Alcatraz prison is a federal penitentiary located in San Francisco Bay on Alcatraz Island, not too far from the Golden Gate Bridge. Alcatraz is considered to be one of the most notorious penitentiaries in the United States, its history runs far and deep but so do all the legends and stories that come along with it. The prison has been home to some very notable people such as Al Capone, George Kelly, Robert Stroud and the list goes on. There are hundreds of different horror films and books out there in the world, most of which are written based off of real events or claims made by the average person. But Alcatraz doesn’t really house the average person. Claims of ghosts and demonic entities on the island have been made even before the prison …show more content…
Prisoners, many of which who left the prison in a fragile mental state, reported “peculiar whispering sounds in the middle of the night, floating blue lights and figures, moaning, and the clanking of chains in cells which were known to be unoccupied” (Floyd 3). More activity reported by Allison Vale, in Hell House: And Other True Hauntings from Around The World, An inmate in cellblock D had reported seeing glowing red eyes in the dark, and screamed for hours. The guards would laugh at all the claims of paranormal activity made by the convicts until they started to experience it for themselves. Some of the guard’s reports included “feeling cold spots, unseen fingers on the back of their necks, and crying in the night” (Floyd 4). Finally, KGO radio Anchor Ted Wygant visited Alcatraz in 1982. Wygant said for the most of his visit he encountered nothing, except for around 3am at the corridor where the 3 men were shot and killed during “The Battle of Alcatraz.” Wygant states that he “felt and evil presence on the floor where the 3 men had laid dead years prior, he started cursing and had the strong compulsion to fire gun at people” (Travel Channel
The prison they may have escaped from is a lone island on the San Francisco bay. Surrounded by the freezing cold water chances of a swim escape was very slim the 50 degree water would kill in half an hour. The current would pull them out to the ocean where they would eventually drown. Inside Alcatraz is a high security prison for the worst of the worst. With tool proof cell bars prisoners would spend years trying to cut through the bars. Along with that the guards had machine guns and had continuous prisoner checks knowing if and when the prisoners tried
Alcatraz was introduced as a prison in the Civil War to hold captured men. But was later taken over by the United Sates Department of Justice (U.D.J) because it was just abandoned after the war. Eventually it was turned into a prison to hold men that normal community prisons could not hold. In the 1930’s a crime wave hit the United States and Alcatraz was about to become a full house. During that time escape became a bigger problem due to the size of the prison and the lack of guards in the jail. There were over 14 escape attempts involving over 30 men. Twenty were caught and eight killed over a period of years. Alcatraz finally hired enough men to secure the jail to the highest level. 1 man by the name of Frank Morris proved that was not
Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows.
Alcatraz was finally running in business, and all the worst prisoners were being sent there. All the inmates had a quick idea on how cummings was running Alcatraz. You couldn’t talk or you would be sent to the “hole” for a couple of weeks. The hole is “isolation”. Al Capone [the most famous gangster] was sent for the for a lot of times. And he went crazy because he kept making and remaking his bed. There was many escape attempts at alcatraz but none of them were successful. Two of them were reported missing.
Soon after undergoing procedures they found out people where going insane and even taking their own lives. These customs of confinement where retired for a long time until about the 1920’s when they made a comeback at Alcatraz off the San Francisco Bay. The jail is known for housing some of the most notorious prisoners in the country and they wanted to keep the upper hand and not have anything go wrong. They created a whole prison block called D-Block which housed dozens of prisoners in confinement.If you were to break any rules while in confinement you would get sent to the “hole” which was worse than solitary confinement because you would not receive any clothes or any food other than bread and water. (http://www.alcatraz101.com) Robert Stroud was one one of the prisoners at Alcatraz in his lifetime he served 42 years in solitary confinement. While in another jail he was confined and found a group of birds which he housed later on in his years in jail he publish a couple books one called Diseases of Canaries. He was a very intelligent man with an IQ of 134 but while being looked up he was later diagnosed a psychopath.(Robert Stroud/wikipedia.org) Many prisoners go into solitary confinement perfectly fine and come out different due to the lack of human
Alcatraz Island has quite a distinct history. Many people know that Alcatraz served as a federal prison, but most are reluctant to know that this island served as fort. Built before the Civil War, it served two main purposes. First, that it was to guard the San Francisco bay area from enemy ships against a foreign invasion, and second, to hold hostage prisoners of war or POW's as they were called. In this report, I'll show you how this fortress came to be a federal prison, why it is no longer in operation today, and most importantly, to show why it was built in the first place. When the great "Gold Rush" of 1849 first started, California grew from what would be considered a small, unpopulated state, into
Have you ever wondered what the history of alcatraz is? Have you ever thought about the escapers from alcatraz? Some people think of Alcatraz as it was built to be an attraction. It’s real intention was to be a maximum security prison. The history made this one of the most known places in the world.
