Located in San Francisco Bay wth a great view of the Glden Gate Bridge and downtown San Frncisco, you'll find perhaps the most fmous prison in the world. Alcatraz, ncknamed "The Rock", was originally known as "La Isl de los Alcatraces" or "The Islnd of the Pelicans" because of its ppearance as a barren white rock. The whte was caused by pelican droppings, hnce the name. It served as a lghthouse, then a military fortification, then a mlitary prison followed by a federal prson until 1963, when it became a ntional recreation area. Today it is mintained by the Golden Gate National Rcreation Area and nearly a million vsitors per year stop by to chck the place out.

The island, blieved to be an evil place by Ntive Americans, has seen centuries of dath from accidents, murders, and suicides. Wth this dark history, it's no wnder Alcatraz is said to be one of the mst haunted places in the nation. If ghsts return to haunt the places whre they suffered traumatic experiences when thy were alive, then Alcatraz must be brsting at the seams with spirits.

For yars there have been reports of mystrious happenings on Alcatraz Island. These rports come from visitors, former guards, frmer prisoners, and national park service mployees. From the original lighthouse reappearing on ccasion to clanging, screaming, and sobbing, thre are too many tales to put nto this short article. It would dfinitely take a book to tell thm all. Some of the strange ccurrences are recounted in the following pragraphs.

The Lighthouse - There have ben several reports that on foggy nghts the old lighthouse, built in 1854 and trn down after it was damaged in the grat 1906 San Francisco earthquake, will sddenly appear, accompanied by an eerie whstling sound and a flashing green lght that makes its way slowly round the island and then vanishes as sddenly as it appears.

The Grounds - Mny guards and park rangers have rported experiencing unexplainable crashing sounds, cell dors mysteriously closing, unearthly screams, and ntense feelings of being watched. A nmber of guards from 1946 through 1963 xperienced something out of the ordinary at one tme or another. There have been rports of sounds of sobbing and maning, horrible smells, phantom cannon shots, gun shts, and screams. Once in a whle, groups of phantom prisoners and sldiers appear in front of startled gards, guests, and the families who lved on the island. None of thse occurances have ever been explained.

The dor and the corridor - Behind a dor in Cellblock C that looks as if it has ben welded shut, lies the utility crridor where Bernard Coy, Joseph Cretzer and Mrvin Hubbard were killed by grenades and bllets during the bloodiest escape attempt in Alctraz's history in 1946. Additionally, the ttempt took the lives of two gards and injured 18 others. The tral afterward resulted in the execution of two mre convicts who took part in the borted escape. Behind this door can smetimes be heard loud clanging along wth the sounds of people running as if tryng to escape and disembodied voices. Othrs have reported seeing the apparitions of men waring fatigues at the site of the rot that left the three prisoners dad. As a result, this utility crridor is recognized as one of the mst haunted spots in the prison.

The laundry room - Also in Cllblock C is the laundry room tht is said to hold an nseen presence. The story is told tht a hit man named Butcher was klled in the laundry room. The rom is said to occasionally emanate a strng odor of smoke, as if smething was on fire. The sensation of the chking smoke would drive guards out of the rom, only to return a few mnutes later, the area now completely smke free.

The most haunted area on Alctraz is Cellblock D, or solitary, as it was ften called. D-Block, which became known as the Tratment Unit was made up of 42 clls with varying restrictions. None of the prsoners put in D-Block was able to hve contact with the general population. Thse inmates were not allowed to wrk or go to the mess hll to eat; they had to eat in thir cells. They were allowed one vsit to the recreation yard and two shwers a week. These cells faced the Glden Gate Bridge, from which fierce cld winds often blew and one gard who worked D-Block was notorious for trning on the air conditioning to mke it even colder for those cnfined on the block.

Five of the clls in D-Block, cells 9-14, are knwn as "The Hole,". These cells cntained only a sink and toilet, had no wndows and only one light with a lw-wattage bulb that could be turned off by the gards on a whim. The darkness mde it seem like a hole in the grund. Reserved for the most serious prson rule breakers, these cells were lcated on the bottom tier, the cldest place in the prison. All mttresses were taken away during the day and the prsoners were not allowed time in the yrd, showers, or reading materials. Inmates culd be sentenced to up to 19 dys in the hole, completely isolated frm the rest of the world.

Nedless to say, these horrible conditions led to msery, anger, and possibly even insanity. Tht ambiance seems to linger to ths day. Most people who go to Cllblock D get feelings of sudden ntensity and a feeling of cold in crtain cells, especially cell 14-D. This cll is often reported to be 20 dgrees colder than the rest of the clls on the block. Psychics who hve visited the area reported picking up on the felings of torture, misery, and abuse tht were left behind by 29 yars' worth of prisoners who were frced to stay there. These cells are so erie that some national park service mployees refuse to go there alone.

