‘The Dead Files’ Goes To Alcatraz
As Saturday night’s favorite real-life ghost whisperer, Amy Allan normally investigates private homes, but while we’re waiting for more new episodes, The Travel Channel delivered The Dead Files, “Special Investigation: Alcatraz,” Saturday night to keep fans busy while we wait. If private homes can send her psychic radar into the red zone, a place like Alcatraz was bound to provoke a serious response.
From the time Amy walked into the building, the psychic became physically ill to a higher degree than what occurs normally when she runs into the more nasty spirits. Allan hunched over on the floor and at one point exclaimed “Holy crap!”
Flashing back to 24 hours earlier, before Amy’s arrival, a former tour guest named Bob talked about his experiences when he came through Alcatraz at 13 years-old. He had been asked by the ranger if he wanted to step into cell D-14 on the notorious D Block to see what prisoners had experienced. As Bob stood inside the cell, the ranger asked him if he was doing okay, but even as Bob confirmed that everything was fine, he felt something grab his shoulder and whisper in his ear, “you’re mine.”
Bob said before that fateful tour, he had no belief in the paranormal, but that has definitely changed.
Allan talked about an entity poking people and pulling hair because they would “annoy him.” Other entities present were giving her information about the violent spirit, including that he was an arsonist, but much more.
“Some people think he was a Satanist… and I’m thinking that might be true because of what he can do now.”
Another visitor named Sam, told investigator Steve Di Schiavi about being pushed on his shoulder as well in the same area of the prison.
Di Schiavi spoke with a former prisoner named Robert, who served time at Alcatraz for bank robbery, and told how he once was sent to D Block for 29 days, and how he was stripped and thrown in a cell, and told “he didn’t need any clothes in there.”
According to Allan, the spirits were telling her that the inmates weren’t the only problem.
“The guards were worse than they were, is what they’re saying, because they did some very, very, very, very, bad, nasty things, — somewhat disgusting things — to the inmates here. They would make it so they couldn’t eat, they would make their food bad or something…. It wasn’t, like, all the people here, but if they got mad at you, you were screwed.
George, who was a guard at the prison, said he was only there a half hour before he was involved in breaking up a brutal murder between inmates in the barber shop. Allan picked up information on the attack, which was one inmate stabbing the other to death with barber shears.
Di Schiavi, meanwhile, was getting a lesson in the real story behind The Birdman Of Alcatraz, and that he wasn’t just an eccentric old man as portrayed in the film, but a truly violent criminal that had to be showered separately from the rest of the inmates because of his violent tendencies. Another guard, Patrick, said he had to be separated for showers because he would try to rape the other prisoners.
Of course, Amy did some sketches of both The Monkey Man and also the spirit that was taking her on a tour of the premises who said his name was Stan. Allan described Stan as well-dressed, and that he told her this was his personal hell.
During the reveal, Allan denied any knowledge of The Birdman, and yet her sketch of The Monkey Man was very similar to a photo of the notorious prisoner.
And the other sketch of her tour guide Stan? That sketch bore a striking resemblance to a very famous prisoner who spent some hard time there, but his name wasn’t Stan. The sketch was a dead ringer for none other than Al Capone.
The Dead Files airs Saturday nights on The Travel Channel, alternating with Ghost Adventures.
[Photo courtesy of The Travel Channel]
