July 5, 2025 • 6 mins
Is Chicago’s most famous ghost still hitching rides along Archer Avenue? In this chilling episode of The Strange History Podcast, we dive into the enduring legend of Resurrection Mary, the mysterious blonde hitchhiker who disappears into thin air near Resurrection Cemetery. Who was she in life—and why does she keep returning? We explore eyewitness accounts, historic clues, and the eerie folklore that’s kept this phantom passenger on the road for nearly a century. Buckle up... it’s going to be a haunting ride.
Like and Subscribe:
Apple
Spotify
IHeart
Audible
Like and Subscribe:
Apple
Spotify
IHeart
Audible
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Strange History Podcast. I am Dan the
Reluctant announcer, and this podcast is hosted by someone who
bribes me with baked goods to do this gig. This
week we will be talking about Resurrection Mary, the hitchhiking
heartbreaker of Archer Avenue.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Thanks Dan, muffins are on the table on your way out.
Now let's dive in. You're driving alone at night on
Archer Avenue. You've had a couple mailert shots because it's Chicago.
You're jamming to some sticks, and suddenly you see her.
She's blonde, she's beautiful, she's barefoot. She's also dead. Welcome
to tonight's tale, Resurrection Mary, Chicago's most legendary hitchhiking ghost.
(00:44):
Who was Mary and why does she hate uber? Let's
rewind to the nineteen twenties or nineteen thirties, depending on
which ghost tour you book. The story begins like a
tragic jazz age rom com. A girl possibly named Mary
because of course she is, goes dancing at the famed
O Henry Ballroom in Justice, Illinois. She and her date
(01:06):
get into a spat. Some say about leaving early, Others
say he stepped on her dress during the Charleston. So
what does she do? She irish exits the dance, storms
out into the night in her white gown and heels
Q thunderclap, and starts walking home down Archer Avenue. Only
she never makes it whether she was struck by a
(01:29):
car or met some other grizzly fate. She ends up
buried in Resurrection Cemetery, dressed for the party, eternally ready
to boogie. But here's the twist. That wasn't the end.
It was the beginning of a ninety plus year ghost story.
Because Mary Mary doesn't rest, she rides ghostin and hitchin.
(01:50):
The first known sighting was in the nineteen thirties, when
a man named Jerry Pallis danced with a blonde woman
at Liberty Grove and Hall. She was beautiful, quiet and cold,
not emotionally cold, physically cold. After the dance, she asked
for a ride down Archer Avenue. No red flags yet,
(02:10):
right as they passed Resurrection Cemetery, she suddenly said stop here,
and before Jerry could ask why the cemetery and not
a Denny's, she opened the car door and vanished into
thin air. Jerry later visited the address she gave him.
The people there said, Mary, she's been dead for years.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Fingerprints of the dead.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Okay, now things get physically spooky. In nineteen seventy six,
a man driving past Resurrection Cemetery at night reported seeing
a young woman grabbing the cemetery gate in a panic,
like she was trying to get out. When police showed up,
they found two of the iron bars pried apart and
inside what looked like scorched fingerprints. Either she had the
(02:58):
grip of a gymnast or there's a very angry metalworker
ghost wandering Chicago. The bars were reportedly replaced and then
quietly removed again, maybe to stop curious teens from licking them.
You know how it goes. Let's fast forward to the
nineteen eighties, a prime decade for ghosts and bad decisions.
(03:19):
Some of the best Resurrection Mary stories come from this era.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
The Red Barrel Incident nineteen eighty.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
A driver named Tony picked up a beautiful young woman
in a white dress near the Red Barrel Restaurant now
a Duncan, which somehow feels more cursed. She was polite,
asked to be dropped off near Resurrection Cemetery, and barely spoke.
As they passed the gates, she vanished from the car
poof without even a thanks for the ride. Some say
(03:51):
she ghosted harder than a tender date who sees your
anime collection.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
The dance and the vanish.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Another man swears he danced with her in the fifties.
