San Francisco - Alcatraz Island

Once the nation's most high tech "inescapable" federal prison, Alcatraz island has an overabundance of sorrow crammed into a very tiny rock in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz was previously called "La Isla de los Alcatreses" (Island of the Pelicans) by the Spanish, and was a barren rocky crag pointing out of the bay, covered with pelicans and their droppings. Made famous by it's former inhabitants - legendary and infamous gangsters of the
prohibition era, like:

Al Capone - Chicago's most famous export until Michael Jordan came along. Prisoner #85-AZ was
sent here after his long awaited conviction of ... tax evasion (after a short stint in Atlanta).
In the throes of end stage syphilis, Scarface spent his days on Alcatraz being a model prisoner.
Near the end of his sentence he was in full end stage syphilis (which eventually leads to
complete deterioration of all mental functions) and spent most of his time in the infirmary.
Robert Stroud "The Birdman" - #594-AZ was another product of the Land of Lincoln. He was never
allowed to keep any birds in Alcatraz. That happened during his extended sentence in Leavenworth,
Kansas after he murdered a guard.
George "Machine Gun" Kelly - Prisoner #117-AZ started off life as a wealthy heir in Memphis.
However, an interest in the underworld and a long bloody career as a bootlegger and kidnapper
landed him here. He spent his time at Alcatraz as, of all things, and alter boy in the prison
church. He was a "model inmate", working in the laundry as well.
Alvin "Creepy" Karpis - prisoner # 325-AZ, of the Ma Barker gang (Karpis, incidentally, had the
longest prison sentence on "the rock" of anyone in history after J. Edgar Hoover took a
particular disliking to him). Karpis became the prison baker and spent a great amount of time in
the Alcatraz kitchen. He outlived his prison sentence, moved back to his home of Canada, wrote a
book about himself, and finally took his own life in Spain at an advanced age.

Alcatraz island may look pretty in pictures, but like Mark Twain said, "The coldest
winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco". As soon as you board the ferry to the
island, the briskness of the sea spray and wind coming in from the ocean takes you back a bit.
The building itself is a giant mound of crumbling concrete, a homage to days gone by. Spools of
rusty razor wire and piles of dislodged bricks dot the small island. Sea birds are lines up
everywhere, waiting for the tourists to throw them a french fry.

The inside is stark and gray. Metal and concrete, highlighted by more metal and
concrete. The one cell that is left as it was when prisoners lived here houses a rickety little
soiled cot, a porcelain toilet and sink, and a shelf. Every noise echoes through the cell blocks,
and one imagines the din of a slamming cell door with the existing acoustics. The cell blocks
are named after famous streets. "Broadway" is the coldest and most public of the cell blocks -
no one wanted a room on Broadway. The dining room is a depressing place to be. Now broken,
several windows look out onto the beautiful bay, with sailboats cruising by and a big yellow sun
in the sky. Inside, long tables and benches await phantom prisoners. The infirmary is an eerie
place. The sickness that was once there is almost tangible in the air. But, enough of that. On
to the ghosts.

Cell 14 D houses the apparition of a shirtless young man who was murdered while in
solitary confinement, according to one paranormal investigator (of course, he also said the ghost
"told him" all of this, so take the story or leave it...) There is documentation of a young man
who screamed all night that "something" was attacking him, that had "glowing green eyes" in 14 D.
The guards ignored the screams, and in the morning the prisoner was found, asphyxiated, with hand
shaped bruises around his neck. Theoretically, it's impossible to strangle ones' self with only
bare hands - the individual would pass out before death would occur, thus releasing the grip on
the neck. The story is that the following day at prisoner count, one too many prisoners was in
the line up. The dead boy returned for the lineup.

Another psychic who visited solitary confinement described a malevolent "entity". The D
cell block (solitary) is said to be the most haunted area in the prison. 14 D is said to be the
coldest of the very frigid call block, referred to as "the hole" because of the fact it had no
windows and would become dark as a coalmine when the lights were turned off. 12 D is said to be
haunted by a malevolent spirit, in particular. Ghost hunter Richard Senate locked himself into
the cell during a radio station sponsored tour of the facility. "Icy fingers" wrapped around his
neck in the cell, he said.

Block C's utility corridor is said to be haunted by three prisoners who attempted escape
and were killed there.

Former prisoner Whitey Thompson, who hocks his life story to visitors there, tells the
story of a "silhouette" of a man on the "Michigan Avenue" cell block. He said the entity stood
looking at him for a few minutes until Whitey "took off running" toward him, when he disappeared.
Ranger John Cantwell claims that Broadway in particular gives off "an interesting vibe".
Others who have worked as guards in the prison have told stories of inexplicable noises of cells
slamming shut, screams, crashing noises and foul smells inconsistent with the usual foul smells
of a prison.

The Warden's house, now a crumbly ruin, is said to be haunted by an unknown ghost -
spotted by guards who were playing cards there many years ago. The ghost was said to have pulled
out a deck of cards and started to "flip them" down like a "professional dealer". The guards
fled the house.

In the 1950's a mass sighting was seen outside of the administrative office by an office
worker and the warden's wife, who was hanging out clothes. About 60 civil war soldiers, the
women said, appeared along the shore line, and the boom of cannons was obvious to both women.
Prior to it's use as a prison, Alcatraz was a military fort.
The lighthouse, long ago demolished, is said to appear once in awhile, breaking through
the mist and fog of the bay.

After it was abandoned by the prison system, Alcatraz island was "taken hostage" by a
group of protesting Native Americans in the 1960's. Early Native Americans, however, avoided
Alcatraz Island because they felt that evil spirits dwelled there.

If you plan to visit Alcatraz island, especially in the summer, plan to purchase tickets
several months ahead of time online or by phone. The wait is that long during peak season.

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