers allegedly picked up a young woman in a white dress—only to watch her disappear near the cemetery.
Ultimately, her story is an enthralling mix of tragedy and mystery that continues to intrigue and mystify.
In this article:
Resurrection Mary Origins
According to my research, the origins of Resurrection Mary trace back to the 1930s. However, like most ghost stories, there are many conflicting versions.
Let me share what I’ve learned: a young, beautiful woman named Mary was dancing with her boyfriend on a lively night at the Oh Henry Ballroom in Willow Springs, Illinois—a spot famous for its big band swing dances.
They were having a good time, or so it seemed—until things took a turn. No one knows what the argument was about, but it was intense enough for Mary to storm off, leaving her boyfriend behind.
When she left the ballroom, Mary was wearing a beautiful white gown. She walked off through the rain along Archer Avenue—but she never made it home. Tragically, the girl was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. Her parents found her broken body hours later. They were devastated, as you can imagine.
According to the legend, Mary was buried in Resurrection Cemetery in that very dancing dress.
The hit-and-run driver? Never identified. The case? Never solved.
Jerry Palus was the first person to claim they encountered Resurrection Mary’s ghost in 1939. His strange encounter (which I will discuss later in more detail) ignited the White Lady of Chicago ghost story.
Where does Resurrection Mary haunt?
Now that you know how Mary’s tragic story started, let’s explore where she haunts. These locations are important because they may hold clues as to why her spirit remains restless in Chicago.
Resurrection Cemetery
Established in 1904, Resurrection Cemetery is right at the heart of Mary’s story. Located in Justice, Illinois, it’s one of the largest cemeteries in North America, with over 150,000 graves. And if you’re like me, you know that a place with that much history just has to have its share of ghosts.
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In fact, many visitors say they’ve seen strange, unexplainable lights among the headstones or heard voices echoing through the older sections of the graveyard—especially late at night.
It’s the kind of place where, if you stop and listen, you might just hear something that makes your heart race… or makes you want to leave.
Archer Avenue
Archer Avenue is notorious. Running from Chicago’s southwest side through several suburbs, this road has long had an eerie reputation.
Drivers often describe picking up a hitchhiker in white—sometimes she speaks, other times she’s just silently staring ahead. And then, just like that, she’s gone when they get near Resurrection Cemetery. No door opening, no sound. She’s simply… not there anymore.
Other drivers report seeing a young woman suddenly appear in the middle of the road, forcing them to slam on the brakes. Some even lose control of their car trying to avoid her—only to find, when they regain their bearings, that she’s nowhere to be found.
It’s like she’s trying to relive her tragic final moments, forcing us to witness her story over and over.
Willowbrook Ballroom
The Willowbrook Ballroom has a special place in Mary’s story. It’s where her legend began. Where she danced for the last time before her tragic death. Allegedly.
Originally called the Oh Henry Ballroom, the place was built in the 1920s at the height of the ballroom dancing craze.
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The ballroom quickly became one of Chicago’s premier dance spots, attracting hundreds of people from all over the town every night. It was trendy. And for good reason. The glamorous venue hosted many of the era’s most famous big bands, including the likes of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman.
In 1959, after renovations, the place was renamed the Willowbrook Ballroom, and it continued to be a popular event space until a tragic fire destroyed it in 2016. Some still believe Mary returns here, reliving her last night, caught in an endless spectral loop.
Resurrection Mary Sightings
There are countless Resurrection Mary sightings, starting in 1939 and up until 2024. For example, Richard Crowe, Chicago’s first full-time ghost hunter, documented over three dozen credible sightings of Mary, calling her the “best-documented ghost in Chicago.”
And if you’ve heard one of these stories, you know they share some uncanny similarities.
Jerry Palus (1939)
In 1939, Jerry Palus claimed to be the first to encounter Resurrection Mary. He was at Liberty Grove and Hall in Chicago’s Brighton Park when he saw a beautiful young blonde.
He approached her, and the two hit it off, spending the night dancing together. They even shared a kiss. But there was something off. According to Jerry, her hands were as cold as ice, yet she had what he described as “cold hands but a warm heart.”
As the night ended, Jerry offered her a ride home. Strangely enough, despite him remembering the young girl mentioning living on the Southside, she asked to be taken to Archer Avenue. Jerry was confused—why Archer Avenue? It wasn’t exactly on the way. Still, he drove as she asked.
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When they approached Resurrection Cemetery, she asked Jerry to stop the car. As he pulled over, the woman silently got out of the vehicle. And just like that—before his very eyes—she vanished into the night. No goodbye, no trace, just gone.
As you can imagine, the man was shocked. The following day, he made his way to the original address Mary had given him. When he knocked on the door, an older woman answered—Mary’s mother. When Jerry asked about the woman he had met, she revealed that her daughter had died nearly three years earlier.
Harlow’s Nightclub (1973)
In 1973, Resurrection Mary was allegedly sighted at Harlow’s nightclub at 8058 S on Cicero Avenue, Chicago’s southwest side.
