Legends of Alcatraz off on their own accord have all been reported. The Warden's House, now a burnt out shell since the Occupation of Alcatraz, is also reputed to be haunted; during the time of the penitentiary, several guards reported seeing the spectre of a man with mutton-chop sideburns during a party wearing a gray suit and brimmed cap, leaving the room icy cold and extinguishing the fire in the Ben Franklin stove. A phantom lighthouse has also been said to have emerged from the fog of San Francisco bay. Former inmate Leon "Whitey" Thompson, who worked as a guide at Alcatraz for
Occupation of Alcatraz Occupation of Alcatraz The Occupation of Alcatraz was an occupation of Alcatraz Island by 89 American Indians and supporters, led by Richard Oakes, LaNada Means, and others. They chose the name Indians of All Tribes (IOAT) and John Trudell was the spokesperson. According to the IOAT, under the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) between the U.S. and the Lakota, all retired, abandoned or out-of-use federal land was returned to the Native people who once occupied it. Since Alcatraz penitentiary had been closed on March 21, 1963, and the island had been declared surplus federal property in 1964, a number of