The Legend of the Illinois ‘Hull House Devil Baby’ Raised by Jane Addams?

Hull House in Chicago was founded in 1889 by Jane Addams. This was a location that sheltered them from abusive husbands. The Hull House is also know for the beginning stages of "Social Welfare." The importance of this location, and the impact it had on the state of Illinois and the country, was huge.

With all of this positivity, and help for women from Illinois come the story of the "Devil Baby."

The Devil Woman was born to a woman that no one knew. The mother AND the midwives were terrified and wouldn't go near the baby or take care of it. GhostWalks

As the legend goes, the father "yelled to the heavens" not wanting another daughter:

“I would rather have the devil in this house than another daughter!”

Mission accomplished, dude.

Jane Addams thought this was simply a child that needed love and it was not the "Devil Baby." This us her quote from an interview:

“The knowledge of the existence of the Devil Baby burst upon the residents of Hull-House one day when three Italian women, with an excited rush through the door, demanded that he be shown to them. No amount of denial convinced them that he was not there, for they knew exactly what he was like, with his cloven hoofs, his pointed ears and diminutive tail; moreover, the Devil Baby had been able to speak as soon as he was born and was most shockingly profane.” - Jane Addams 

Jane Addams was not a fan of the attention that this gave Hull House, with the facility receiving tons of phone calls.