Looming ominously off the coast of French Guiana in South America, a mere 8.5 miles or 13.76 kilometers away, stands Devil’s Island, or Île Du Diable, as it's known in French. The island's memorable name alludes to its chilling past as a ruthless penal colony, where its isolation, climate, and brutal prison culture led to deaths of tens of thousands of prisoners. Today, we're going to take a trip to this small, but very deadly island, and delve into its history of violence, its unique geography, and why inmates were willing to brave shark-infested waters to escape the clutches of what was truly, the Devil’s Island.