Alcatraz is considered by many to be one of the most haunted places in the United States. From prison guards to tourists, there is no shortage of people who claim to have experienced a ghostly presence while on the island.
Some of the oldest ghost stories predate the Europeans first visit to the island. Native Americans allegedly used the island as a place to banish members who violated tribal laws. When tribal members would later visit the island to collect food, some would claim to feel the presence of evil spirits. While it is impossible to know if there is any truth to this tale, it has added to the mystique that surrounds the island.
Some of the more modern reports of ghostly apparitions at Alcatraz relate to an incident that occurred during the mid-1940s. On May 2, 1946, six inmates — Joe Cretzer, Bernard Coy, Marvin Hubbard, Clarence Carnes, Miran Thompson and Sam Shockley — put into action a bold escape plan they had been hatching for several months. The inmates were able to successfully take over the cell house and a gun cage. However, their plan quickly backfired when they realized that of all the keys found inside the gun cage, the key they desperately sought — the one to the cell building — was nowhere to be found. One of the guards had forgotten to return it to the gun cage, thus foiling the inmates' carefully plotted escape. Undeterred, the six men decided to stand their ground and took several guards hostage. However, when they failed to get what they wanted, they killed two of the guards, H.P. Stites and W.H. Miller, in cells 402 and 403. An autopsy later showed that Stites had been shot multiple times with a machine gun. Miller was not as lucky and was brutally tortured before being shot.
Concerned the inmates might successfully break out, Warden James A. Johnston asked the military for assistance. Whether they intended to make a show of force or were genuinely concerned for the public's safety, they certainly weren't playing games. Within hours of Johnston's request, two Navy destroyers and a Coast Guard cutter anchored in the waters surrounding the island, while two Air Force planes circled overhead. Not long thereafter, a company of infantrymen assisted by a large garrison of police and prison guards surrounded the cell house and opened fire.
A barrage of bullets tore through the building, as mortars and grenades were shot and thrown inside. Carnes, Thompson and Shockley retreated back to their cells for safety, but Cretzer, Coy and Hubbard chose to take cover in a nearby corridor. Their choice proved to be fatal, and all three were killed during the infraction.
In total, five people were killed that night, while over a dozen other prison guards were injured during the standoff. The cell numbers the guards were murdered in were later changed to C-102 and C-104.
Not long after the standoff, guards and inmates alike began to report hearing strange noises coming from the utility passageway where the dead men had been found. Some of the witnesses even claimed to see apparitions of the guards inside the cells where they had been killed. Years later, tourists on the island reported similar occurrences in Cellblock C. Even those who did not believe in ghosts admitted that they felt a cold chill pass through their bodies when walking through the area.
Another area of the prison said to be haunted is Cell 14D. Once used as a "hole" cell—a place to isolate and punish inmates who broke the rules—former employees and visitors have both reported seeing a ghostly figure inside the cell. Some say it is the ghost of a man who went mad during the 1940s and hung himself inside the cell.
Even Warden Johnston is said to have had a ghostly experience inside the prison. According to the story, Johnston was giving a tour of the prison one day when the group heard strange noises coming from inside the prison walls. Moments later, the noise reportedly stopped, and a cold chill swept through the entire group.
The ghost of Al Capone is also believed to haunt the prison. According to some sources, a park ranger once reported hearing the twangs of a banjo coming from inside one of the old shower rooms. Capone allegedly spent most of his recreation time practicing inside a shower room, leading some to believe that his ghost is responsible for the spectral music.
There have been hundreds of other ghostly sightings and sounds reported on all parts of Alcatraz Island. Several paranormal investigators have spent time there studying the phenomena, and all have walked away convinced that the island is haunted by evil spirits and tortured souls. Perhaps they're right, but for now, the ghosts aren't talking …
Alcatraz Today
