Horrific Note of the Week – Alcatraz

The island of Alcatraz, off the coast of San Francisco, has a long and spooky history. In its earlier days, Native Americans allegedly used to banish miscreants to the island as punishment, where they were reportedly plagued by the local spirits. Alcatraz, of course, became a notorious federal prison in 1934, housing criminals such as Al Capone before it was shut down in 1963. Today, visitors to the island report hearing screams, the clanging of metal doors, and the sound of voices within the walls. One of the more famous tales associated with the island supposedly occurred in the 1940s, when warden James Johnston held a Christmas Day party at his residence for the staff at the prison. The good cheer is said to have been brought to a swift halt when an apparition sporting mutton-chop whiskers and a gray suit appeared. The temperature in the room plummeted, and the fire blew out before returning to normal, when the spirit disappeared about a minute later. The rattled guards were too scared to stay in the residence, and the rest of the Christmas celebration ended abruptly.

Extract from Stained Torment

  Ghostly figures, black then white, floated about the room. Unknown to Kora her ordeal had reached past the hour mark and the line between reality, hallucinations, passing out and death were rapidly merging into one. Limp from exhaustion with the loss of blood, her body rested unmoving. The silhouette of a mad man-like figure hovered above her. This had to be the turning point he’d been waiting for all this time. Lucifer watched silently for another ten minutes, inquisitively observing his preys’ every movement. Kora bravely fought off the pain, then regrettably gave in, as an instinctive survival mechanism she spoke to herself, continually reminding herself it was all a dream – this was not reality, how could this be real? Ominous gargling sounds came from the back row, surprising Kora, causing her to twist her body to see what had become the undead.