This modest brick building in Justice, Illinois has been a tavern for over a century. Occupied since 1965 by Chet's Melody Lounge, the dwelling sits directly across from Resurrection Cemetery, a location that has resulted in decades of entanglement with the ghost of Resurrection Mary.

Chicago's favorite spook story has all the goods: a beautiful girl in billowing white, scads of credible eyewitness encounters spanning decades and an imposing Catholic cemetery chock full of spirits. Drivers claiming to have accidentally mowed down a young girl in a white dress periodically rush into Chet's to call the authorities; many cab drivers have stopped by hoping to find the blond beauty in the pallid gown who jumped fare. As the only late-night establishment around, Chet's is the perpetual after-party for nearby Mary encounters. Most experts agree that Resurrection Mary was the young victim of a 1930s hit-and-run, struck while fleeing from the O'Henry Ballroom and her loutish lover. Some research suggests that the spirit is of the 12-year-old Anna Norkus, who was killed during a car accident after a birthday dance with her father, and eventually laid to rest in a temporary grave. In fact, Chet's seems to be one of the few common threads running through the disparate explanations of this supernatural saga. If you're heading to Chet's to flirt with Resurrection Mary, be sure to buy her one of her namesake drinks. You'll find one of the best bloody marys around here, and no one will look at you sideways if you leave it on the bar for a ghost.

Centerstage Reviewer: K. Tighe