Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco features some very interesting and darker history. This main article explores it through the building, escape attempts, and, of course, its ghosts.
by Ghost Guide Daniel
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Alcatraz | A Quick History
The name Alcatraz itself is very historic. Dating back to Spanish Explorer Juan Manual De Ayala. Who sailed San Francisco Bay in 1775.
Finding this island among two others. This one was the most beautiful. Partly because of a “strange type of bird” perched on the rocks.
Thought to be Pelicans. The name, “Alcatraces” (pronounced the same way) most likely means, “Strange Bird”.
A Military Post
Discovered, but not touched. It didn’t appear again in history until 1846. When the land was transferred to an English Pioneer named William Workman.
Workman focused most of his life on discovering California.
In these adventures, he was tangled up in the Mexican-American War. This is when Texas and California were captured and transferred over to the United States of America. That’s 20 years before the Civil War.
The winning leader in San Francisco gifted Alcatraz Island to Workman as a gift for all his help.
And shortly after, it was purchased by the American Government.
Protect that Gold
The government bought it as a Military Post. Not to protect America … but all the gold!
Two years later, in 1848, the San Francisco Gold Rush kicked off. Starting from a town just two hours outside the current city, called Sutter’s Mill (still exists today).
Gold was everywhere! Americans from all over came to California to strike it rich.
Last thing the government wanted was attacks by outsiders from the ocean. Alcatraz was the last line of defense.
Inside Threat
Good news! Nobody attacked the city from the ocean. The bad news… it was citizens on the land who attacked.
A massive amount of lawlessness and violence. Gangs stealing from hardworking Prospectors.
The surge in criminals meant a prison was needed. How perfect to have a fortified Citadel located on a remote island, surround by frigid waters.
For almost 60 years it ran as a Prison Island. Until the historic Citadel was deemed insufficient for all the criminals. It was torn down in 1909.
A new structure was built using prisoners as free labor. In 1911, the current structure was completed.
Interesting history … the basement of the Citadel was kept. And remains the same basement for a portion of current Alcatraz structure. It’s called, ‘The Dungeon’.
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Speaking of Prisoners! Read all about the most infamous who served terms inside Alcatraz Prison. Names like Machine-Gun Kelly, The Birdman and Al Capone. Here are their stories …
ALCATRAZ’S MOST INFAMOUS INMATES
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Real Escape (Attempts) from Alcatraz
It’s funny. Telling a criminal something is impossible is bound to prove you wrong.
Everyone knew it was impossible to escape from Alcatraz Prison. So many tried, and many failed in the most violent of ways.
I say most, because there was one. The bases of a Clint Eastwood movie called, Escape from Alcatraz. About Frank Morris. Did he escape? See below…
For now, here’s a list of major attempts. There are more. These ones stood out to me.
The Mail Thief in 1936
Joe Bowers is the first who attempted an escape from Alcatraz. Only two years after it opened.
An Austrian man. He was imprisoned for ‘Robbery of Mail’ equaling about $16 ($365 in 2025).
Why end up in Alcatraz for a small crime? This wasn’t his only crime. Many smaller crimes made authorities see Bowers as a lost cause.
He was sentenced to Alcatraz for 25 years!
It drove him insane. Other inmates and guards stayed away from Bowers.
One reason was the suicide attempts. One time breaking up his eyeglasses and using a shard to slice open his own throat. Didn’t kill Bowers.
This is why many think his escape was a suicide attempt.
Bowers climbed up a gate. While yelling, he wanted to feed a seagull. The guards screamed for him to stop, but Bowers ignored them.
They had no choice but to shoot him. Hitting Bowers in the back, which pushed him over the gate. Followed by a 60-foot drop to the rocks below.
The Death Swim of 1937
Only a year after the death of Joe Bowers, a real escape attempt occurred.
Two inmates named…
- Theodore Cole
- Ralph Roe
Noticed one a barred window off the Maintenance Shop. The bars were wobbly and weak.
Surrounded by tools. Loose bars. Didn’t take a genius!
Over a couple weeks, they filed away at the flatiron bars. Eventually opening a space big enough for the men to climb through.
Timed it perfectly. When the watching guards were occupied. Cole and Roe got down to the shoreline. Jumping into the water with a plan to swim to the San Francisco Port.
God had other plans. A storm came in, swirling up the waters. They didn’t stand a chance.
No bodies were found. And nobody doubts Cole and Roe now rest at the bottom of San Francisco Bay.
