Discussion thirteen: Resurrection Mary

Resurrection Mary is a famous Chicago ghost. Her story is rooted in the family of "vanishing hitchhiker"* ghosts. But who is this windy city phantom? Is she real?

Her legend begins in the 1930's, where a young woman named Mary was supposedly killed in a hit and run accident, coming home from a dance. She was buried in Resurrection cemetery, and since then, witnesses have claimed to pick up a young girl on the road, near where Mary died. The woman asks to be dropped off near Resurrection cemetery, where she then disappears. People have reported seeing Mary's ghost since the 30's, until recently.

To read the full legend, see here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_Mary

Discussion questions:
1. Many phantom hitchhiker stories are never proven- no one has connected them to an actual person who actually died at the allegedly haunted place. But Resurrection Mary is different. There are several graves in the cemetery where she was supposedly buried, that have been linked to her name and cause of death. Does this make Mary more "real?"

2. Could this be why her story has stayed popular over the years?

3. Mary supposedly had a fight with her boyfriend on the night of the dance, and left angry, which is why she was walking home when she died. Do you think this could be why her spirit has stuck around? Do you think she haunts because she has unfinished business to deal with, or, like some ghost, she doesn't know she is dead?

* Vanishing hitchhikers are ghosts that are prevalent in urban legends and campfire stories. They are the type of story that can be placed in any town, and are told over and over. They differ, but some elements that the stories share are:

-The ghost is usually a young woman in a white or blue dress, who is picked up by a man driving alone.
-She usually has a classic name like Mary or Sarah.
-She is usually walking home from a party, or sometimes, leaving her wedding.
-It is usually stormy on the nights a phantom hitchhiker are spotted, parroting the type of night she died. The weather is usually what caused her to meet her fate.
-She asks to be dropped off at a strange place like a cemetery, a rundown house, or an empty lot where her house once existed. Or she simply disappears from the car.
-The driver returns to where she was dropped off to check on her, only to find the house is abandoned, or the current owners fill him in on who this girl actually was.

Happy Haunting,
Frankie

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