Alcatraz

[dancin'hamster]

Heellloooooo!!!!!!

Sorry I have been away so long ~ lots of work

Anyhoo - enough of that!

Ask anyone to name a famous prison and I betcha most people will say 'Alcatraz!'.

It's name conjours up visions of vicious criminals, gansters, brutal torture, etc etc Now it has been designated a 'National Park' and groups of people wander around the rotting cells to gawp at where Al Capone was locked up, and at the famous 'Bird Man's cell.......but it is also believed to be haunted...

Apparantly the Native Americans avoided toisland because they believed it to be inhabited by evil spirits. It was avided at all costs....and it was home to thousands of Pelicans........these pelicans turned the rock white with their droppings (nice) and it was subsequently known as La Isla de los Alcatraces or "The Island of the

Pelicans," by the Spanish. Thus it's name was born.....'Alcatraz'

If water creates energies and if negative forms need water - this would be the perfect place for ghosties and ghoulies wouldnt it? Think of all the horrors that went on in that great, grey prison.............

This is from Shadowlands ~

'On a cold December day in 1859, the Third Artillery arrived on Alcatraz with a group of eleven anonymous soldiers of Company H---the first prisoners to be incarcerated in irons in the basement cellroom of the guardhouse for crimes not recorded in the army files. Alcatraz was now a fully operational fortress and

prison. By Aug. 27, 1861, Alcatraz was designated as the official

military prison for the entire Department of the Pacific. Living

conditions were grim. Men slept side-by-side, head-to-toe, lying on the

stone floors. There was no running water or heat in the cells, sanitary

facilities were almost non-existent, and disease was rampant.

After the Civil War, confederate sympathizers caught celebrating the

death of President Lincoln were sent to Alcatraz. In 1868, the Army

designated Alcatraz Island as a prison for military convicts and

malcontents of society. By the late 1800s-early 1900s, Indian chiefs and

tribal leaders of Arizona and Alaska were incarcerated along with some

of the worst thieves, deserters, rapists, and repeated escapees from the

Army.

The social upheaval of the 1920's and 30s, and rampant crime sweeping

American provided Alcatraz with new life. Daring escapes, gang-related

murders and mass rioting were a menace to an orderly prison. Attorney

General Homer Cummings supported J. Edgar Hoover in creating a facility

which would instill fear in would-be criminals by creating a place where

prisoners could be safely controlled and could not escape. In 1933, the

prison facility was formally turned over to the Federal Bureau of

Prisons. During 1934, Alcatraz became a an escape-proof, maximum

security prison, where only the most hardened convicts were brought.

For twenty- nine years, the fog-enshrouded island, with its damp, cold winds, and isolation made Alcatraz one of America's safest prisons. The shell of steel and reinforced concrete confined ruthless men to a life of deprivation, rules, and routines that proved almost intolerable. When one adds the fact that the convicts could hear party boats pass by, and see the San Francisco city lights, it is little wonder that some preferred death to this kind of isolation. Failure to acquiesce to prison rules resulted in confinement in "D" Block, the treatment unit. Here, men could leave their four- by-eight-foot cells only once in seven days for a brief ten-minute shower. Life was hard on Alcatraz, just the way Warden Johnston

envisioned it. His motto was, "Take each day of your sentence, one day

at a time. Don't think how far you have to go, but how far you've come."

For many prisoners, Alcatraz became synonymous with hell.

During a Sightings visit in 1992, several of the Park Service staff

confirmed the haunted history of Alcatraz. Many rangers had experienced

unexplainable crashing sounds, cell doors mysteriously closing,

unearthly screams, and intense feelings of being watched. Sightings

called on psychic investigator Peter James to walk through portions of

the abandoned prison to get his impressions. James began to pick up on

the voices of the tortured souls driven mad since it's inception as a

prison. He also sensed unusual vibrations of abuse, mistreatment, fear,

and pain. His overall impression of Alcatraz was, that it had an energy

like no other he had ever experienced---a persistent and overwhelming

intensity that engulfed the island.

