HAUNTED ALCATRAZ

By: Buloy

Welcome to HAUNTED ALCATRAZ,or Hellcatraz, as it was called by some inmates. The history does not begin or end with the use of Alcatraz as a prison and penitentiary, for it was k
nown to Native Americans, and avoided as a place that contained evil sprits. The energy of those who came to "The Rock" and never left, still remains for visitors from around the world to see, feel, and even hear. Alcatraz is a portal to another dimension, where unexplainable events continue to occur. Whoever, or whatever lurks in the shadows can be heard, seen, and felt. As parapsychologists suggest, where so much trauma and negative emotion have occurred, there is bound to be residual energy---and Alcatraz has the feel of an immense haunted house, complete with fog, and restless spirits. Although the candle may have burned out for Alcatraz long ago, its legend never did.

Prior to its discovery by Europeans, Alcatraz was viewed as a barren white rock---white because it was covered with pelican droppings--thus receiving the name of La Isla de los Alcatraces or "The Island of the Pelicans," by the Spanish. However, it wasn't until the 1850s, that the importance of this tiny island as a defensive position was realized. Finally, the military decided to build a fortress in case an unfriendly ship might decide to enter the Golden Gate. The Army Corps of Engineers began to construct an impenetrable and imposing structure in 1854. The original construction estimates of $300,000 did not take into account the wind, rain, fog, strong ocean currents, lack of water, lack of vegetation, and the fact that there was only one possible spot to land equipment and supplies.

Construction began with the erection of a temporary wharf for supplies. This was followed by wooden shops, storehouses, barracks and offices. Those who couldn't make it in the gold fields, became reluctant laborers on Alcatraz. The labor force carved out roadways and other features as the fortress slowly took shape. It was only a matter of time before Alcatraz began taking human life. During 1857, while a crew was excavating along the roadway between the wharf and the guard-house, a 7,000 cubic-yard rock landslide buried a team of laborers: Daniel Pewter, age 50, of Ireland and Jacob Unger, 25, of Germany were the first known deaths on Alcatraz. On a cold December day in 1859, the Third Artillery arrived on Alcatraz with a group of eleven anonymous soldiers of Company H---the first prisoners to be incarcerated in irons in the basement cellroom of the guardhouse for crimes not recorded in the army files. Alcatraz was now a fully operational fortress and prison. By Aug. 27, 1861, Alcatraz was designated as the official military prison for the entire Department of the Pacific. Living conditions were grim. Men slept side-by-side, head-to-toe, lying on the stone floors. There was no running water or heat in the cells, sanitary facilities were almost non-existent, and disease was rampant. After the Civil War, confederate sympathizers caught celebrating the death of President Lincoln were sent to Alcatraz. In 1868, the Army designated Alcatraz Island as a prison for military convicts and malcontents of society. By the late 1800s-early 1900s, Indian chiefs and tribal leaders of Arizona and Alaska were incarcerated along with some of the worst thieves, deserters, rapists, and repeated escapees from the Army. Alcatraz again became a disciplinary barracks for U.S. Army military incorrigibles, as well as a health resort when soldiers returning from the Spanish American war convalesced there.

On the morning of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Alcatraz shook, but sustained little damage. That same year, four prisoners tried to paddle to the mainland on a butter vat, only to have strong currents bring them back. Driftwood was used during escape attempts in 1912, 1916, 1927 and a ladder was used during a escape attempt in 1929. All of the men werecaptured or surrendered, victims of the cruel currents, and cold water. In 1911, Alcatraz was officially named the United States Disciplinary Barracks---an official Army Prison which included both U.S. Army prisoners as well as German seamen who became prisoners of war.
The social upheaval of the 1920's and 30s, and rampant crime sweeping American provided Alcatraz with new life. Daring escapes, gang-related murders and mass rioting were a menace to an orderly prison. Attorney General Homer Cummings supported J. Edgar Hoover in creating a facility which would instill fear in would-be criminals by creating a place where prisoners could be safely controlled and could not escape. In 1933, the prison facility was formally turned over to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. During 1934, Alcatraz became a an escape-proof, maximum security prison, where only the most hardened convicts were brought.

The first residents of newly created Alcatraz, received numbers 1- 32, with Frank Bolt having
the distinction of being Federal Prisoner #l while serving a five-year sentence for sodomy. He was followed by Charles Copp (Robbery and Attempted Assault), Leon Gregory (Robbery, Assault, and AWOL), Joseph Harrison (sodomy), Forrest Henry (Robbery and Assault), Clyde Hicks (Sodomy), Ralph Hills (Robbery and Assault), Albert Hoke (Robbery), Alan Hood (Sodomy), and Frederick Holme (Sodomy and False Enlistment) to round out the first ten inmates. AL Capone was the first celebrity on the first train to Alcatraz, arriving in August1934---He was given the number 85.

