Photo Credit Ben Peoples http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alcatraz_dawn_2005-01-07.jpg Rework by Sly
Alcatraz Prison is located on a small island on the San Fransisco Bay in California. It's was known as one of the most infamous prisons in the world, and also one of the harshest Federal prisons in America. Alcatraz prison held some of the most hardened criminals in the penal system within its cold, damp, cramped cells, and still does.
You may be asking how can prisoners still reside at Alcatraz when its steel doors clanged shut for the last time on March 21, 1963. Well if the stone walls of Alcatraz could speak, a myriad of dark secrets would spew forth. Tales of hopelessness, rage and terror would emerge, along with the many unsettled ghosts that reside in the now closed prison. Dead men do speak!
Every year over a million tourist ferry out to Alcatraz State Prison. During the daylight hours it is bustling with activity as hundreds of visitors mull about snapping photos, shuffling through the deserted mess hall, strolling down Broadway past long abandoned cells, all hoping to experiencing a part of history's dim past that some would rather forget.
But after the last ferry takes its boat-load of tourists back to the docks of Fisherman's Wharf and darkness settles over the island, the only thing that remains at Alcatraz State Prison is silence. Or is it?
Welcome to Alcatraz, welcome home...
...would have been the first dreaded words a new prisoner would have heard from the warden as they were brought in and issued their new prison stripes and digs. Many of these prisoners crimes ranged from bank robbery to murder.
Every new inmate who walked down the path of "Broadway" on a tour of their new home was welcomed with bellowing taunts by fellow inmates, as they shuffled past the cells in shackles and handcuffs. What a harrowing experience that must have been. But Alcatraz State Prison was not always the home of the countless condemned, it was much more than that.
"Broadway"
Photo Credit by 4Pizon http://www.flickr.com/photos/4pizon/3104518718/in/set-72057594080201858/
History of Alcatraz
Long before Alcatraz was known as a military fort or prison, the Native Americans avoided the island because they believed evil spirits inhabited the island. They banished their people that broke tribal laws to the island as punishment.
Sir Francis Drake
Later, in 1579, Sir Francis Drake passed the San Fransisco Bay while on expedition, it was not until 1775, the Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala visited and named the tiny spot of land on San Fransisco Bay, "La Isla de los Alcatraces" meaning, "Island of the Pelicans."
It was later changed to Alcatraz. At that time in history, the land was barren with little vegetation. The icy waters surrounding the little island had severe currents and was said to be shark infested. One would have to wonder how such land could be utilized.
Alcatraz Island 1854
In 1848, after the Mexican-American War ended, California and the island came under control of the United States. The U.S. Army recognized that the island was the prime site for a defensive location in the San Francisco Bay. In 1853 they built a fortress there. Barracks, and offices soon appeared.
By 1854, the Alcatraz lighthouse sat atop this fortress, along with the newly mounted cannons. In 1857, while expansion on the fortress continued, a terrible accident occurred while laborers were working on a roadway by the guardhouse. A landslide ensued, resulting in the death of two men and injury of several others.
Fort Alcatraz 1895
While the building of the military fortress continued, a three-story citadel was added. By 1859, the fortress was completed. A guardhouse was placed near the entrance of the building. Sentinels of Alcatraz barred the road and protected the citadel which was refuge to military combatants. To gain access to the citadel, one had to cross over a drawbridge that surrounded the entire structure.
In 1859, Captain Joseph Stewart and his men took control of Alcatraz Island. Fort Alcatraz became the dominant defense of the coastal west region. The fort also served as a rampart for recruits. Since the location and swift currents surrounding the fort was evident to all, the island was thought to be the perfect place to hold prisoners. The first official inmates who were imprisoned in the guardhouse basement were soldiers of Stewart's. Soon, others would arrive to this minimum security holding place.
By 1861, Alcatraz was officially a military prison. The conditions in the cell house were dreadful. There was no heat or facilities in the cells, prisoners slept on cold floors and many were often sick because of the environmental conditions.