She said she lived by the cemetery, and when he
dropped her off, she walked through the gates and disappeared. Honestly,
girls got game, shows up, dressed to kill, dances like
a dream, then dissolves into mist Is it too much
to ask for one ghost? Who Venmo's gas money?
Speaker 1 (04:20):
So? Who was she?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
There are a few real life candidates for resurrection Mary
Mary Brigovi, who died in a nineteen thirty four car crash,
buried in Resurrection Cemetery. Blonde young, tragic check check check.
Anna Maria Norkis, age twelve, died in nineteen twenty seven.
Her death was closer to the o Henry Ballroom's heyday.
(04:44):
Her nickname Mary, but no single record ties perfectly to
the legend. In true Chicago fashion, the city just kind
of went a It's Mary, you know, ghost Mary. The
science of spook Some folklorists say resurrection. Mary is a
textbook vanishing hitchhiker legend, a global phenomenon where ghosts flag
(05:05):
down rides and peace out at a specific location. But
Mary's story sticks because of its detail and repetition, multiple
drivers descriptions that match sighting spanning decades, and that one
guy who swears she tried to change the radio to polka. Also,
most ghost stories don't leave behind melted cemetery gates, just saying.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Willowbrook Ballroom her final dance.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
The Willowbrook Ballroom, formerly the o Henry, was her rumored
favorite haunt. Built in nineteen twenty one, it was a
Romantic Art Deco palace of swing, foxtrot and sneaky smooches.
The ballroom burned down in twenty sixteen, and many believe
that's when sighting slowed, or maybe Mary just refuses to
(05:54):
haunt a world where people dance via TikTok trends, Drive safe, Chicago,
So next time you're cruising Archer Avenue past midnight, watch
the shoulder. Don't be surprised if you see a pale
young woman in a white dress, and if she gets
in your car and says, take me to the cemetery.
Do it. Worst case you drive a ghost home. Best
(06:16):
case you get a killer story for Thanksgiving dinner. Got
your own ghost hitchhiker story, or maybe you are Mary.
Email us and remember if a girl in a white
dress needs a ride on Archer Avenue, don't touch the radio.
Drive safe, Chicago, stay spooky, folks, and check your back seat.
Welcome to the Strange History Podcast. I am Dan the
Reluctant announcer, and this podcast is hosted by someone who
bribes me with baked goods to do this gig. This
week we will be talking about Resurrection Mary, the hitchhiking
heartbreaker of Archer Avenue.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Thanks Dan, muffins are on the table on your way out.
Now let's dive in. You're driving alone at night on
Archer Avenue. You've had a couple mailert shots because it's Chicago.
You're jamming to some sticks, and suddenly you see her.
She's blonde, she's beautiful, she's barefoot. She's also dead. Welcome
to tonight's tale, Resurrection Mary, Chicago's most legendary hitchhiking ghost.
(00:44):
Who was Mary and why does she hate uber? Let's
rewind to the nineteen twenties or nineteen thirties, depending on
which ghost tour you book. The story begins like a
tragic jazz age rom com. A girl possibly named Mary
because of course she is, goes dancing at the famed
O Henry Ballroom in Justice, Illinois. She and her date
(01:06):
get into a spat. Some say about leaving early, Others
say he stepped on her dress during the Charleston. So
what does she do? She irish exits the dance, storms
out into the night in her white gown and heels
Q thunderclap, and starts walking home down Archer Avenue. Only
she never makes it whether she was struck by a
(01:29):
car or met some other grizzly fate. She ends up
buried in Resurrection Cemetery, dressed for the party, eternally ready
to boogie. But here's the twist. That wasn't the end.
It was the beginning of a ninety plus year ghost story.
Because Mary Mary doesn't rest, she rides ghostin and hitchin.
