The history of Alcatraz is very interesting, it goes farther back than what many people know. Throughout the years “The Rock” has gathered its own collection of ghosts, demons, and spirits. The rocky island started of as a place of punishment for Native Americans. They believed that Alcatraz was home to many evil spirits and demons. As punishment some Native Americans were banished there for a period of time. Then, “The Rock” became a place to keep captives during the Spanish-American War. Maybe most famously in 1934 the island became a maximum security prison. The prison was built to hold the worst of the worst. Today Alcatraz is a public museum where tourists can see the prison cells, in which they might glimpse a ghost.

You may think that Alcatraz is just sprinkled with ghosts, but it’s covered with them, almost every part has a ghost. All the sightings, sounds, and experiences are too great to list, but I have found a few very interesting hauntings to share. Near the dungeon you can hear men’s screams, voices, whistles, and the clanging of metal doors. Witnesses throughout the years have been the Warden Johnston, guards, visitors, and convicts. Guards reported sounds of sobbing, moaning, smelling terrible things, and seeing the “thing” an entity with glowing eyes. Many different apparitions have been seen all around the island. Witnesses of these events include Warden Johnston, visitors, guards, and inmates.

Some spirits are stuck in a moment of time which is why they might reenact the event that killed them. Some are just wandering around Alcatraz, after all no one can truly leave.
It is said that on foggy nights the old lighthouse will suddenly appear accompanied by an eerie whistling and flashing green lights and seconds later it disappears. When the prison was still open, the guards would occasionally hear guns and cannons going off. They thought that somehow prisoners might have gotten hold of them, but everybody was in their cell. There was no explanation for the sounds. On some days guards would smell smoke coming from the deserted laundry room. When they went to investigate, the room was filled with black smoke, that was completely gone minutes later.

D-block is one of the most haunted parts of the prison it was known as the treatment unit. It included the “hole” a place used for the punishment of prisoners. It was cold, dark, isolated, and very secure. It also contained the “oriental” which was the worst punishment it was pitch black, and its guests had to be in their underwear, and had a restricted diet. In the 1930's a guard reported seeing a man dressed in attire from the 1800's. An inmate once locked in the “hole” claimed that a creature with glowing eyes was in there with him. He started screaming and he continued screaming throughout the night, but it was followed with complete silence. In the morning they found him dead he was strangled. The autopsy told that it was not suicide, but the “hole” was securely locked. When the guards counted the convicts in the morning there was one too many. The last man in line was the convict who was strangled he vanished once a guard noticed him.


In cell block C a utility passage where Bernard Coy, Joseph Cretzer, and Marvin Hubbard were killed during an escape attempt you can hear loud clanging noises and see apparitions of three men in white fatigues. You can also hear the disembodied voices of the dead inmates. The laundry room in cell block C is also haunted. You can feel an unseen presence and psychics get a strong impression of violence when they walk into the room. Prison records say that Abie Maldowitz was killed by another inmate in that area. When Al Capone was imprisoned, he was assigned to the west end of B block. Now when you visit Al’s old cell some hear the phantom strumming of a banjo. Other Haunted area’s on the island include the old mess hall and the old hospital ward.





















Alcatraz is one of the most haunted places in America. Why, because the people who lived on the island may have been tortured, sad, or insane. Guards and inmates have been killed on the island, and murder victims are more likely to be an Earth-bound spirit than those with a less traumatic death. That could be the answer to why Alcatraz is so haunted, but remember its beginning. The Native Americans believed “The Rock” was already home to evil spirits. It’s ironic that a place with evil spirits later became a place for evil people. Maybe it’s a mixture of both that made Alcatraz “Hellcatraz.”