HAUNTED: Alcatraz

Alcatraz sits in the middle of San Francisco Bay, surrounded by a mile and a half of open ocean, freezing cold water, and powerful currents that could drag even the strongest swimmer out to sea. The federal prison operated from 1934 to 1963, housing the country's most notorious criminals—men like Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, and Robert Stroud, the so-called Birdman. No one ever successfully escaped. And for certain souls, even death didn't release them. As the podcast hosts Yvette Gentile and Rosha Picarero explain, there are rumors that some prisoners never left at all, still trapped on that island for all eternity.

The Making of "The Rock"

The island's grim history began long before it became a federal prison. In the 1850s, President Millard Fillmore ordered the Army to build forts along the California coastline after the Mexican-American War revealed how undefended the West Coast was. Alcatraz—originally called Isla de los Alcatraces (Island of the Pelicans)—was chosen because no ship could enter San Francisco Harbor without passing it. The Army built barracks, mess halls, walls, and the first lighthouse on the West Coast. But the fort never saw battle.