Alcatraz U.S. Military Fortress 1870
Credit Wikipedia
The prison grew to over 400 prisoners and continued to climb as inmates from the city arrived after the famous 1906 earthquake. By 1912, it seemed to be less of a military fort, and more of a prison by then, so the cell houses were reconstructed, and "The Rock" was born.
By the 1920's the structure was nearly full of prisoners. During this period of time, the Rock was not considered maximum security prison, in fact, it was more of a minimum security prison. Some of the inmates actually worked for families on the island. The prisoners were forced to beautify the island. They planted flowers, trees, and shrubs. They even had their own private garden and built their own baseball field where they held boxing matches.
The Birth of the Escape-Proof Prison
During the 1930’s there was a new kind of tyrant known as organized crime that held the city in a panic. Alcatraz was upgraded from a minimum security prison to an "escape proof" maximum security prison just in time to welcome this new breed of hardened prisoners to Alcatraz. Newer and harsher prison regulations were enforced. The cell house was refurbished and electric cell doors were installed along with metal detectors and gun galleries to afford the guards a better view of the prison.
By 1934, a warden, James A. Johnson, was permanently stationed at the island and four new guard towers were added at strategic points of the island. The cells were reinforced with escape-proof constructed bars of steel, with locking devices controlled by prison officials. Tear gas canisters were placed in the mess hall to better control the callous and risky population of Alcatraz.
Abandoned Mess Hall
Photo Credit 4Pizon http://www.flickr.com/photos/4pizon/3061427509/
And lastly, new solitary cells were constructed called "The Hole." These tiny dark spaces would hold and bare witness the sobbing and shrieking of many anguished inmates.
"The Hole" Solitary Confinement
Photo Credit Loop http://www.flickr.com/photos/loop_oh/4079002724/
Stringent Rules
The typical day started at 6:30 a.m. for the inmates. Cells were cleaned and men were prepared for the day. They were led quietly to the mess hall. Silence was the golden rule at the Rock, and all inmates had to adhere to this rule or be punished by having privileges rescinded, or harsher work details applied.
This rule didn't set well with most prisoners, they found it hard to talk only on Saturday's at the yard, during meals, or while on breaks, and only for three minutes and no longer. After breakfast, tasks were assigned for each convict, and after the evening meal, they were locked away in their cells until morning when the routine started all over again, and continued on year after year.
Model Industries Building Alcatraz Workshop
Photo Credit Tunnelbug http://www.flickr.com/photos/tunnelbug/2048930312/
Famous Prisoners Held at The Rock
George Kelly Barnes or better known as George "Machine Gun" Kelly (July 18, 1895-July 18, 1954) was welcomed to Alcatraz on September 4, 1934. During the prohibition era he was known for his crimes of bootlegging, armed robbery and kidnapping. While imprisoned at Alcatraz, Kelly was known as a model prisoner, thus the nickname "Pop Gun Kelly" was given him by a fellow inmate. Machine Gun Kelly spent 21 years in prison. He suffered a heart attack at Leavenworth Federal Prison and died there on July 18, 1954, his 59th birthday.
George "Machine Gun" Kelly
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17, 1899-January 25, 1947) aka "Scarface" was an infamous Italian American gangster who headed the crime syndicate. He was known for smuggling, bootlegging, and other illegal offenses during the Prohibition Era.
Inmate # 85, Al Capone
Capone was believed to have masterminded one of the most infamous gangland crimes of the century, the
"St. Valentine's Day Massacre" in Chicago. It was Capone's way of ridding himself of his organized crime rival "Bugs" Moran and his gang. On February 14, 1929, five of Bug's members and two other men in a garage at SMC Cartage Company in the North side of Chicago, were caught in a hail of gunfire after a surprise attack by gunmen, two of whom were dressed as cops while other gunmen were dressed in trench coats.
The unsuspecting men were thought to be lured to the garage by Capone's men, then lined up against the wall and shot to death. The end result of the bloody massacre left no survivors, while Moran himself was believed to avoid death that day by pure luck as some stories recount the event.
