There was something strange about her
her face was deathly white;
She sat so pale and quiet in the back seat all alone
I’ll never will forget that night I took Mary home.”
— John Duffy, “Bringing Mary Home”
Resurrection Mary, Unique Ghost
Just about everyone has heard the tale of the vanishing hitchhiker, and just about every town has their own version of the story. Perhaps the most famous of these is Chicago’s Resurrection Mary. Reports of Mary began in the 1930s, though sightings of a similar spirit haunting the same area stretch back to the 1800s.
The spirit known as Mary wanders Chicago’s Archer Avenue, appearing underdressed for the cold weather she’s usually encountered in. Sometimes she appears at a dance hall. In every case she appears frightening and alone. Sympathetic souls, believing she is a living being, offer her a ride, which she accepts, giving quiet thanks for. She asks to be taken to Resurrection Cemetary, but once the car arrives, she has disappeared. Woe be it to the person who picks up Mary, but does not take her straight home.
Mary appears as an attractive girl in her later teenage years, wearing clothes that have been outdated for at least seven decades. When manifested, she has a physical form. To the touch, she feels like any other human, albeit with a frightening chill to her skin.
Attacks:
Mary attacks as a normal ghost, draining 1d6 POW. She prefers to attack those who are kind enough to give her a life home. There is no physical evidence of her attack; sitting within a few feet is enough for Mary to drain the target’s POW. She will only do it once per night. Any POW drained is added to Mary’s own. The victim suffers no ill effects other than a slight dizzy sensation.
By spending one POW, she can make a physical attack. One a POW x 5 roll, Mary can make a Grapple attack, anyone grappled suffers 1d4 damage a round as Mary’s hands begin to burn their flesh. By spending an additional point of POW, she can increase her STR by 3.
Resurrection Mary, the Vanishing Hitchhiker
STR N/A* – CON N/A* – SIZ N/A
INT 10 – POW 12 – DEX N/A
Mov 7 – HP N/A*
Weapons: See Attacks Above.
Armor: Mary may be attacked when in physical form. Her HP is equal to her base POW
Spells: None
Sanity Loss: 0/1d6 to realize you just had a car ride with Resurrection Mary
*When manifested in physical form, this stat is equal to her base POW.
Bruce is a sociology student and co-host of The Crypt Keepers podcast
