Perhaps the most famous phantom hitchhiker in the world. Resurrection Mary has been seen along Archer Avenue, south of Chicago, between the Willowbrook Ballroom and Resurrection Cemetery. Sightings of the ghostly female go back to the 1930s.
Ground zero for an alleged UFO crash and recovery in July of 1947.
A mythical figure in Western culture said to sprinkle magical dust or sand into a child's eyes while they sleep at night, bringing either dreams or nightmares. The grit or "sleep" in the corners of one's eyes is said to be the result of the Sandman's work in the night.
A fictional figure in the form of an elderly, jovial man with a white beard and a red suit who, in most Western cultures, delivers gifts to children of the world on the eve of Christmas, December 24th. This legend may have its basis in the historical figure of gift giver Saint Nicholas. Well-known legends of Santa include that he lives at the North Pole with his wife Mrs. Claus, elves who make his toys/gifts and his magical, flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the sky on Christmas Eve night. Santa keeps a list of who has been naughty or nice and only delivers his gifts to those children who have been nice.
The story goes that Christopher, a tall and powerful man living around the third century, wanted to serve the greatest king so he set out to find the most powerful king he could. When he found the king, he was surprised to see the man cross himself at the mention of the devil. Christopher figured the devil was more powerful than this king so he went off to serve the devil. Christopher then saw that the devil would avoid crosses and Christian relics, so he figured that king must be even more powerful. But Christopher couldn't find this king as easily. A hermit taught Christopher the ways of Christianity, and when asked how he could serve, the hermit suggested Christopher help people across a dangerous river. Christopher did so happily. One day a small child walked up to Christopher asking his assistance in crossing the river. Christopher put the child on his shoulders and began the trek across the river. During the crossing, the river began to rise, and the weight of the child became almost unbearable--it was as if Christopher carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. When he reached the other side and set the boy down safely, the child replied that he was the king that Christopher served, and the weight of the world's sins was the force weighing him down.
Located at 131st and Southwest Highway, the legend is reported as the following: In the 1890s, a man by the name of Butcher had a butcher shop that was getting low on meat supplies. A shipment of beef came one day and Butcher's trainee was carrying the load to the basement meat locker. He tried to take too much at one time and he fell down the stairs. His neck snapped and he died on the spot. Butcher didn't know what to do and he thought that the police would think that he pushed his assistant down the stairs. So, instead of telling anybody, he hid the body in the meat locker. When the young man's parents came looking for him, Butcher told them that he hadn't seen him in several days. The boy's father was skeptical about the story and went to the police. Detectives questioned Butcher at length. They left but Butcher became more and more uneasy about the situation. Seeing that livestock was getting harder to come by, Butcher came up with a ghastly idea. He went back to his shop in the dark of night and cut up part of the boy's body, then wrapped it up and sold it as beef. His customers thought the meat was great and wanted more. Butcher cut up the rest of the body until it was all gone. He was worried that if his customers couldn't get more of the meat that they would start asking where they could get it for themselves. So Butcher would go out at night and find hobos from the railroad and bums that he knew wouldn't be missed. He offered them free food to get them to come to his shop. Then he murdered them and sold them as beef. His customers loved the meat but then he had the problem of not having any stock again. After the first child disappeared, the people were worried but never imagined that there was a murderer among them. When more children went missing, they started wondering what really happened to Butcher's apprentice. A mob of local men broke into his shop and started searching. In the meat locker, they found packages of body parts and the remains of one child hanging from a meat hook. The angry mob went to Butcher's house and dragged him out on the lawn. They attacked him with knives, axes and hammers. They cut off his head and buried it under the fire pit on Indian Hill. His body was buried in a nearby cemetery and his name was the only thing on the gravestone. Reportedly, you can hear his meat cleaver banging against the headstone and they say it is the sound of Butcher cutting up his victims.
Excerpt from "Horse Miracles" by Brad & Sherry Steiger, pages 65-70: "The Devil Rider is a strange manifestation that some of the people of the central Texas hills claim to have seen before every major conflict in which the United States has become embroiled." The exact site where the Rider appears (first recorded account 1861) is not disclosed but it reportedly sits on the location of an old Spanish Fort where Comanche Indians massacred the entire garrison, around 1700. Reportedly, the Devil Rider appears on his enormous black steed out of nowhere and then vanishes, along with his horse's tracks. He is reportedly adorned in armor including: iron gauntlets, a Spanish helmet, a buckle with an inscription of a crown & lion, and two brass single barrel pistols of 18th century design with the look of fine Spanish Craftsmanship.
The legend of the Tooth Fairy is that a fairy gives a child money or some sort of gift/token in exchange for a baby tooth that has fallen out or been pulled out. Typically children place the tooth under their pillow; the fairy then visits while they are sleeping and makes the swap.
Reports include: people seen inside playing at a card table, a woman in white walking on the grounds and looking out of a window, and hearing people's voices talking.