While incarcerated at Alcatraz, Scarface was a constant source of trouble and many inmates had contempt for him. He was nicknamed "Wop with the mop" by inmates because of his job of mopping up the bathrooms in the prison. He was later stabbed in the back by another inmate, James Lucus. He recovered, but other attempts on his life were made and also failed throughout his stay at Alcatraz. He managed to remained under protection from other inmates.
While at Alcatraz, Al took up banjo playing. He could often be heard playing his instrument in his cell. During this time, the syphilis he contracted in his youth began to effect his mind and guards often heard him mumbling to himself or crouched in his cell with his banjo, strumming and talking incoherently to an empty cell. Capone spent the last of his sentence in the prison hospital, sick and disoriented from the syphilis.
He was transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island in California in 1939. He was released in 1939. Al Capone returned to his home in Palm Island, Florida and later died on January 24, 1947, from complications of syphilis and cardiac arrest.
Henri Theodore Young (born 1918) attempted an escape (captured) with two other inmates, Arthur Barker (who was killed) and Rufus McCain (captured). Young is also known as a character in the movie Murder in the First, which alleges that Young was tortured after his escape attempt. This story is said to be false. Young was supposed to have committed suicide from the movies account, but in truth, after his release from prison, his whereabouts are unknown to this very day.
Henry Young
Robert Franklin Stroud (January 28, 1890- November 21, 1963), aka Bird Man of Alcatraz, was incarcerated at Leavenworth State Prison for the murder of F.K. "Charley" Von Dahmer, who viciously beat his girlfriend Kitty O'Brien, a dance hall entertainer and prostitute. Stroud was said to have shot the man point blank, after he knocked him out.
He earned the nickname "Bird man" at Leavenworth prison, where he raised and cared for injured sparrows and birds. He soon took to raising canaries and raised money by selling them, and helped to care for his mother. The warden at Leavenworth provided Stroud with ample supplies to continue on his progressive rehabilitation program. Word got out about Stroud's accomplishments behind bars, and soon visitors arrived to purchase Stroud's canaries from his aviary inside the prison.
Robert "Bird Man of Alcatraz" Stroud
Stroud was transferred to Alcatraz on December 19, 1942. While a prisoner there, he wrote two manuscripts:
"Bobbie" and "Looking Outward." Over the years spent in prison, Stroud raised over 300 canaries and wrote two books:
"Diseases of Canaries" and "Stroud's Digest on the Diseases of Birds."
In 1959, Stroud was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners Springfield, Missouri after his health declined. He died on November 21, 1963, at the age of 73. Stroud had spent 54 years behind bars, 42 of those years were in segregation. He was studying French in his last days. In his passing, Stroud would be remembered as an intelligent and accomplished man even behind bars.
In 1962, one year before his passing, the Story of Robert Stroud made it to film. "Bird man of Alcatraz," starring Burt Lancaster as Stroud, was a success and is a classic movie to be remembered for all time.
Battle of Alcatraz
More Commonly Know as The Blowout
Cell house Shelled by Mortars 1946
On May 2-4, 1946, An incident called the “Battle of Alcatraz,” occurred. Six prisoners, Sam Shockley, Bernard Coy, Marvin Hubbard, Joseph Cretzer, Miran Thompson, and Clarence Carnes, planned an escape through the recreation yard after gaining control of guards, keys and the cell house. When plans didn't run as smoothly as anticipated, all hell broke loose, and for the next three day a bloody fight ensued.
Thompson, Carnes, and Shockley finally gave up, but Cretzer, Coy, and Hubbard were killed after refusing to give up. In all, the bloody battle claimed the lives of two prison guards, the three inmates, and wounded 17 more guards. Shockley and Thompson, received the death penalty and were executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin in December 1948. Carnes, 19 at the time, ended up serving a second life sentence.
Left to right: Bernard Coy, Marvin Hubbard and Joseph Cretzer,
Sam Shockley
Escape From Alcatraz
Photo Credit Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Escape_from_alcatraz.jpg
One of the classic movies of all time is "Escape From Alcatraz" starring Clint Eastwood as Frank Morris. The movie character closely matches the real Frank. In the movie, Morris sets up an escape so ingenious, Hollywood couldn't have written a better script, but in fact, this incredible escape happened just as depicted on the big screen.
