Random Horrifying Tales From Alcatraz, Notoriously Haunted Island Prison (15 items)

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  (#8) The Dungeon Of Alcatraz Possibly Holds Many Lost Souls Who Died Alone And Are Still Screaming

  Alcatraz was all about punishment and what the prisoners went through is a horror story in itself. Underneath the A-Block was an area known as "the dungeon." These catacomb-like basement areas were left over from the days when Alcatraz was a military fort and were used as punishment areas for those that deserved worse than "the hole." Prisoners were stripped naked, chained to the wall in a standing position, and given very little food. While the screams of the inmates who were unfortunate enough to spend time there couldn't be heard in the rest of the prison, they can still be heard today. A worker claimed to have heard a horrible scream coming from the dungeon but found no one there. Even Ghost Hunters heard noises in the area and received an audible "no" when asked if the noise could be made again.
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  (#15) Native Americans Occupied Alcatraz In The Late 1960s And The Daughter Of One Leader Died After Falling Down Some Stairs

  Alcatraz prison shut down in 1963 and six years later, Richard Oakes and a group of Native Americans occupied the empty island. They demanded a college for Native students and a cultural center be built on the land that was once sacred Native American property. About 100 people, including many students, set up camp on the island but the longer the government refused to give into their demands, the more the people grew restless. When Oakes's 13-year-old daughter fell down a stairwell and died, the government cut off the water supply and electricity and a large fire broke out which destroyed several of Alcatraz's buildings. Eventually, there were reports of assaults and theft of copper wiring from the remaining buildings. Finally, in 1971, the remaining Natives were forcibly removed from the island and the occupation ended, but it's reported that a few ghosts still remain.
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  (#6) Many Alcatraz Prisoners Went Insane And Several Committed Gruesome Suicides

  Due to the harsh conditions and treatment prisoners received at Alcatraz, many of them ended up suffering from mental illness. Warden Johnson believed insanity, no mater how severe, was being used an excuse from working and refused to acknowledge that his prison was tormenting and abusing its inmates.

  Some men, like Rube Persful, worked out their anguish through physical activity. Persful was hospitalized after purposely cutting off all the fingers on one hand with a hatchet while working in one of Alcatraz's work shops. Laughing, he asked a guard to take care of the fingers on the other hand. Others, such as Ed Wutke who used a pencil sharpener blade to slice through his jugular, successfully killed themselves. Joe Bowers attempted something similar using his eyeglass lenses and when he failed, climbed the outer fence knowing he'd be shot. He fell 75 feet to certain death. With so much negative energy and tragedy at Alcatraz, it's no wonder the island prison is considered one of the most haunted places in America.
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  (#9) Although Al Capone Didn't Die Inside Alcatraz, People Have Reported Hearing His Banjo

  Notorious crime boss Al Capone was one of Alcatraz's most famous residents. When he began his four-and-a-half-year stay in 1934, he was unprepared for unsympathetic guards and being stripped of the privileges he enjoyed in other prisons. Capone was put in "the hole" three times during his stay for breaking the "no talking" rule and for bribing a guard. He was in several fights with other inmates and the conditions at Alcatraz began to wear on him. A banjo his wife sent seemed to be the only thing keeping him from insanity and guards reported seeing him making his bed over and over or crouched in the corner softly strumming his instrument. Capone spent most of his last year in the prison in the infirmary being treated for syphilis but took his banjo with him. He was transferred to a prison in Los Angeles in 1939 and died several years later at his Florida estate, but both Alcatraz visitors and guards have claimed to hear banjo music in several parts of the prison.
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  (#7) Alcatraz Was Formerly A Military Prison Where Civil War Soldiers Were Kept In Horrible Conditions And Many Died

  The US military first took over Alcatraz Island in 1847 and built a military prison, later used to hold captured Confederates during the Civil War. As many as 50 soldiers and sympathizers were imprisoned in the basement of the guardhouse and many died due to the horrible conditions. Forced to live without heat, running water, and bathrooms, the prisoners were given very little food, bound together with six-foot chains, and squeezed into a small space with a cold stone floor. Those who acted out against this treatment were put into "sweatboxes" as further punishment. After the Civil War but before the federal prison was built, Alcatraz was used to imprison captives from the Spanish-American War and rebellious Native Americans. People have reported seeing apparitions of men in military uniforms and have heard mysterious cannon and gun fire, so the ghosts of many of these prisoners may still be on the island.
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  (#2) The 1946 Battle Of Alcatraz Lasted Two Days And Killed Five People

  Bank robber Bernard Paul Coy carefully observed the guards' patterns for several months as he was planning his escape attempt. In May of 1946, he and five other men managed to break into a gun cage in cellblock C and stole a guard's keys. Unfortunately for them, the key they needed to get out of the prison building was missing and they were unable to escape. Not letting that stop them, the men took several guards hostage and killed two before the Marines were called. Three of the attempted escapees eventually became trapped in a utility passage where they were killed by gunfire. The event lasted two days and became known as the "Battle of Alcatraz," the bloodiest escape attempt in the prison's history. Although the passage is concealed from visitors' view with a heavy door, bangs and clanging noises are often heard but disappear once the door is opened. Many believe the ghosts of the three men killed in the passage are responsible.

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