Some of the more haunted locations on Alcatraz appear to be the

Warden's House, the hospital, the laundry room, and Cell Block C utility

door where convicts Coy, Cretzer and Hubbard died during their escape

attempt in 1946. The most haunted area on Alcatraz, is the "D" cell

block, or solitary, as it was often called. To most who go there, a

feeling of sudden intensity pervades the cells and corridor. Some

rangers refuse to go there alone. It is intensely cold in certain cells,

far colder than normal---especially cell 14-D. This cell is oftentimes

so cold, that wearing a jacket barely helps---even though the

surrounding area is twenty degrees warmer. It is no wonder the area was

called "The Hole."

When authors, Richard Winer and Nancy Osborn visited Alcatraz, they

ventured down to solitary with a park ranger. As Osborn entered cell

14-D, she immediately felt strong vibrations coming from within. Winer

and the ranger followed Osborn, and within seconds, each of them

experienced an intense tingling sensation in their hands and arms---they

were convinced that something or someone was in there with them. The

far corner of the cell where they were standing, and feeling the intense

energy, was the exact spot where the naked, shivering prisoners would

huddle, night after night, in the unforgiving darkness. Osborn said that

she had never felt so much energy before in one spot.

Renowned ghosthunter Richard Senate, and a psychic spent the night on

Alcatraz as part of a KGO radio promotion. They chose Al Capone's cell

as a place of temporary refuge. According to Senate, emotions seemed to

drip from every corner of Alcatraz as the long night progressed. He and

the psychic visited the spots where rangers said they heard marching

footsteps, and clanking metal; however, nothing happened. Finally,

Senate locked himself in cell 12-D, where an evil and persistent ghost

is rumored to dwell. As the thick, steel door was closed, Senate

immediately felt icy fingers on his neck, and his hair stood on end. He

knew he was not alone. Additionally, the psychic picked up on the

twisted and dismembered bodies of uniformed men. Both left the island

convinced that Alcatraz had its own special energy.

According to Antoinette May, much of the paranormal activity on Alcatraz

occurs around areas associated with the penitentiary's worst tragedies.

One of them is the Block C utility corridor, Cell Blocks A and B, with

the eeriest area centering around cell 14-D---where it is always cold.

According to May, gifted psychic Sylvia Brown accompanied by a CBS news

team, investigated parts of Alcatraz. As Brown toured the prison

hospital she picked up cards and notes tacked up on a wall, and the

letter "S." A ranger confirmed that the "S" probably stood for Robert

Stroud who spent ten-and-a-half years in the hospital, in the very room

they were standing. He also had hundreds of notes and cards tacked up

all around him. Brown sensed strong energy in what used to be the

therapy room, and the prison laundry room, where at least one prisoner

was murdered.

A former guard related his stories about Cell Block D (particularly

cells 12 and 14), and the frightening remnant energy lingering in the

subterranean portion of the prison. During his stint during the

mid-1940, convicts were often confined in one of the 14 cells in "D"

Block (cells 9-14 were called "The Hole," because they contained no

windows, and only one light which could be turned off by the guards. The

darkness made it seem like a hole in the ground---hence the name. On one

occasion, an inmate was locked in "The Hole". Within seconds, the inmate

began screaming that someone with glowing eyes was in there with him.

Tales of a ghostly presence wandering the darkened corridors in clothing

from the late 1800,s were a continual source of practical joking among

the guards, so the convict's pleas of being "attacked," were ignored.

The man's screaming continued well into the night, until there was

silence. The following day, the guards inspected the cell---the convict

was dead, a horrible expression etched on his face, and noticeable hand

marks around his throat. The autopsy revealed that the strangulation was

not self-inflicted. Some say he was strangled by a guard who had enough

of the man's screaming---although no guard ever admitted it, even to the

other guards. Others believed it was the restless, evil spirit of a

former inmate who exacted his vengeance on yet another helpless soul. To

add to the mystery, the day after the tragedy, several guards,

performing a routine lineup of the convicts, counted one too many

people. At the end of the line, the guards witnessed an extra

body---that of the recently deceased convict. As everyone looked on in

stunned silence, the figure of the ghostly convict vanished into thin

air! '

Oooer!

Hammy x x x

[Fairie]

Very creepy. I find the thought of visiting Alcatraz a bit like visiting a concentration camp, it's a bit macabre. But those stories were doozies!

