Welcome back as we set off to explore a number of cities in the State of Michigan. Currently we’re in Chicago, Illinois, so let’s kick off with a well-known Chicago area ghost story!

Legend has it, that sometime in the late 1920s or early 1930s, Mary and her boyfriend were enjoying an evening of dancing at the Oh Henry Ballroom, located southwest of Chicago.

At some point, they got into an argument and Mary stormed out deciding that she’d rather hitchhike home than spend another minute with her boyfriend. As she walked along Archer Avenue, she was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver.

When she didn’t return home, her parents went out in search of her and were grief stricken when they happened upon her dead body. They buried her at nearby Resurrection Cemetery in the white ballgown and dancing shoes in which she died.

Since the 1930s, several men driving along Archer Avenue have reported picking up a young female hitchhiker dressed somewhat formally in a white party dress. When the driver nears Resurrection Cemetery, the young woman asks to be let out and disappears into the cemetery.

According to the Chicago Tribune, “full-time ghost hunter” Richard Crowe has collected three dozen substantiated reports of Mary from the 1930s to present.

Today, Mike and I went to pay our respects to his parents, Mike and Catherine Krywanio, who are interred in the beautiful mausoleum in Resurrection Cemetery, Justice, Illinois, pictured above. It is one of the largest cemeteries in North America and home to over 150,000 graves including Resurrection Mary!