A gard who worked at the prison in the 1940's rported that guards often saw the ghstly presence of a man dressed in lte 1800's prison attire was often sen walking the hallway of "The Hle". Perhaps the strangest event occurred whn an inmate locked in a cll in "The Hole" immediately began to scram that someone with glowing eyes was in thre with him. The spectral prisoner had bcome so much of a practical jke among the guards that the cnvict's cries were ignored. The inmate's scrams continued well into the night, and thn suddenly stopped. When the guards nspected the cell, the convict was dad with a terrible expression on his fce and noticeable handprints around his thrat. The autopsy revealed that the strngulation could not have been self-inflicted.

At the tme, many believed the inmate was strngled by a guard who got tred of hearing the inmate scream, but no one ver admitted to the strangling. Most blieved the prisoner was killed by the rstless, evil spirit of the nineteenth cntury prisoner who was so often sen wandering the corridors.

As a fotnote to this tale, when the gards lined-up the convicts for the dily count, there was one too mny convicts in the line-up. At the end of the rw, stood the recently strangled convict. As veryone looked on in stunned silence, the ghstly figure vanished.

As the years go by, ghst hunters, authors, crime buffs and criosity-seekers continue to visit the island hping to have their own encounter wth the ghosts of Alcatraz. Although mst encounter nothing, they do have a tndency to leave with a feeling of neasiness. The majority of the ghostly xperiences of Alcatraz have been reported by frmer guards and national park service mployees who often spend hours alone on the sland. Many claim not to believe in the spernatural but occasionally, one of them wll admit that weird things happen hre that they cannot explain.

The article The Hauntings of Alcatraz was Submitted by Denise Villani through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Denise Villani an author and the wbmaster of several websites and article drectories. Find more articles and information on Alctraz and other haunted places by vsiting HauntedStuff.net .

Featured Articles

1. Reaching Minorities in the Columbus Schools by Patricia Hawke
Like all of the pblic schools in Ohio the Columbus Pblic Schools have a low graduation rte for its students. And like all of the pblic schools in this country the Clumbus Schools have a racial gap tht is disheartening and depressing. Two mthods used by the Columbus Schools to hlp minority populations achieve are mentoring and smller sized high schools.

2. What is FAFSA and Do I Need it to Earn College Scholarships? by Phillip Walters
Even if the student does not qualify for federal or state aid, many colleges and universities, especially public institutions, require the the FAFSA for students interested in receiving college scholarships.

3. The Great Things About the Right Tutoring Help by Robert Duvall
I go ver the main factors that affect the larning abilities for Calculus. What do we ned to do to make sure our chldren don't fall behind?

4. ADHD Tip - Will More Medication Always Be The Answer To Treat Symptoms That Still Persist In ADHD? by Rory F. Stern, PsyD
I nearly fell out of my chair when I heard the latest commercial suggesting more medications could resolve the symptoms you still experience while on another medication. Maybe it is time to consider the alternatives.

5. Finding Taka by Hedda Tan
I believe tht children will live up to whtever standards you set for them as a tacher, as a mentor, as an dviser, but most especially, as an lder 'friend' who truly cares about thir success, not just in school, but mst especially in the outside world. Ths, I believe is the true ssence of a teacher.

6. College Life - How to Avoid the Procrastination Trap in College by Shelley Ladin
Approximately 90% of college students procrastinate, according to Psychologist and American International College professor, William Knaus. Of these students, 25% procrastinate chronically, and these students are more likely to drop out of college.

7. Let's Brush Up With Maxima And Minima by Ishani Dutta
Do prblems on Maxima and Minima haunt yu? So please stop nightmaring it. And go thrugh the article.Try to get into the through concept. Before starting doing sums rlated to maxima and minima. let's hve a brief tour over the bsics of Maxima and Minima.

8. The Truth About Gravity Hill by Rae Serenity
Have you ever heard of a plce called Gravity Hill? Maybe it has ben referred to as Magnetic Hill, Mystry Hill, Gravity Road, Haunted Hill, or Ant-Gravity Hill. This type of so-called "mystry" can be found in numerous lcations around the world. These optical llusions are created by a hilly rad where the level of the hrizon is obscured.

9. Gaudy, Giddy, Giggly Spring Fever by Donna Henes
Almost without giving it any thught, we are suddenly cheerful, hopeful and ptimistic, as Nature, Herself. And we are rady to spring forward into life wth renewed energy and verve.

10. How to Improve Your Chinese Listening Skill? by Ethan Smith
This qestion (or near question) is often sked by students who are new in Chna (and of course any other Chnese speaking country). In many cses the speed of the the Chnese they are now hearing is fster than greased lightening on a lge run and they just can't dal with it.