Hull House

Illinois · United States · House

Thousands crowded in to see the devil baby in the attic, and a White Lady walks here still.

Hull House in Chicago was founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr as a social settlement for the city's poor. Jane Addams became one of the most influential women in America, the country's first social worker and the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. But the house is also known for one of the most notorious tall tales in Chicago.

In the spring of 1913 thousands of Chicagoans poured into Hull House, determined to see a rumoured devil baby said to be hidden in the attic. The descriptions were oddly consistent: a deformed infant with horns, cloven hooves, a pointed tail and the ability to swear and smoke a cigar. One popular origin story concerned a devoutly Catholic woman married to an atheist husband, who tore down a picture of the Virgin Mary with the words I would rather have the devil's child. Jane Addams spent weeks personally turning people away and issuing denials in the newspapers, but the harder she denied the devil baby, the more convinced people became that she was hiding it.

Two of the thirteen Hull House buildings are still considered haunted today. The house's Lady in White is said to be Millicent Hull, and ghostly children are said to be heard running in the upper corridor and in the courtyard. The story of the devil baby is thought to have inspired the 1967 horror novel Rosemary's Baby. Today Hull House is a museum, but the tale of the attic lives on.

Source: hullhousemuseum.org + CBS Chicago + ghostcitytours.com + Atlas Obscura

FAQ

Where is Hull House located?

Hull House is in Illinois, United States.

Image: V. O. Hammon Publishing Company · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons