British tourist Sheila Sillery-Walsh claims that she was able to take a photo of one of Alcatarz’s ghosts while touring “The Rock” with her partner.
Sheila, who is from Birmingham, visited Alcatraz in April with her partner Paul Rice. She said, “Alcatraz Penitentiary is a must-see for any tourist. However, as soon as we entered the prison, everything felt very eerie. I didn’t feel comfortable there.”
Alcatraz Island, located in the San Francisco Bay, is home to the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. The isolated prison housed some of the most notorious criminals in history such as Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, and Arthur R. “Doc” Baker.
Alcatraz is also known for being one of the most haunted spots in California. Prisoners and guards who worked on the island said that they have seen ghosts or heard noises that couldn’t be explained. Some reports include whispering sounds, moaning, flickering lights, cold spots and crying.
During the Alcatraz Penitentiary tour, Sheila brought out her iPhone 5c and took a snapshot of an empty room.
“When I glanced at the photo on my mobile, I saw this dark female figure in the picture. I looked at the window again and there was no-one in the room.” She told Daily Mail UK that she immediately knew that she caught a ghost and showed the picture to Paul.
Paul said that he never believed in ghosts, but the picture that Sheila took made him think twice. “When I first saw the photo, I tried to rationalize the female figure away by saying it was just Sheila’s reflection.” However, upon closer inspection, it was obviously not Sheila at all. “The woman’s hair and clothing is from a different era – it looks like she’s from the 1930’s or 40’s,” Paul said.
Sheila and Paul contacted Alcatraz staff to try to figure out the identity of the woman, but none of them recognize the ghostly figure.
“Weirdly when we were near that cell, a woman came on the audio tour who used to visit a prisoner. It makes you wonder,” Sheila said.
Park officials say there are no ghosts on Alcatraz Island, Huffington Post reports. “Spiritualists and people who want to believe in ghosts often claim to pick up haunted auras and ghostly feelings when visiting Alcatraz,” states the FAQ on the website of Alcatraz Cruises.
Whether the photo holds the image of a ghost or not, Sheila went home to Birmingham with a memorable experience from her visit to Alcatraz.