In March 1962, the famous Alcatraz prison was officially closed. Keeping criminals on the island was very expensive for the country's budget - three times more expensive than in any other prison.
It is not surprising, because everything needed for the functioning of the prison and the provision of its inhabitants, from fuel to drinking water, had to be delivered from the mainland. In addition, the prison building was in need of renovation, the cost of which was estimated at $ 5 million. In 1971, the island became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and was opened to tourists.
Legends of the ghosts of Alcatraz existed long before a fort and then a prison were built there. Even the Indians who lived in California were sure that the island was inhabited by evil spirits, and they sent their guilty tribesmen there. Now we can say that the restless souls of the criminals who found their death here have joined them.
In the dark corridors of the prison, museum staff and visitors often hear male voices, the metallic sounds of doors opening and eerie screams. Alcatraz's guards reported footsteps on the upper floors at night, but did not locate the source of the sound.
Prison block D is best known for inexplicable and mysterious phenomena, in which prisoners who violated the regime were serving their sentences. In it, the prisoners not only did not see the sunlight, but were generally deprived of any communication, even with the guards.
Many visitors noticed that it was always very cold in cell 14 D, regardless of the season or the temperature in other areas of the prison. And in general, a feeling of inexplicable horror fell upon the people visiting this place. Chilling stories about this cell were shared by former guards and surviving inmates.
One of the legends says that in 1944 one of the violators was locked in cell 14 D. As soon as the guard closed the door behind him, the man began to scream heart-rendingly that he saw a monster with glowing red fire eyes, then the screams stopped, but the guard did not attach any importance to this. When the cell was opened the next day, we saw the corpse of a prisoner with traces of strangulation. The examination showed that this was not suicide.
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And the next morning, during the formation, the guards were surprised to find that there were more prisoners than they should: at the end of the formation was a man killed the day before, whose face was twisted in a grimace of pain and rage. However, the ghost disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Then a version arose that the prisoner was strangled by the guard, but no evidence of guilt was found.
Therefore, willy-nilly, many are inclined to believe that the murder was committed by a ghost with burning eyes. In addition, back in the 1940s, the guards many times saw in the corridors of the eastern sector the ghost of a man dressed in the fashion of the 19th century, who entered the cells of prisoners. One can imagine what horror the prisoners felt at the sight of a ghostly creature with eyes blazing with fire. Moreover, he was seen not only by the guards, but also by their relatives who lived on the island.
Restless Souls
Block C is considered the same anomalous place, here they also hear sounds of unknown origin and see the ghosts of men in prison uniforms. It was in this block that the criminals who attempted to escape in 1946 were shot dead. There is also a notorious laundry room, in which a fire was started, which became the signal for the start of a riot.
While filming the plot for the broadcast here, Sylvia Thompson met the ghost of a tall man with deep-set small eyes, who told her the following: “I remember the Butcher. His name was Abe Maldovitz, but we called him The Butcher. He killed a police officer before another inmate killed him. Here in the laundry. All this actually happened, which is confirmed by the prison records.
Sheila Sillery-Walsh, who had recently been on an excursion to Alcatraz with her husband, recalled that upon entering the prison they immediately felt uncomfortable. However, they still decided to take some pictures for memory. And they were even more alarmed to find in the pictures taken with a mobile phone, a clear image of a woman standing at the camera window.
Her hairstyle and clothes were clearly from a different era - they were dressed like that in the 30s or 40s of the last century. The spouses assure that during the photographing there was no one in the camera except for them. They never managed to find out the identity of the ghostly lady - no one from the entire staff of the museum identified her.
The walls of this famous prison remember a lot of cruelty, suffering and pain. So the souls of the prisoners who met their death in the solitary cells of Alcatraz are toying.
Galina BELYSHEVA