This genuine house of horrors opposite the Orthodox Cathedral functioned as the national headquarters of the Gestapo during the Nazi occupation of 1943-1944 before falling into the hands of the Sigurimi, Albania’s Communist-era version of the KGB, who used it as both a listening post and place of torture. The House of Leaves, named after the foliage then covering the facade, was opened as a museum of secret surveillance in 2017, focusing on the persecution of and psychological violence waged against Albanian citizens, and the ways the Sigurimi sought to control people's bodies and minds. In 9 sections with names like "bugs and other creatures" or "Daily life under surveillance", all manners of spy gadgets, photos and documents are on display, accompanied by witnesses' chilling tales.