Smashing a Guard in 1938
This experience starts in the Woodworking Shop. Three innates named…
- Thomas Limerick
- James Lucas
- Rufus Franklin
Felt Alcatraz wasn’t the right place for them.
Using a hammer, they jumped a guard on duty. Smashed his skull so hard, the man died soon after.
Their plan …
- Smash the guard.
- Escape through the roof.
- Seize a police boat and rush to the mainland.
Everything went perfectly. Until getting outside on the roof. They were looking over the side at a perimeter wall when a Tower Guard saw them.
The Guard’s name was Harold Stites. Staying calm, he lined up his rifle at the men. With great accuracy, he shot down Limerick and Franklin.
Seeing the others hit, Lucas put his hands up in surrender.
Limerick died but Franklin survived. Both Franklin and Lucas were sentenced to life in prison.
Neither served out that full sentence.
James Lucas was paroled but quickly violated it and returned to prison. Eventually, he was released in 1970. Forced to take a dangerous labor job with an Oil Company to make money. Surviving everything to 86-years-old, when he died in 1998.
They released Rufus Franklin, technically. Years later, he ended up at a prison in Atlanta. This is where he became very sick. Causing his release on ‘grounds of compassion’. He died a few months later in Ohio at 59-years-old.
Something to Remember … You’ll want to remember the Tower Guard, Harold Stites. The hero of this escape attempt. He’d sadly become a statistic in the insane, “Battle of Alcatraz” in 1946.
READ ABOUT THE BATTLE OF ALCATRAZ
So Very Close in 1943
More proof Alcatraz Prison’s best feature is its location. Sitting way out there. Surrounded by fridged and dangerous waters.
Four inmates named…
- Boarman
- Brest
- Hamilton
- Hunter
Took guards hostage in the industries area.
Tied them up. Then they worked on dismantling a barred window. Getting enough out for the men to climb through.
No alarms went off. This motivated one Guard to pull his hand out of the restraints. He ran to the window and screamed to the Tower Guards.
Alarms sounded and the Tower Guards saw all four inmates swimming away from the Island. They aimed and fired.
It hit Boarman! The others watched him go limp and sink into the icy waters. They never recovered his body.
After seeing Boarman die, Brest and Hunter stopped to surrender. Watching as Hamilton strongly swam around the shoreline and out of sight.
Everyone thought Hamilton got tired and drowned. But they were wrong!
Hamilton was once part of an infamous gang. Led by … maybe you heard of them … Bonnie and Clyde! This taught him to never give up.
But then he gave up. Two days later, Hamilton approached the front gates with his hands up.
Initially swimming around the shoreline to the back of the Island. Out-of-site from the Guards, just as his arms failed.
Climbing on the rocks, he hid in a cave. Eventually realizing a swim to San Francisco was impossible and returning to the prison.
Floyd Hamilton was Saved
Because of this, Hamilton swore he’d turn his life around. Like many reformed criminals, he swore to find God.
Usually, a failing effort … but not for Floyd Hamilton!
He served out his sentence. Then after his release, spoke to crowds about his time in the Bonnie & Clyde Gang. Travelling all over America.
He ended up working at a car dealership in Dallas, Texas. And during his free time, spoke to troubled kids. Helping them turn away from crime.
Floyd Hamilton died in 1984. And is buried in Oklahoma.
Crazy ‘Battle of Alcatraz‘
Here’s an escape attempt so crazy, it deserved its own article …
READ 1946’S BATTLE OF ALCATRAZ
The Real Escape from Alcatraz in 1962
Among all escape attempts, the 1962 escape orchestrated by Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers, stands out the most.
The reason … it may have been a success!
Fitting, because Frank Morris was an artist of prison escapes. He had a rich history of attempts.
It’s believed the plan for the Alcatraz escape matured over two-years. They created homemade tools to drill small holes into the wall. This was through small air vents under the sinks in their cells.
It opened into the wall and utility areas. Space for pipes became ladders to the building’s ventilator.
Which had access to the roof!
Dummy Heads
And famously, they also created “Dummy Heads”. Amazingly done with normal products inside the prison any inmate could access. Including…
- Soap
- Concrete Dust
- Toilet Paper
- Human Hair
These heads are credited for the escape.
Giving them time because the Guards were tricked. Counting all the men on multiple bed checks throughout the night.
This gave many hours of extra time to create a careful escape.
Back to the escape … the men got onto the roof. And in the cover of night, made their way down to the shoreline.