Guards armed with machine guns, ensured that there were no escapes. Many convicts found Alcatraz the end of their career in crime, as well as the end of their lives. For twenty- nine years, the fog-enshrouded island, with its damp, cold winds, and isolation made Alcatraz one of America's safest prisons. The shell of steel and reinforced concrete confined ruthless men to a life of deprivation, rules, and routines that proved almost intolerable. When one adds the fact that the convicts could hear party boats pass by, and see the San Francisco city lights,it is little wonder that some preferred death to this kind of isolation. Failure to acquiesce to prison rules resulted in confinement in "D" Block, the treatment unit. Here, men could leave their four- by-eight-foot cells only once in seven days for a brief ten-minute shower. Life was hard on Alcatraz, just the way Warden Johnston envisioned it. His motto was, "Take each day of your sentence, one day at a time. Don't think how far you have to go, but how far you've come." For many prisoners, Alcatraz became synonymous with hell.

There were a number of escape attempts from Alcatraz, but the bloodiest occurred on May 2, 1946 involving, Bernard Coy, Joseph Cretzer, Sam Shockley, Clarence Carnes, Marvin Hubbard, and Miran Thompson. It cost the lives of three inmates and two guards, with 17 guards and one prisoner wounded. The trial afterward, resulted in the execution of twomore convicts who took part in the aborted escape.

Attorney General Robert Kennedy officially closed the doors of Alcatraz on March 21 , 1963. From 1963 until 1969, the prison was unoccupied. Today it is maintained by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area where almost a million visitors per year pay to see "The Rock". To get there, take a seat aboard the Red & White Fleet ferry service. Reservations can be obtained by contacting (800) 229-2784.

The reputation of Alcatraz, like the solid ground it was built on, represents a lasting reminder, that no man is above the law, and for some, it is an eternal payback for their crimes against humanity---kind of an paranormal prison. Here are some of the stories.
During a Sightings visit in 1992, several of the Park Service staff confirmed the haunted history of Alcatraz. Many rangers had experienced unexplainable crashing sounds, cell doors mysteriously closing, unearthly screams, and intense feelings of being watched. Sightingscalled on psychic investigator Peter James to walk through portions of the abandoned prison to get his impressions. James began to pick up on the voices of the tortured souls driven mad since it's inception as a prison. He also sensed unusual vibrations of abuse, mistreatment, fear, and pain. His overall impression of Alcatraz was, that it had an energy like no other he had ever experienced---a persistent and overwhelming intensity that engulfed the island.

Some of the more haunted locations on Alcatraz appear to be the Warden's House, the hospital, the laundry room, and Cell Block C utility door where convicts Coy, Cretzer and Hubbard died during their escape attempt in 1946. The most haunted area on Alcatraz, is the "D" cell block, or solitary, as it was often called. To most who go there, a feeling of sudden intensity pervades the cells and corridor. Some rangers refuse to go there alone. It is intensely cold in certain cells, far colder than normal---especially cell 14-D. This cell is often times so cold, that wearing a jacket barely helps---even though the surrounding area is twenty degrees warmer. It is no wonder the area was called "The Hole."

When authors, Richard Winer and Nancy Osborn visited Alcatraz, they ventured down to solitary with a park ranger. As Osborn entered cell 14-D, she immediately felt strong vibrations coming from within. Winer and the ranger followed Osborn, and within seconds, each of them experienced an intense tingling sensation in their hands and arms---theywere convinced that something or someone was in there with them. The far corner of the cell where they were standing, and feeling the intense energy, was the exact spot where the naked, shivering prisoners would huddle, night after night, in the unforgiving darkness. Osborn said that she had never felt so much energy before in one spot.

Renowned ghosthunter Richard Senate, and a psychic spent the night on Alcatraz as part of a KGO radio promotion. They chose Al Capone's cell as a place of temporary refuge. According to Senate, emotions seemed to drip from every corner of Alcatraz as the long night progressed. He and the psychic visited the spots where rangers said they heard marching footsteps, and clanking metal; however, nothing happened. Finally, Senate locked himself in cell 12-D, where an evil and persistent ghost is rumored to dwell. As the thick, steel door was closed, Senate immediately felt icy fingers on his neck, and his hair stood on end. He knew he was not alone. Additionally, the psychic picked up on the twisted and dismembered bodies of uniformed men. Both left the island convinced that Alcatraz had its own special energy.