Frank Lee Morris, masterminded the greatest escape to ever take place on Alcatraz. He was said to have an IQ of 133. He started making plans to escape the moment he arrived on the island. He enlisted the help of two brothers, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin. It took Morris a couple of years of intense planning, while collecting items in order to make his escape a reality.
Left to right: Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin, John Anglin
He and his partners made heads from paper, paint, and added real hair taken from the barber. The heads would look so real, guards mistook them for the real deal under dim lighting. They also created a raft and began digging their holes to freedom behind a wall vent at the back of their cells. They matched up paints and made cardboard replicas of the vent, replacing it against the wall after each night of digging.
The men worked in shifts through the nights and kept a look-out while the other worked. Their work was done so carefully that even during the daylight hours, the false vents went undetected until the following morning after their escape.
Escape entrance and false wall of Cell
Dummy Head of Frank Morris
On the night of June 11, 1962 Morris and the Anglin brothers placed the dummies in their beds, pulling the covers up around the neck so it appeared each man was asleep in his bunk. They went through the vents, through the utility corridor, and made it to the roof.
Rooftop where the prisoners escaped to freedom
Photo Credit 4Pizon http://www.flickr.com/photos/4pizon/3464426730/
They stayed hidden as the watch tower guards kept a close eye on the roof and made a run when it was safe. The inmates escaped in their raft during the night. The next morning all that remained of Morris, and the Anglin brothers were the dummy heads and a large hole at the back of their cells where they had gone through.
One of the largest manhunts in history took place, but the prisoners were long gone, and only parts of the raft and life preservers were discovered in the bay. Since the men were never found, it was assumed that they drowned. Because of the currents and the cold temperature of the water, it is believed nobody could have survived.
Alcatraz Closes
In 1963, Alcatraz officially closed its doors for the last time due to the ever-burdening demands of running the facility. In 1969 Native American Indians claimed the island, but the cost of running the facilities became a problem. In 1971 a fire broke out on Alcatraz. As a result, the lighthouse, warden's home, and other dwellings were destroyed. After the fire, the U.S. government took over. On June 10, 1971, the Indians were forced off of Alcatraz.
On October 12, 1972, Alcatraz became part of the National Park Service known as Golden Gate National Recreation Area, thus converting the once damp and bleak prison into one of California's foremost tourist destinations.
Ghosts
of Alcatraz 
Tales of ghostly encounters and the supernatural are a part of the history of Alcatraz since its doors closed in 1963, and more stories continue to mount over the years as night watch-men, visitors, and rangers recount their hair-raising experiences on the island. While some tourists have claimed to have experienced phenomenon while visiting the prison, others claim they have solid evidence of ghostly images that appear on photos they have taken in reported areas where a higher probability of spiritual activity occurs.
After dark, long after the last boat-load of visitors have left and the low lights of the prison burn to life, a sense of gloom and unease settles over the empty prison. In these moments of sepulcher silence a curious kind of unseen density hangs in the air as thick as the fog that enshrouds the island.
When the cries of seagulls are silenced, the wind has died down, and the island becomes an obscured mass that blends with the night fog, something indistinct and looming roams the labyrinth of the old structure. Something more potent than the crashing waves that slam up against the rocky island's shore. It is not always seen by most but rather sensed, felt, or heard. And the ubiquitous shadow it throws across the stark structure is forlorn and fearful, yet possesses an unearthly intelligence and purpose for which those who experience it can never forget it. This ominous shadowy presence is believed to be the ghosts of Alcatraz.
So are there really spirits that reside at Alcatraz? It is believed so. It was once said by the warden of the prison that "Nobody escapes the Rock." And once you were there, most likely, you would never leave. Well, maybe when the prison finally closed its doors for the last time, some prisoners stayed behind... forever.
The Rock is believed to be the holding place of many ghostly prisoners of the past, held within its cold confines. Many deaths of inmates were attributed to suicides and murders. Deaths of guards, Civil War Soldiers, and a slew of other atrocities took place at Alcatraz. Beatings were common and hate festered within the chambers of this prison.
