Alcatraz,
located in San Francisco, was once the toughest Federal
prison in America.
Spanish explorers named this rocky piece of land La Isla
de los Alcatraces,
or the "Island of Pelicans" in 1775. However, years later
the land was nicknamed "The Rock" by many.
In 1847, the U.S. military took over Alcatraz. From 1859
to 1934, it was used as a military prison.. In August of
1934 it became a the world famous federal penitentiary.
During the
first years of the penitentiary, there was a rule of
silence among the prisoners. The prisoners were not
allowed to talk to each other except during meals and
recreation periods. Prisoners of Alcatraz had four
rights. They were food, clothing, shelter, and medical
care. Anything else was considered a privilege and had to
be earned.
Alcatraz was in service for 29 years and during this time
housed approximately 1545 inmates total.
The highest amount ever recorded was 302 inmates and the
lowest amount was 222. The average number of prisoners
within the 29 year span was 260.
Some of the most famous inmates were Al Capone, Robert
Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz, and Alvin Karpis.
There were 28 deaths on Alcatraz. Eight were murdered by
inmates, five committed suicide, and fifteen died of
natural illnesses.
There were
14 attempts to escape by 36 different men. Two were
successful but were captured quickly. Six were shot and
killed. Two drowned and five are unaccounted for and are
presumed dead.
Due to
rising costs and deteriorating facilities, Alcatraz shut
it's doors on March 21, 1963. In the fall of 1973,
Alcatraz was opened to the public by the National Park
Service. It has become one of the most popular sites and
is visited by more than one million people each year.
Is it
possible that Alcatraz is haunted? Many people believe it
is.. Some of their stories are of iron cell doors opening
and closing, inexplicable smells, loud screams, cold
spots, and even apparitions.
Watchmen have heard men running but when they would look
for intruders they always found nothing. There are tales
of strong energy felt within some cell blocks,
particularly cell block D. Cell 14D is considered the
darkest cell and mysteriously stays about 20-30 degrees
cooler than any other cells.
The LGHS has
not been to investigate Alcatraz to date. But in my
opinion it sure sounds like a good road trip and you never
know what the future holds.
* The
Louisville Ghost Hunters Society Investigations are not always
public, we do confidential investigations of haunted residences which
will not be reported on our website.
If you have a haunted house, or a unexplained phenomenon that you
would like us to investigate - please do not hesitate to contact us,
and rest assured that your investigation will remain strictly
confidential (unless you wish to release our findings to the
public).
