Alcatraz, which earned the nickname of the "Rock", was the ultimate American prison for many years was on Alcatraz Island, which was located in the mists off of San Francisco.  This prison was supposedly inescapable due its location which was surrounded by water.  Famous criminals such as Al Capone, Alvin Karpis and Machine-Gun Kelly and others were confined here, along with the spirits said to haunt there.  It was eventually closed down because it wasn't a place for rehabilitation, but rather a place of punishment and minimum privilege.  Those who survived life in the prison did so at the cost of both their sanity and their souls.  Al Capone along with countless others have lost their sanity there due to the harsh treatment of prisoners and solitary confinement.  Attempts of suicide and self-mutilation were not uncommon,  it was believed that more men suffered mental breakdowns at Alcatraz, by percentage, than at any other Federal prisons.  During the 29 years that Alcatraz was in operation, there were over 14 escape attempts in which 34 different men risked their lives to try and make it off the Rock. Almost all of the men were either killed or recaptured. Only one of the men was known to have made it ashore, but later he was recaptured.  Although the prison isn't in operation anymore, you can take a tour of the place now; lost souls are said to still haunt the place to this day.  Many reports of strange ghost related phenomena have been reported there, including the sound of a banjo playing...Al Capone's supposed calling card.