Bob Main, the night manager of Harlow’s, spoke to the Chicago Tribune in 1992 about allegedly seeing the Resurrection Mary ghost twice at his club. He described her as having blonde hair in “big spooly curls,” a very pale complexion, and wearing an old-fashioned dress that looked like “a wedding dress left in the sun.”
“She sat right next to the dance floor and she wouldn’t talk to anyone. She danced all by herself, this pirouette-type dance. People were saying, ‘Who is this most bizarre chick?'” Main told the Tribune.
He added that the woman “seemed to look through” people and, up close, looked like she was bleeding from the eye. Nobody ever saw her enter or leave.
Scorched Gate Bars (1976)
In August 1976, two of the metal gate bars at Resurrection Cemetery were discovered bent, with what appeared to be skin-textured impressions and scorch marks.
The weird discovery was made after a passerby reported seeing a young girl locked inside the cemetery after hours. When a police officer responded, he found the bars pulled apart and bent at a strange angle—almost as if forced by something with unnatural strength.
Ghost hunter Dale Kaczmarek explained these impressions in a 1984 interview with CBS Chicago. Interestingly, officials attributed the marks to a truck accident. Yet, Kaczmarek, locals, and paranormal enthusiasts (including myself) were not convinced.
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On Halloween 1984, Kaczmarek took late reporter Bob Wallace to Resurrection Cemetery for Channel 2 News, showing him the later-repaired bars and recounting the incident.
And I have to agree with Kaczmarek on this one. The “fingerprints, skin texture marks, and scorch marks” were quite unusual. Definitely not caused by an impact with a truck (or car).
So, who or what left those marks? Hard to tell. Kaczmarek (and many paranormal researchers) believe these marks were left by Mary herself—maybe she was trying to escape, or perhaps she was trying to get back inside.
Cab Driver Ralph (1979)
Another notable encounter allegedly happened in January 1979. Bill Geist, a columnist for the Suburban Trib, interviewed a cab driver named Ralph, who claimed he picked up a young woman in a white gown on Archer Avenue.
She asked to be dropped off near Resurrection Cemetery, but vanished before his eyes when they arrived. Ralph described her as “21 tops,” with no coat on a freezing Chicago night.
Geist himself noted that Ralph was a typical, level-headed, working-class guy. Not the type of person who would make up a story for publicity.
Clare and Mark Rudnicki’s (1980)
In 1980, Clare and Mark Rudnicki were driving along Archer Avenue near Resurrection Cemetery when they spotted a girl walking along the road. Clare noted that the silhouette had an unnatural glow about her.
As they got closer, the couple decided to turn around for another look. However, in the blink of an eye, the mysterious girl disappeared—gone.
Clare described the experience as deeply disturbing, mentioning that Resurrection Mary’s ghost seemed almost luminous, as if she was lit from within. Mark, too, felt the eerie presence and was shaken by how she simply vanished.
Janet Kalal (1989)
In 1989, a woman named Janet Kalal had an even closer encounter. She was driving near Resurrection Cemetery when she swore she struck a young woman in white who had suddenly darted in front of her car.
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However, there was no sound of impact. And the car didn’t react as if it hit something.
To make things even more bizarre, no one was there when she stepped out to inspect. And her car was completely untouched. No scratches or bents.
Janet and her friend both saw the woman, and both were left confused.
Derrick Malone (October 2024)
The most recent Resurrection Mary sighting happened in October 2024. Derrick Malone, a delivery driver, claimed to have encountered the ghost while driving along Archer Avenue, near the intersection with Roberts Road.
Derrick said:
“I saw her standing there, just off the side of the road, wearing this old-style white dress. She looked like she needed help, so I pulled over, maybe just ten yards away from her.”
He waited, looking into his rearview mirror. But there was something wrong—she wasn’t there anymore. Confused, the man got out of the car to take a better look.
“I looked around, even behind the car, but she was gone—like she was never there,” Derrick recounted. “The air felt heavy, and I swear, I’ve never hit the gas so fast to get out of that place.”
Who Was Resurrection Mary? Theories and Identities
No one knows for sure who Resurrection Mary really was. However, I have a few theories:
Mary Bregovy
One of the most likely “candidates” for being the Resurrection Mary ghost is Mary Bregovy.
Who was Mary Bregovy? A young woman who died in a car crash in downtown Chicago in 1934, just a month shy of her 21st birthday. Interestingly, Bregovy was buried in a beautiful orchid-colored dress, and much like Resurrection Mary, she loved dancing.
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The fact that she spent her final night out dancing adds to the plausibility that Mary Bregovy might be the ghost haunting Archer Avenue.
However, one detail doesn’t quite match—Mary Bregovy was a brunette, while most people describe Resurrection Mary as blonde.
Anna “Marija” Norkus
Another possible identity is Anna Norkus. Anna died in July 1927 at the age of 12 in a car accident on her way home from the Oh Henry Ballroom.
Her father had taken her to the ballroom as a special treat, and the tragic accident sealed her fate. Reports say Anna was killed instantly when the car veered off the road into a ditch and overturned near Harlem Avenue and 66th Street.