Then there was the raft! 50 Raincoats fashioned together using glue and stitching, then sealed with steam from pipes. Pushed onto the water, the raft floated under the weight of all the men.
Their exact route is unknown. But it’s believed they navigated the waters and reached the mainland.
It’s unknown because … none of the men were ever found!
However, three weeks after the escape, a body washed up along the coast. Dressed in blue clothing similar to an Alcatraz inmate uniform.
But identification was impossible because it was so rotted.
The public believed the body was not one of the escapees. But officials disagreed and were sure all the men (including Morris) had drowned.
Makes sense they’d believe that, because the alternative meant they failed.
17 years later in 1979. The FBI officially closed the case. Concluding … the men drowned and were dead.
However, the possibility that the three men survived and started new lives under assumed identities remains a topic of debate and speculation to this day.
Inspiring a movie starring Clint Eastwood as Frank Morris back in 1979.
Which do you find to be more compelling? Battle of Alcatraz or the above Escape from Alcatraz… comment below!
Some Ghosts of Alcatraz
Among the many ghosts of Alcatraz, the following stand out. They are…
- The man in cell 14D
- The Birdman of Alcatraz
- A fictional hitman created by a famed Psychic
- And of course … Al Capone … and his beloved banjo!
The Man in Cell 14D
Cell 14D is avoided by many workers in the current historic site of Alcatraz. Partly due to the ghost being the most infamous in the prison.
But it’s all from legend.
Stating an inmate was separated from the others. Placed alone in Cell 14D. And that’s where they later they found his dead body.
That’s it! No details or reason for the death. Just a complete mystery.
The most confusing part … why is this cell so haunted? Occurrences in this small space include…
- Sounds of rattling chains.
- Muffled knocking on the walls.
- A ghostly figure seen moving around the cell
Even with a legend many would dismiss, the experiences prove something special.
Birdman of Alcatraz
Robert Stroud is the “Birdman of Alcatraz”. Made famous by Burt Lancaster in the 1962 film of the same name.
Fun fact … the movie came out the same year as Frank Morris famed escape. The escape in June 1962. The movie released in July.
Stroud was a main character in the prison during his time. Known for being calm and raising his birds.
And saving lives! Particularly during the Battle of Alcatraz…
READ THE BATTLE OF ALCATRAZ
Stroud died just a year after the film was released. But he wasn’t in Alcatraz.
In 1959 he was transferred to an outside medical center. No specific sickness. Just died of old age at 73 years old.
But he didn’t die in Alcatraz. So, this may be residual energy left over from all his years inside the famous prison.
Because his ghost remains on the island. Particularly around the hospital.
Maybe he felt a need to take care of the sick. Like in life, but with people instead of birds.
Or maybe the legend confuses the Medical Center in Missouri with the one at Alcatraz. And the Birdman has actually flown the coop!
Sylvia Browne and the Fictional Hitman
In 1984, psychic Sylvia Browne visited Alcatraz for a publicized séance on CBS.
During her visit, she picked up on energy belonging to an inmate named “Butcher” Malkowitz.
She said he was a hitman. And Malkowitz was killed in the laundry room by another inmate.
The problem with this … there’s no record of an inmate named Malkozitz. Or any other inmate with that history.
Didn’t matter to the viewers! It became legend.
Jumping off Sylvia Browne’s fame. She was well-known for many appearances of the Montel Williams Talk Show.
Al Capone and His Banjo
But no spirit is more (in)famous than, Al Capone!
READ ABOUT ALCATRAZ’S MOST INFAMOUS INMATES
The gangster of Chicago’s Prohibition was at Alcatraz. About 6 years of peaceful time-served before being transferred out.
One of the reasons … publicity! To show off the newly built prison.
And during that time, Capone found calm in a humble instrument … the banjo.
Contrary to his reputation, Capone’s time at Alcatraz lacked enthusiasm. He kept to himself. Reading books and magazines.
The only exception to this routine … his banjo.
This leads to the sounds of a banjo echoing out from all of Capone’s ‘haunts’. Mostly, the halls near his Cell # 181. And the showers too.
Fun fact … Capone created the first inmate band inside Alcatraz. Called the “Rock Islanders”. It featured Capone on the banjo and George “Machine Gun” Kelly on drums.
Amazing History & Ghosts of Alcatraz
It’s been a pleasure researching and writing for this legendary location. One day I even plan to visit and walk those halls and cells.
So much great information … I needed three articles!
This has been the history, escapees and ghosts of Alcatraz … please check out the companion articles …