And through all the misery and hatred that was contained within the walls of Alcatraz, there was also an obscurity, like a black shadow, that seemed to settle over the island, enveloping it within its gloomy arms of madness. Melancholy and fear was shared by many inmates, and can still be felt while strolling through the facility today.
Alcatraz Recreation Area
Photo Credit Robbie Shade http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjshade/2549365514/
Many visitors come to experience history, but there are also those in search of the elusive ghosts of Alcatraz said to be haunting the cells and corridors of the prison. These spirits are also said to be trapped in the dungeons of Alcatraz. "The Dungeon," is located beneath the foundation of the main building of the prison, or the Citadel. Public access is denied and many visitors have no idea this place exists.
Prisoners were thrown in the dungeon for breaking the enforced rule of speaking or other offenses. It is cold, damp, and pitch black in there. What horrors were held behind these walls can only be imagined. For those that have visited and experienced the dungeon, cold spots have been said to be found, also an ominous presence is felt. It seems only natural that darkness would linger in such a place of suffering.
Dungeons of Alcatraz
Photo Credit 4Pizon http://www.flickr.com/photos/4pizon/3469826958/
Under the Prison's Main Cell House
Photo Credit 4Pizon http://www.flickr.com/photos/4pizon/3469013787/
Other active areas of ghostly phenomenon is said to be at the ruins of the warden's house which burned down in 1970, during the Indian occupation. Ghostly sightings, happen on a regular basis here. The sounds of footsteps and talking can often be heard in and around the premises of the ravaged structure.
The Lighthouse and destroyed Warden's House
Photo Credit Robot B http://www.flickr.com/photos/robotb/3645427171/
The hospital is another place where where much suffering occurred. Echoes of ghostly moans, whispering, and sounds of movement have been heard by rangers assigned to the island. Many prisoners were said to have died there. Ghostly apparitions have also been seen and running footstep have been heard on the abandoned stairway that leads up to the deserted hospital. One ranger claimed that while working at the island he went in search of the running footfall only to find an empty room.
Alcatraz Hallway to hospital and hospital
Photo Credit Tunnelbug
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tunnelbug/2047932097/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tunnelbug/2047372643/
Other ghostly activity are said to be experienced on Broadway. Here where many new prisoners were welcomed to their new homes, and where many unseen crimes took place under the shadows of night, the spirits of the past are said to still linger. Often, the clanging of cell doors shutting can be heard, muffled cries, laughter, and whispers are also heard. Oddly, the sound of banjo music resounds through the prison after hours.
Al Capone was known to play his banjo while he was incarcerated at Alcatraz. It is believed that the strumming is from the ghostly Scarface himself and his banjo. The morgue is said to be quite haunted, also "the hole," mess hall, and inmate showers are a prime source of spiritual energies. It seems that just about anywhere on The Rock is an ideal breeding ground for spirits to inhabit. For those tourists that visit the island each year for a lesson in history there is much to be learned. But for many others who visit Alcatraz it is a spiritual quest. One which hopes to answer questions in the minds of many who are in search of the ghosts of Alcatraz.
Alcatraz Morgue
Photo Credit Kimili http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimli/3545185980/
In Conclusion
So are there ghosts at Alcatraz State Prison? It can be assumed so. Where evil and madness were utilized as the main ingredient for the hopeless prisoners of Alcatraz, some ghastly remnants must remain. Does The Rock hold much more than just a dim past within its stark structure? It is quite probable.
Suffering, rage, and madness were the common components that collected and spread through the prison like a poisonous vapor. It is quite possible that remnants of that vapor seeped into the very foundation like blood from a corpse. And that prevailing sense of oppression was absorbed, thus giving it back new life in a spiritual sense.
And like the fog that settles over the island of Alcatraz, so the misty shadows of Alcatraz' past also remain on the little spot of land known as Alcatraz Island.
Copyright © Sylvia Zimmer 2008
Related Videos
From the "Blackout" album 1982
Sources:
Youtube
Alcatraz
The Rock
History of Alcatraz
Legends of America
History.com
Alcatraz History
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