Vaughn Hardacker

Smuttynose Island, at 25 acres, is the third-largest island. It is known as the site of Blackbeard’s honeymoon, later for the shipwreck of the Spanish ship Sagunto in 1813, and then for the notorious 1873 murders of two young women. The latter is recalled in the story, “A Memorable Murder”, by Celia Thaxter, in the 1997 novel, The Weight of Water, by Anita Shreve (and in the film of the same name), and in the song, “The Ballad of Louis Wagner” by John Perrault.

I want to revisit an actual crime case once again, this one much closer to home. It is about a man who was born less than five miles from where I live. You may have heard that no one ever escaped from Alcatraz, but that isn’t exactly correct. I want to introduce you to the Alcatraz Eel.

The Loup-Garou is a werewolf on steroids. There are two types of werewolves: the European and the American. The European version is common in Hollywood movies. Most people are familiar with the European, a vicious killer that is dependent on the appearance of the full moon to transform from human to wolf. The Loup-Garou is physically taller than its counterpart and is not dependent on the phases of the moon. It can transform at will.