HULL HOUSE AND THE DEVIL BABY

LOCATION-------800 S. Halsted Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607. Hull House is now a public museum located on the corner of Halsted and Post Streets. Call (312)413-5353 for more information.

NUMBER OF GHOSTLY RESIDENTS------At least five, including a group of phantoms and a deformed "Devil Baby." Other ghosts are suspected as well.

IDENTITIES OF GHOSTLY RESIDENTS-------One of the ghosts may be the spirit of an orphaned child. Other spirits may include Charles Hall, who constructed the house, and Jane Addams and Ellen Starr, who converted it into a social services centers.

TYPE OF ACTIVITY------Ghosts lights, ectoplasmic mist, and as least five phantoms

DEMEANOR OF GHOSTLY RESIDENTS------Largely unknown. If the ghost of a Devil Baby does exist in the house, it is likely to be quite violent. In contrast, the other ghosts may be particularly benevolent.

STORY-------Hull House was first built in 1856 by Charles Hull as a shelter for immigrants struggling to find a new life in America. In the 1880s, patrons of the poor Ellen Starr and Jane Addams converted the large building into a settlement house to serve Chicago's most impoverished residents. Despite a steady stream of people coming and going, no ghostly activity was reported until early 1900s.

The first supernatural event surrounding Hull House took place in 1913, when the so-called Devil Baby arrived at the home. According to legend, the child was born to a God-fearing Italian woman who had unwisely married an atheist; as punishment, their baby was cursed with the Devil's appearance: it had cloven hoofs, scaled skin, horns, pointed ears, and a sinuous tail. The couple tried to raise the infant for a short time, but when it became unruly the father entrusted it to the care of Jane Addams and Hull House.

Within days, the news of the Devil Baby leaked into the immigrant neighborhoods surrounding the Hull House, causing widespread panic. Throughout the uproar, Addams maintained that no such creature existed, although many reports indicate that she was hiding the monstrosity in the attic in a attempt to protect it from mob violence.

Eventually, the panic subsided, leaving the mystery of the Devil Baby unsolved. But years later, the legend of the creature reemerged. For decades now, people passing the house have spotted a wild, bestial creature peering from one of the attic windows. This apparition has been tentatively identified as the ghostly remains of the Devil Baby, which may have died in the house while still a child.

Aside from the creepy Devil Baby, Hull House has several other phantoms in residence. Ghosts hunters exploring the site have reported encounters with floating balls of light that wander down the attic staircase. The apparitions, along with a strange ectoplasmic mist, have been caught on film by a number of researchers. In addition, four hooded phantoms, often described as monks, have also been sighted and photographed in recent years.

All of Hull House's ghosts, other then the Devil Baby, have yet to be identified, largely because the list of candidates is so long. Virtually anyone who has ever visited Hull House, including a great many impoverished immigrants, could have returned to the site in death. The home's founder, Charles Hull, is also a prime suspect in the current hauntings, as is Jane Addams, who eventually received a Nobel Prize for her efforts on behalf of the poor and the women's movement.

In 1963, the settlement house relocated to a larger facility. At the time, the original building was converted into a historic museum, which is now open to the public. The current staff denies all knowledge of any hauntings and has reported no ususual phenomena. Ghost hunters, however are convinced that Hull House remains one of the mst haunted sites in America.

Hull House is one of the few haunted houses that is arguable more rewarding (and probably mush safer) to study from the outside. Begin your search for ghosts at the site by observing the upper left attic window, where the Devil Baby most often appears. Once inside, spend your hours repeadly wandering the attic staircase, which often plays host to a parade of ghost lights. The attic should also be thoroughly searched, especially if you managed to glimpse the Devil Baby before you enetered the house. Throughout your visit, snap several rolls of photographs, devoting a large number of exposures to both the staircase and the corners of the attic. While some of Hull House's ghostly manifestations may not appear to the naked eye, they ofter reveal themselves on developed film.



Just to let you know this story is not mine. Once again I typed it from one the most incredible ghost books I have ever read. The Field Guide To North America Hauntings: Everything You Need to Know About Encounting Over 100 Ghosts, Phantoms, and Spectral Entities written by W. Haden Blackman. If you ever check this book out in a library I think you will find it very interesting to read. Hope you enjoy this story. :o)!

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