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 THE
"ROCK"
ALCATRAZ
A most famous haunt lies in the bay between San Francisco and Oakland - Alcatraz. In 1775 Lt. Jaun Manuel de Ayala, a Spanish explorer named the island "de los alcatraces." In 1848, at the end of the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States, including the island of Alcatraz. By 1850 President Fillmore signed an Executive Order declaring the island and other lands in and around San Francisco for public use. By 1854 the lighthouse on Alcatraz was put to use. By 1861, with the Civil War raging, the island of Alcatraz is declared a fort to protect the region from the Confederates. The island remained as a fort until 1895 when it was used to imprison Hopi Indians and then later, prisoners of the Spanish-American War. The island remained in the control of the military until 1933 when it became part of the federal prison system. In 1934 the prison opened, much to the chagrin of the people of San Francisco. Some of the most notorious criminals of the 20th Century were housed at Alcatraz. For example, Al Capone was housed there for a little over four years. Also housed there was George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis who had a partnership with Ma Barker, and Robert Franklin Stroud aka "The Birdman of Alcatraz." After 27 years of serving as a federal prison Alcatraz was closed due to the expense of attempting to maintain it. Though the prison itself closed in 1961 the Federal Bureau of Prisons kept control of the island until 1963. The island and the prison itself fell into extreme disrepair. In 1972 the U.S. National Parks Service took over the island and soon opened it to daily tours.
It sits, like a beacon, in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, between the city of San Francisco and Oakland. The harsh, moist, salt water and air is what causes the decay of the rock itself, as well as the prison.
A stay on "The Rock" was very disturbing for most of the prisoners who were housed there. They could sit and look out a barred window and see people traveling on the nearby highways of the city and see life going on as normal but being illusive to them. As one inmate stated "it was horrible to look out and see life ongoing and knowing you couldn't be there and be a part of it. Not having that freedom to move about. I looked out the window once when I first came to Alcatraz and saw that and I vowed to never look out the window again for as long as I was there."
One can take a ferry, for a fee of $16.00 (including an audio about the rock, from Pier 39 in San Francisco to Alcatraz. There are several types of tours available, including an evening tour. During the daylight hours one can even roam about the island without a tour. But be careful, you may run into a ghostly resident of The Rock. They say there are many spirits that remain on The Rock even to this day. Imprisoned, no longer by their government for their crimes, but by their own thinking.
When you walk off the boat the appearance of the prison looms above you. You must walk up a fairly steep incline to reach the prison itself. The feeling is strange. Not because of the ghosts that haunt this decaying place, but because you are so isolated from the rest of the world as you stand on this island, yet you can look out over the bay and see the normal activities of life. It is easy to envision the pain of anyone housed at the prison as they watch the freedom of normal life so close, yet so far away. The water between the cities is so dangerous that an attempt to swim it seems more like a sure fire death. Besides the currents, which are quite strong, the waters are fairly heavy with sharks, making escape nearly impossible. The government claims no one ever escaped Alcatraz. Though one very famous attempt has been made into a movie, the movie still leaves you with the impression that the three men who escaped may have died trying. But we aren't here for the study of escaping, no, we're here to see if we can sense any ghosts.
Once inside the prison, the sensation is strange, but that feeling is more likely because you are completely out of your element. National Parks personnel who maintain the prison have reported hearing the cell doors open and close during the night. Though when they inspect the cells, nothing out of the ordinary has taken place. They also have reported hearing people talk in, what once was, the dining hall. Cold spots have been reported also, throughout the prison area.
As you walk through the prison you have the feeling that you are being watched. It could be the result of hearing the various stories about the prison or it could be that those still imprisoned there are watching. It is very difficult to say.
When one goes on a tour such as this it is not possible to truly investigate. Alcatraz certainly has been investigated many, many times. But if you simply want to check things out and are psychic, to any degree, you will probably pick up the sense of someone watching you. You may even hear the whispering of those who have gone before. Or, if you go into the area that was used as the infirmary, you may hear the screams of those inmates that were secured to a table until they calmed down.
Whatever your reason for going to Alcatraz, be respectful of those who went before you. Keeping in mind that many believe the Rock is also haunted by those who served this country during war. Or perhaps one of the Hopi Indians remains behind, still trying to reclaim the land that is rightfully his.
To make reservations to visit Alcatraz:
TOLL
FREE RESERVATIONS
866.268.TRAZ (8729)
LOCAL INFORMATION
415.461.4608
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