An elaborate marble statue of a woman in a wedding dress is bound to stand out in a cemetery as it is, but that's not what's driven The Italian Bride to be a subject of local fascination. Upon closer inspection, there is an actual photo plaque on the gravesite of a woman in a casket, looking perfectly preserved even though, as an inscription notes, the photo was taken six years after burial after the body was exhumed. Reports of unusual activity cover everything from the smell of fresh flowers near the gravesite in the dead of winter to the ghostly figure of a woman in white roaming the cemetery (or the halls of nearby Proviso West High School) in the dead of night. In 1921, recently married Julia Buccola Petta died in childbirth and was buried in her wedding dress. Legend has it her mother immediately began experiencing nightmares that Julia was demanding her grave be reopened. The source of the distress varies depending on the storyteller, often relating to some sort of discontent with Julia's new husband, but what isn't in dispute is that six years later the mother got her wish and Julia's pristine condition inspired her to raise funds for the statue that's been creeping out generations ever since.