(01:50):
The first known sighting was in the nineteen thirties, when
a man named Jerry Pallis danced with a blonde woman
at Liberty Grove and Hall. She was beautiful, quiet and cold,
not emotionally cold, physically cold. After the dance, she asked
for a ride down Archer Avenue. No red flags yet,
(02:10):
right as they passed Resurrection Cemetery, she suddenly said stop here,
and before Jerry could ask why the cemetery and not
a Denny's, she opened the car door and vanished into
thin air. Jerry later visited the address she gave him.
The people there said, Mary, she's been dead for years.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Fingerprints of the dead.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Okay, now things get physically spooky. In nineteen seventy six,
a man driving past Resurrection Cemetery at night reported seeing
a young woman grabbing the cemetery gate in a panic,
like she was trying to get out. When police showed up,
they found two of the iron bars pried apart and
inside what looked like scorched fingerprints. Either she had the
(02:58):
grip of a gymnast or there's a very angry metalworker
ghost wandering Chicago. The bars were reportedly replaced and then
quietly removed again, maybe to stop curious teens from licking them.
You know how it goes. Let's fast forward to the
nineteen eighties, a prime decade for ghosts and bad decisions.
(03:19):
Some of the best Resurrection Mary stories come from this era.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
The Red Barrel Incident nineteen eighty.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
A driver named Tony picked up a beautiful young woman
in a white dress near the Red Barrel Restaurant now
a Duncan, which somehow feels more cursed. She was polite,
asked to be dropped off near Resurrection Cemetery, and barely spoke.
As they passed the gates, she vanished from the car
poof without even a thanks for the ride. Some say
(03:51):
she ghosted harder than a tender date who sees your
anime collection.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
The dance and the vanish.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Another man swears he danced with her in the fifties.
She said she lived by the cemetery, and when he
dropped her off, she walked through the gates and disappeared. Honestly,
girls got game, shows up, dressed to kill, dances like
a dream, then dissolves into mist Is it too much
to ask for one ghost? Who Venmo's gas money?
Speaker 1 (04:20):
So? Who was she?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
There are a few real life candidates for resurrection Mary
Mary Brigovi, who died in a nineteen thirty four car crash,
buried in Resurrection Cemetery. Blonde young, tragic check check check.
Anna Maria Norkis, age twelve, died in nineteen twenty seven.
Her death was closer to the o Henry Ballroom's heyday.
(04:44):
Her nickname Mary, but no single record ties perfectly to
the legend. In true Chicago fashion, the city just kind
of went a It's Mary, you know, ghost Mary. The
science of spook Some folklorists say resurrection. Mary is a
textbook vanishing hitchhiker legend, a global phenomenon where ghosts flag
(05:05):
down rides and peace out at a specific location. But
Mary's story sticks because of its detail and repetition, multiple
drivers descriptions that match sighting spanning decades, and that one
guy who swears she tried to change the radio to polka. Also,
most ghost stories don't leave behind melted cemetery gates, just saying.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Willowbrook Ballroom her final dance.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
The Willowbrook Ballroom, formerly the o Henry, was her rumored
favorite haunt. Built in nineteen twenty one, it was a
Romantic Art Deco palace of swing, foxtrot and sneaky smooches.
The ballroom burned down in twenty sixteen, and many believe
that's when sighting slowed, or maybe Mary just refuses to
(05:54):
haunt a world where people dance via TikTok trends, Drive safe, Chicago,
So next time you're cruising Archer Avenue past midnight, watch
the shoulder. Don't be surprised if you see a pale
young woman in a white dress, and if she gets
in your car and says, take me to the cemetery.
Do it. Worst case you drive a ghost home. Best
(06:16):
case you get a killer story for Thanksgiving dinner. Got
your own ghost hitchhiker story, or maybe you are Mary.
Email us and remember if a girl in a white
dress needs a ride on Archer Avenue, don't touch the radio.
Drive safe, Chicago, stay spooky, folks, and check your back seat.
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com