Alcatraz Island - visitor and staff reports of voices and apparitions

Alcatraz served as a federal prison from 1934 to 1963 and is associated with numerous deaths and violent incidents during its use as a penitentiary; since it opened to the public many visitors and some staff have reported hearing unexplained voices, footsteps, or seeing apparitions. These reports are frequently described on guided tours and in oral histories from former guards and inmates, and they often reference the island's violent prison history. The accounts are anecdotal and contested; researchers note that environmental noises and expectations influence many reports. Alcatraz is accessible to the public via the landing at Pier 33 in San Francisco.