According to Antoinette May, much of the paranormal activity on Alcatraz occurs around areas associated with the penitentiary's worst tragedies. One of them is the Block C utility corridor, Cell Blocks A and B, with the eeriest area centering around cell 14-D---where it is always cold. According to May, gifted psychic Sylvia Brown accompanied by a CBS newsteam, investigated parts of Alcatraz. As Brown toured the prison hospital she picked up cards and notes tacked up on a wall, and the letter "S." A ranger confirmed that the "S" probably stood for Robert Stroud who spent ten-and-a-half years in the hospital, in the very roomthey were standing. He also had hundreds of notes and cards tacked up all around him. Brown sensed strong energy in what used to be the therapy room, and the prison laundry room, where at least one prisoner was murdered.

Co-author, Michael Kouri, visited Alcatraz Island in July of 1984 with his uncle. After several preliminary psychic impressions, Kouri reached cell 14-D, and entered. He first felt a "tingling sensation", which began at his fingertips; then, a very intense feeling of cold engulfedhim. In a slight trance, he began to communicate with the spirit of a man of small stature; who had his head shaved and was left in "The Hole." The spirit, in obvious pain, "told" a horrifying tale of being beaten, his leg broken by guards, and left in solitary confinement---hehad squealed on a fellow inmate---the year was 1939. Kouri then tried to lead the poor soul to the light. [Note: Kouri's other unique experience with a visitor, is truly remarkable, as well as an interview with the wife of an ex-warden---but you'll have wait until the book comes out.

A former guard related his stories about Cell Block D (particularly cells 12 and 14), and the frightening remnant energy lingering in the subterranean portion of the prison. During his stint during the mid-1940, convicts were often confined in one of the 14 cells in "D" Block (cells 9-14 were called "The Hole," because they contained no windows, and only one light which could be turned off by the guards. The darkness made it seem like a hole in the ground---hence the name. On one occasion, an inmate was locked in "The Hole". Within seconds, the inmate began screaming that someone with glowing eyes was in there with him.

Tales of a ghostly presence wandering the darkened corridors in clothing from the late 1800,s were a continual source of practical joking among the guards, so the convict's pleas of being "attacked," were ignored.

The man's screaming continued well into the night, until there was silence. The following day, the guards inspected the cell---the convict was dead, a horrible expression etched on his face, and noticeable hand marks around his throat. The autopsy revealed that the strangulation wasnot self-inflicted. Some say he was strangled by a guard who had enough of the man's screaming---although no guard ever admitted it, even to the other guards. Others believed it was the restless, evil spirit of a former inmate who exacted his vengeance on yet another helpless soul. To add to the mystery, the day after the tragedy, several guards, performing a routine lineup of the convicts, counted one too many people. At the end of the line, the guards witnessed an extra body---that of the recently deceased convict. As everyone looked on in stunned silence, the figure of the ghostly convict vanished into thin air!

A number of guards from 1946 through 1963, experienced something out of the ordinary at one time or another. From the outer rim on the grounds to the deepest caverns, there was constant talk of people sobbing and moaning, horrible smells, cold spots, and seeing the "thing" with glowing eyes. Even groups of phantom prisoners and soldiers have appeared in front of startled guards, guests, and the families who lived on the island.

Sometimes the old lighthouse (long since demolished) appeared out of a dense fog, accompanied by a ghostly whistling sound, and a great flashing light which passed slowly around the entire island, just as if the Lighthouse was still active. The spectacle would then vanish before the startled eyes of guards and visitors. Phantom cannon shots, gun shots, and screams oftentimes sent seasoned guards falling flat on their stomachs thinking that prisoners had escaped and obtained weapons. Each time, there was no explanation. A deserted laundry room would sometimes emanate a strong scent of smoke, as if something was on fire. Thesensation of the choking smoke would drive guards out of the room, only to return a few minutes later, the area now completely smoke free---the phantom smoke occurred many times over the years.

Even Warden Johnston, who didn't believe in ghosts, encountered the unmistakable sounds of woman sobbing, as if coming from inside the walls of the dungeon while he accompanied a number of guests on a tour of the facility. As if that weren't enough, an icy, cold gust of wind blew through the group, chilling them to the bone, just as the sobbing stopped.

The now burned-out shell of the Warden's House, has also been a focal point for sightings since the 1940s. During a Christmas Party, several guards witnessed the chilling apparition of a man wearing a gray suit, brimmed cap, and mutton chop side burns. When the men saw theapparition, the room turned deathly cold, the fire in the Ben Franklin stove was extinguished, and after less than a minute, the man vanished.

These are but a few of the "Haunted Alcatraz" stories. When you visit and journey down the now deserted corridors of this world famous penitentiary, keep your wits about you, and all your five senses in tuned, and perhaps your sixth sense will help you encounter some of themany spirits who inhabit Alcatraz.