Alcatraz

Alcatraz, meaning the “Island of the Pelicans,” is reported to have cell doors slamming all on their own, eerie banjo music playing at night, and numerous cold spots, which are sites of a noticeably high paranormal concentration. It only seems logical that they would blame this paranormal activity in “The Rock” on the 200-300 inmates that had been kept there at one time in history.

There were certainly more than one or two murders that took place while this prison was still open. Perhaps some of the victims are of these haunted spirits. One cell, 14D, for example, is thought to be haunted by a man strangled to death in his sleep in the 1940s. The hand marks were thought to be from a guard that couldn’t take the man’s screaming any more, but no guard admitted to committing the crime.

Reports are told that the next morning, after they had found the man in his cell, they did a head count. One too many prisoners were counted and some of the guards did claim to see the dead convict in line. Shortly after. the man vanished.

Other stories have been told about music coming from a banjo. Rumors claim that it is the music of Al Capone, one of the most dangerous criminals there have ever been. He feared that he might be killed if he spent time in the yard for recreational time. He got permission to practice his banjo during his time.

The sound of the mysterious banjo notes is said to be heard coming from the prison walls, and in one case, from a shower. The ranger could find no rational explanation for the strange music coming from the shower room.

Cold spots, clanging pipes, and unexplained sobbing coming from cells or other areas of the prison are only part of the hauntings that occur on this mysterious island.

Prisoners were only given basic needs, including food, shelter, and clothes during their stay. Prisoners were treated in an unruly manner. There was no sympathy as long as they were behind bars.

It was no wonder that the prisoners were unhappy with their stay. There were wars among the guards and prisoners as prisoners were trying to gain their freedom, but the guards always had the upper hand. Hundreds of prisoners were killed in armed revolts.

Only one of paranormal hunting groups, “The Othersiders” were one of the many groups to visit this island. The Othersiders traveled down hallways and peeked inside of cells, touring Alcatraz to make sure they had a visual of what they were dealing with.. They brought along heavy equipment and waited until it was late at night to check the cameras they had set up during the day a couple of hours before. Then the fun started.

Around midnight, this group of teens split up to see if the juicy ghost stories that they had heard were fiction or real. While there that night, the group surprisingly experienced most of the paranormal experiences this island was rumored for. They caught recordings of the mysterious banjo music and they caught footage of slamming cell doors in the area that they kept the prisoners.

Back home in their ghost-hunting lab, they reviewed what they had discovered while on the island. After staying only one night, they had indeed concluded that the ghost stories were true and there were more than just tourists walking through the cells and hallways during the night.

Could this possibly mean that lost souls travel the halls and drift in the cells that they died in? What type of unfinished business have these spirits kept in their hearts for this long?