Anna had blonde hair, which matches most descriptions of Resurrection Mary. It’s an important detail. Anna could be our famous ghost. Plus, she died on her way home from the ballroom—the very place where Mary’s story begins.
Other Candidates
There are also other possibilities, such as Mary Miskowski (who died in a hit-and-run around 1930 while wearing her mother’s old wedding dress).
Another candidate is Mary Kovac. She died of tuberculosis in 1932. Now, tuberculosis is a different kind of tragedy—a slow and painful one—which could explain why her spirit might be restless.
Not all the details line up perfectly for Miskowski or Kovac. However, they both bear enough similarities to be plausible candidates. And here’s what else I think: maybe there’s more than just one spirit. This could be why Mary’s appearance and demeanor vary slightly across different sightings.
It’s a far-reaching theory, I know, but one that leads us to the next part of this article: the vanishing hitchhiker.
The Vanishing Hitchhiker Phenomenon
What is this “vanishing hitchhiker” phenomenon, you may ask? It’s a classic ghost story motif—one that Resurrection Mary fits right into.
The story usually goes like this: a driver picks up a hitchhiker (often a young woman in white). She’s quiet. Sometimes, too quiet. And just when you think everything is normal, she vanishes without a trace moments before reaching her destination. It’s the kind of event that leaves the driver doubting their sanity, memory, and what they just witnessed.
But here’s the thing—this isn’t just a Chicago legend. Stories of vanishing hitchhikers show up all over the world. For instance, take the White Lady of Uniondale from South Africa. Just like Mary, she has appeared to multiple drivers on a remote stretch of road, accepting rides only to disappear moments later.
Then there’s the Phantom of Stow Lake in San Francisco—a woman in white who searches for her lost child before dissolving into thin air. And over in the Philippines, there’s the Balete Drive Ghost, another lady in white who haunts the dark roads at night, hitching rides from unsuspecting drivers.
Here in the U.S., we have even more examples. The Ghost of Blue Bell Hill is a well-known legend where drivers almost hit a young woman, only to find no evidence of her presence when they check.
Similar stories have come out of Philadelphia, California, and other parts of the country. A young woman dressed in white appears by the roadside—ethereal, otherworldly. Drivers feel compelled to help her, but before they reach their destination, she’s gone, leaving behind nothing but a chill and a story that sounds almost too wild to believe.
Interestingly, this ghost story often overlaps with “Lady in White” legends. These stories, spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas, almost always feature a woman who died tragically—usually because of lost love or betrayal.
Think about the White Lady of the Río Dulce in Guatemala, the Lady in White of Wrotham in England, or the White Lady of Hohenzollern and the Weisse Frau in Germany.
The common thread? A restless female spirit, always dressed in white, lingering near where her life ended. They’re always depicted as sorrowful, lost, or desperately searching for something they can never recover—just like Resurrection Mary.
In 1942, Richard K. Beardsley and Rosalie Hankey published a study in California Folklore Quarterly that collected many of these “vanishing hitchhiker” stories.
Their research showed that these tales touch on something deep within us—maybe it’s the fear of the unknown, the danger of the open road at night, or even the loneliness that comes with long, empty drives.
Ursula Bielski (author and paranormal historian) has also explored Mary’s legend in depth, comparing it to other “White Lady” ghost stories worldwide. Bielski even ties Mary’s story to Chicago’s immigrant history, suggesting that the city’s Polish and Lithuanian communities played a role in preserving her tale as part of their cultural heritage.
More Than a Ghost Story?
For many paranormal fans (and me), Resurrection Mary isn’t just a ghost story. Her sad story has inspired countless songs—including “The Ballad of Resurrection Mary” by Guy Gilbert (1977) and another version by Suburban Resistance in 2022.
Beyond that, there are many other songs titled simply “Resurrection Mary,” with artists like Ian Hunter, The Tossers, and even a band named Resurrection Mary contributing their own takes.
Bars like Chet’s Melody Lounge (right across from Resurrection Cemetery) fully embrace Mary’s legend. They even leave a barstool and a Bloody Mary out for her on Sundays.
Resurrection Mary’s story was also featured in a “Unsolved Mysteries” episode.
Yeah, there’s some marketing in all this. But I think there’s also a lot of respect. For Mary… and for her tragic story.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the grave of Resurrection Mary?
Resurrection Mary is believed to be buried in Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois. Her exact grave is unknown.
What did Resurrection Mary look like?
Witnesses describe her as a young blonde woman dressed in a white dancing gown, often with a subtle glow.
What’s the story about Resurrection Mary?
She was a young woman who died tragically after a night of dancing, and she now appears as a ghostly hitchhiker along Archer Avenue.
Who is the ghost lady in Chicago?
Resurrection Mary is one of Chicago’s most famous ghost stories, known for her appearances along Archer Avenue and at Resurrection Cemetery.
Who was Mary Bregovy?
Mary Bregovy was one of the young women believed to be the inspiration for Resurrection Mary. She died in a car accident in 1934 and was buried in a dress that closely matches the ghost’s attire.