[Hammys Teddy]

Hi Hammy

Would be interesting to take a team of sceptics to the Rock and see what they make of it.

Teddy. xxx

[dancin'hamster]

Hi sweetie

Yes it would..............I think the very atmosphere of these places, coupled with the ghost stories makes people more suscepatable.....suceptibl......erm, makes their imagination run riot!!!!!

Shall we go?

You, me and a thermos flask????

Hammy x x x

Edited August 5, 2004 by dancin'hamster

[Hammys Teddy]

Hi Babes

Can we bring a torch so we can find the flask

Teddy. xxx

[dancin'hamster]

the flask aint leaving my side Teddy!!

Hammy x x x

Edited August 5, 2004 by dancin'hamster

[Hammys Teddy]

the flask aint leaving my side Teddy!!

Hammy x x x

Thats good cos its attached to ME

Teddy. xxx

[Michelle]

Can I go too? Please, please Pleeeeeeeeaz!!! I would bring my own flask and torch. Come on, come on, come oooooon!!!

[spyro_86]

the discovery chaneel had a 1 hour special about this a couple of years back. Throuhout the entire show the crew kept complaing about how their batteries on the equipent kept dieing even though they had just been charged or were new. They also got 2 apparitions on filw, within a cell in solitary confinement and one in the hole. They also recorded some voices.

[Great Big Sea]

Welcome back Dancin Hampster we missed you!

Very creepy place, think of all the sort of things that a person might feel if they go there! *shudders* If I go to San Francisco I think I might just stick to the museums and the shopping malls!

A former guard related his stories about Cell Block D (particularly

cells 12 and 14), and the frightening remnant energy lingering in the

subterranean portion of the prison. During his stint during the

mid-1940, convicts were often confined in one of the 14 cells in "D"

Block (cells 9-14 were called "The Hole," because they contained no

windows, and only one light which could be turned off by the guards. The

darkness made it seem like a hole in the ground---hence the name. On one

occasion, an inmate was locked in "The Hole". Within seconds, the inmate

began screaming that someone with glowing eyes was in there with him.

Tales of a ghostly presence wandering the darkened corridors in clothing

from the late 1800,s were a continual source of practical joking among

the guards, so the convict's pleas of being "attacked," were ignored.

I heard of this story on one of my fav paranormal shows a couple of years ago sadly it's not on air anymore but this story is the one that I remember from the show.

[Wings of Selkhet]

I've been to Alcatraz...didn't experience a thing, sadly. The whole visit was rather boring. The high point was the giant aloe vera plant outside.

[dancin'hamster]

Thanks for the welcome Rommie

Yes it would be like going to a concentration camp......all those men who were tortured and beaten......not a nice thought really.

Is is this that causes the 'ghosts'?

Does it come back to the Pheromone Theory?

And, if the Native Americans believed the island to be cursed, why did large groups move onto the island when the prison finally closed?

And anyone who has a flask and chocolate hob-nob biccies is welcome to tag along!

Hammy x x x

[TheBloom]

If anyones kind enough to buy me a plane ticket to the US...I'll tag along too!!

I've never ever been to alcatraz....but my ex has been and they had some items etc and i didnt like the enegy fields of them at all. But i'd pass that just to go and investigate!

[Hammys Teddy]

And anyone who has a flask and chocolate hob-nob biccies is welcome to tag along!

Hammy x x x

Hi Sweetie pie,

I thought this was a private party..... you just want the others for their Hob Nobs (ooeerr)

Teddy. x x x

[cynamyngirl]

I've been to Alcatraz, and strongly suggest the tour to everyone...

The feeling that u get being inside this huge prison, I can't quite explain it, mixed with excitement, anxiety, and fear. I think that i captured some misty forms when i took a picture of the kitchen area. I will post that picture if i can figure out how to work my scanner to the net and if anyone would like to see it.

My coworker just came back from san fran yesterday and visited alcatraz also... she said she felt the same feeling... althought she doesn't sence sprirts.

[IdahoGhostHunter]

They also got 2 apparitions on filw

Apparitions or orbs? I know people get orbs on video all the time, but didn't think anyone yet had captured an apparition.....please correct (and give some links!) if im mistaken....