Flannan Isles Lighthouse is located at the highest point on Eilean Mòr, one of the Flannan Islands in the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. It is best known for the mysterious disappearance of its keepers in 1900.
The first mention of disturbing phenomena at the Flannan Islands dates back to 15 December 1900, when the steamer Archtor, sailing from Philadelphia to Leith, noted in its logbook that the lighthouse was not working in bad weather conditions.
When the ship docked at Leith on 18 December 1900, the sighting was passed on to the Northern Lighthouse Board. The rescue vessel, the lighthouse tender Hesperus, was unable to sail from Breasclete, Lewis as planned on 20 December due to adverse weather; she did not reach the island until midday on 26 December.
The lighthouse was manned by three men, Thomas Marshall, James Ducat, and Donald MacArthur, with a fourth man taking turns on shore.
Upon arrival, the crew and lighthouse keeper discovered that there was no flag on the mast, no boxes of provisions had been left on the jetty to replenish their supplies, and, worse still, none of the lighthouse keeper were there to welcome them ashore.
Jim Harvie, captain of the Hesperus, attempted to make contact with them by blowing the ship's whistle and firing a flare, but to no avail.
A boat was launched and Joseph Moore, the replacement guard, was left alone on shore. He found the entrance gate to the convoluted and the main door locked, the beds unmade, and the clock stopped.
Returning to the dock with this grim news, he made his way back to the lighthouse with the Hesperus’ second mate and a seaman. Further search revealed that the lamps had been cleaned and refilled. A set of oil jackets was found, suggesting that one of the keeper had left the lighthouse without them, which was surprising given the severity of the weather on the day of the last entry in the lighthouse log.
The only sign that anything was wrong at the lighthouse was an overturned chair at the kitchen table. There was no sign of either lighthouse keeper, either inside the lighthouse or anywhere on the island.
Moore and three volunteer sailors were left to tend the lighthouse, and the Hesperus returned to Lewis. Captain Harvie sent a telegram to the Northern Lighthouse Board dated 26 December 1900, stating:
“A terrible accident occurred at Flannans. Three bouncers, Ducat, Marshall and Occasional, disappeared from the island… The clocks had stopped and other signs indicated that the accident must have happened about a week ago.”
On Eilean Mòr, the men searched every corner of the island for clues to the fate of the guards. They found that everything was intact on the eastern landing site, but the western landing site provided significant evidence of damage from recent storms.
A box 33 metres (108 ft) above sea level was smashed and its contents scattered; iron railings were bent, an iron funicular by a path was torn from its concrete, and a rock weighing more than a ton was displaced. At the top of a cliff more than 60 metres (200 ft) above sea level, the turf was torn away to a distance of 10 metres (33 ft) from the cliff edge.
The missing caregivers kept a diary until 9 a.m. on December 15. The entries clearly indicated that the damage occurred before they went missing.
At the time, many people presented various theories in newspapers, speculating about paranormal phenomena, ghost stories, pirate kidnappings, and espionage scandals, but providing no evidence to support their claims.
The Northern Lighthouse Board found it arduous to recruit fresh lighthouse keepers as rumours of the secret spread, and a murky shadow began to hang over the Flannan Isles tower.
James Love's latest research has revealed that Marshall had previously been fined five shillings when his gear was washed away in a severe storm. It was probably to avoid another fine that he and Ducat attempted to secure their gear during the storm and were swept away as a result.
MacArthur's fate, although he had to stay behind to man the lighthouse, is a safe and sound bet. Love speculates that MacArthur probably tried to warn or assist his colleagues and was also kidnapped.
Further application is based on the psychology of the guards. MacArthur was said to be a temperamental character; this may have led to a fight breaking out near the edge of the cliff at West Landing, resulting in all three men falling to their deaths.
Another theory is that one of the men went mad (possibly MacArthur, as evidenced by his leaving the lighthouse without rain gear and his strange behavior noted in the ship's log), murdered the other two, threw their bodies into the sea, and then jumped to commit suicide.
Among the contemporary theories are those related to paranormal activity, such as alien abductions.
In 2018, the film “The Disappearance” was released, telling the story of this strange mystery.
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