Megan McFarlane of Chicago Public Library reads to a group of children at Jane Addams Hull-House Museum for a spooky Halloween-themed family day on Oct. 28th (images: Sarah Larson/JAHHM)

The first-ever Haunting of Hull-House October event series has just concluded! With this event series, we reframed Hull-House as a space for the discussion and celebration of urban legends. Keep reading for a round-up of our October events:

Throughout the month, our sold-out evening ghost tours highlighted Hull-House's supernatural history and discussed the sociological and historical circumstances that brought about the urban legends that are still circulated today. Proceeds from these tours supported Hull-House education efforts. You can read more about urban legends at Hull-House in our blog article, ‘“Finding Folklore": Jane Addams and Hull-House's Supernatural History’.

Nearing the middle of the month, we hosted a screening of Watcher Entertainment’s Ghost Files episode “The Devil Baby of the Hull-House Museum” and our exclusive interview with the show’s hosts, Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej. The online engagement for these videos was the largest the museum has ever achieved, currently boasting over 115,000 views and counting. Watch the interview here.

Screening of Watcher’s “The Devil Baby of the Hull-House Museum” on Oct. 14th.

Later in the month, Hull-House hosted a panel discussion and viewing of Nia DaCosta’s 2021 film Candyman. This fascinating panel featured University of Illinois Chicago professors Cynthia Blair and Jane Rhodes, who honed in on the key social justice themes within the film and the significants of urban ghosts.

Jane Rhodes (right) and Cynthia Blair (left) during the Candyman screening on Oct. 20th.

Next, Hull-House welcomed WBEZ for a special live broadcast of Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons, which featured a segment about the Hull-House Settlement’s own history of hauntings, along with other segments discussing Chicago’s hauntings, the science of fear and decay, and upcoming family Halloween events in the city.

Hull-House Educator Nadia Maragha in conversation with Sasha-Ann Simons for Reset on Oct. 26th.

The museum wrapped up our October series with a Halloween Family Day. In collaboration with the Chicago Public Library, we provided an afternoon full of Halloween themed stories, activities, and crafts. Family and Children Services librarians joined forces with our team to create a celebration of the spooky season that got everyone into the festive spirit with costumes, prizes, and treats.

A parent and child crafting at Halloween Family Day on Oct. 29th.

Thank you to everyone who supported our event series and turned the museum into a lively, celebratory space. It was a genuine treat to share Hull-House’s haunted history with a wider audience. Thank you to our partners who made it possible: filmmakers Martin Hernandez, the Family and Children Services Librarians from Chicago Public Library, the team at Watcher, scholars Jane Rhodes and Cynthia Blair, and the staff at WBEZ’s Reset team.

See you next spooky season!

The Hull-House Team