This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between this story and any actual person, living or dead, is coincidental. Except for Mary herself, who is quite real.
The story contains mature subject matter. It may contain adult situations and/or language. If you're not old enough to legally read this (and you know who you are), then get out of here before it's too late. You've been warned.
Permission is granted to archive or repost this story as long as the text is unaltered, and my copyright and this notice are included. Oh, and this permission is conditional upon it's being available only on free sites. No membership fee, "Adult Check", or other means of skinning money out of people are allowed.
I'd love to hear from any readers with comments. Email me at kim@kimem.net.
My other stories are available at http://www.kimem.net
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Resurrection Mary
by: Kim EM © 2000 All rights reserved
I was sober. Really, I swear it. I'd had a few drinks earlier in the evening, but that was a few hours ago, and I was past their effects. If I had been drunk, or even slightly tipsy, the whole thing might have made more sense to me.
I was heading home from an office Halloween party down in the loop, and was travelling down Archer Avenue, heading southwest past the Frito plant. The plant was, well, pretty noticeable. The whole area smelled like burnt Fritos. And please, don't ask me how I know what burnt Fritos smell like; it's a long story and not very pretty.
I was just at the Chicago city limits when I saw a young girl standing by the side of the road. Now I don't usually stop for hitchhikers, but it was around 10 PM, and this was a pretty rough area. Lots of bikers and rednecks, and not really a safe place for a young, blonde hitchhiker.
I pulled over near where she stood, rolled down the window, and asked, "Are you in trouble? Do you need a ride?"
She looked puzzled for an instant, then her face cleared and she nodded silently. I gestured for her to get in.
She pulled the door open and slid in, pulled the door shut, and turned to me. "Thanks. I've been standing there for quite a while, hoping to find a ride."
I pulled back into traffic, and asked, "Where are you headed?"
She had that puzzled look again for a second, then with a bit of a catch stated "7600 South Archer." She got quiet, and stared out the window at the passing suburb.
"Um.. can I ask what happened? It's unusual to see a hitchhiker out here at night, let alone one as pretty as you."
She blushed and smiled. "It's not that unusual, is it? And there's nothing much to tell. I was at the O'Henry Ballroom with my boyfriend, and we had a fight. I left with some friends, but the car had a problem, and that left me kind of stranded."
"And your friends just left you there all by yourself? That's pretty mean, leaving you alone in a bad area."
She swiveled in her seat to face me, legs tucked neatly under her. "It's not their fault. They had to move on, but I wanted to hang around and party some more. Tonight, though," she frowned, "there's nothing much left open. The only thing to do was try to find a ride and head back."
She looked at me and smiled. "By the way, my name's Mary."
"Hi. I'm Richard, Rich to my friends." I drove on in silence for a few minutes, and then asked, "Was it a Halloween party you came from? Your dress looks a bit old-fashioned." She was wearing a short belted dress, the kind that someone might have worn back in the twenties or thirties. Mary looked about nineteen or twenty, was slim, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was short and thin, with that wholesome, fresh-scrubbed look.
"A costume party? No... well, no. But there is a reason for the outfit." She looked down for a second, then back up at me. "There's a story, a legend, I guess, about a girl who was killed back in the nineteen-thirties. She was quite the party girl, and didn't want to give all that up. It seems that from time to time she shows up along Archer and hitches a ride back to the cemetery. And with this being Halloween, well, it seemed like the time."
I laughed and said, "So you're dressed like her, only it's nineteen-ninety-seven instead. And you even got stuck hitchhiking in the same area."
I was still laughing as the blocks counted up to 7600. On the right were a string of small bars and industrial-type businesses. On the left was a bit piece of fenced-in land... Oh. It was a cemetery.
I looked at the building numbers on the right.. 7521, 7525, 7533, 7537... then it struck me, those were all odd numbers. So 7600 had to be on the left. And that was... I braked hard and pulled to a stop at 7600. The main gate of Resurrection Cemetery.
I turned to Mary in surprise, but she was already half out of the car. The door slammed behind her as she walked casually towards the gates. She looked back at me and said "Thanks for the ride. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer. But you know, it IS Halloween."
I opened my door and was out of the car in a flash. I'm not sure why, but I knew that it was vital that she not leave. I called out, "Wait!"
She paused, mere feet from the gate, and said, "Yes?"
I kept coming, but when I was just a few feet away my foot caught a patch of wet leaves, and my feet went out from under me. I scrambled to stay upright, windmilling my arms, and I almost recovered, but I lurched forward and plunged right into her... and passed right through her body, my head exploding in a flash of white light.
*****
The girl smiled as the bartender slung her a fresh drink, and she patted her stomach as she sat at the bar. "We'll have so much fun from now on, Richard," she promised, and drank up.
The night was young, after all. And it WAS Halloween.
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Author's Note:
This is fiction, but Resurrection Mary is quite real. There have been numerous sighting over the years, and some physical evidence existed before being destroyed by the cemetery.
Mary is believed to be the ghost of Mary Bregory, who was killed in an accident on March 10, 1934. For more information on sightings plus photographs of the evidence, check out: http://www.ghostresearch.org/sites/resurrection/
Or
http://www.prairieghosts.com/resurcem.html
- Kim
© 2000
The above work is copyrighted material. Anyone wishing to copy, archive, or re-post this
story must contact the author for permission.