During its thirty years of service, close to 1545 inmates resided at the Alcatraz penitentiary. Contrary to popular belief, Alcatraz was initially meant to confine only a few of the infamous headline-makers of the era. However, out of the total population ever to occupy this prison, the vast majority was not to be found on wanted posters adorning post office walls. The average number of prisoners maintained in the prison (at one time) was 260, with a high count of 302 and a low count of 222 men.
Alcatraz was a prison, that was in use from 1934 to 1963. It housed some of the world´s most dangerous criminals over the span of twenty-nine years. I chose to write about Alcatraz because I like the history of weird and creepy places, which Alcatraz is. Alcatraz is creepy because there are many claims that people have heard the cries and moans in cell blocks A, B, and C. I also chose to write about this because I wanted to learn more about Alcatraz. Someday I want to go there. This essay will explain why an Army prison was turned into a federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island, who were some famous inmates that once occupied a cell there and, it will detail some of the attempted escapes from Alcatraz.
San Quentin state prison is in San Francisco, California, which is the only prison in California that still executes prisoners. The prison has housed several famous prisoners over the years; however, it has a big problem with gangs inside the prison. I will discover the background of the warden that is in charge, the history of the prison, and the problems that circulate within the prison.
As the cold waters rush into the San Francisco Bay, they crash up against an island standing in the strait. This rock is hidden by the fog and isolated by the chilling waters of the Pacific that flow in and out every day. It has a gloom that hangs about its rocky face most know it as Alcatraz but the men who experienced this island, referred to her as “The Rock”. To the men confined there, it is not only the ultimate in isolation but the most ironic because they are there in the midst of the activity of a busy harbor with small craft darting to and from San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, Richmond, and Sausalito; within sound of the honking horns of a ceaseless procession of automobiles crossing the bridges; within sight of ocean
These tours are shaped by these popular sentiments as the individuals on the tours are given extensive stories of brutal violence and shown certain areas where executions have occurred. Certain prisons, such as Eastern State Penitentiary, even capitalize on these popular desires even further by having ghost tours that during Halloween. During the tour of New Mexico State Penitentiary, the guards played into the cultural fascinations of punishment by telling us stories of how one of the guards was stabbed a few months prior and stories of why certain inmates were in solitary confinement. Thus, prison tours widen the distance of the penal spectator from punishment because the reality of what prisoners go through on a daily basis is hidden and replaced with what the public wants. Because the audiences do not see the consequences of incarceration, it is easy for the dark tourists to lose the humanity of the prisoners, viewing them as deserving of the pain and punishment.
Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows.
As you walk into a haunted house, you are surrounded by complete darkness- you do not know where you are, where your friends are, what’s going to happen, when someone will jump out at you to scare you, if someone is following you, or even if someone is watching you. Your pupils dilate and your heart beat intensifies. You try to understand your surroundings by carefully stepping one foot in front of the other and extending your arms out to feel for what’s around you; you even yell to see if there are people around to listen to you. This feeling of being lost, helpless, anxious, and scared is how prisoners feel every moment when they are in prison. They do not know if they are being watched, who is watching them, from where they
Alcatraz was a barren prison on an island in San Francisco Bay in California. The island is twenty two acres and is surrounded by the frigid cold water of the bay. It is three stories of steel and reinforced concrete and indestructible cell bars. At the time Alcatraz was believed to be the most protected and guarded prison in the Nation. Warden James A. Johnston said,”They would select their worst and I would do my best.” In 1934 Alcatraz opened and prisons and penitentiaries across the country sent their antisocial prisoners in a fashioned way to be incarcerated in Alcatraz. A successful escape attempt of three men has lead many people to disagree if they made it alive or if they die in the bay that night.