1 00:00:05,921 --> 00:00:07,281 Speaker 1: Approach production. 2 00:00:16,601 --> 00:00:21,841 Speaker 2: Hi, Welcome to Silent Secrets, a bedtime podcast for curious minds. 3 00:00:22,441 --> 00:00:27,481 Speaker 2: I'm jay, I'm glad you're here. This is your time 4 00:00:27,601 --> 00:00:32,081 Speaker 2: to let go of today, to settle in and slow down, 5 00:00:32,801 --> 00:00:35,200 Speaker 2: and let curiosity gently. 6 00:00:34,921 --> 00:00:36,801 Speaker 1: Carry you towards sleep. 7 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,401 Speaker 2: In each episode, I'm going to share a true story 8 00:00:41,441 --> 00:00:44,921 Speaker 2: of the unexplained, not to alarm you, but to quiet 9 00:00:44,961 --> 00:00:48,281 Speaker 2: your mind, to remind you that the world is full 10 00:00:48,321 --> 00:00:55,561 Speaker 2: of wonder and some things we'll never truly understand. So 11 00:00:55,641 --> 00:01:00,041 Speaker 2: take a deep breath, feel your body sink into comfort, 12 00:01:02,761 --> 00:01:06,241 Speaker 2: let the weight of the day drift away. As we 13 00:01:06,321 --> 00:01:19,281 Speaker 2: begin tonight's story. There are places in the world that 14 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,801 Speaker 2: feel like they were never meant to hold people for 15 00:01:21,961 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 2: very long, places shaped by wind, water and time. The 16 00:01:30,321 --> 00:01:34,681 Speaker 2: Flanninals are one of those places. They set off the 17 00:01:34,721 --> 00:01:42,601 Speaker 2: western coast of Scotland, a scatter of dark rocks rising 18 00:01:42,681 --> 00:01:49,481 Speaker 2: from the North Atlantic. No trees, no shelter, just grass, 19 00:01:50,121 --> 00:01:56,801 Speaker 2: cliffs and sea. Even now they feel distant, but in 20 00:01:56,841 --> 00:02:06,881 Speaker 2: the nineteen hundreds they felt unreachable. On one of the 21 00:02:06,961 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 2: largest islands, a lighthouse had been built only a year earlier. 22 00:02:14,481 --> 00:02:17,761 Speaker 2: Its purpose was simple to keep ships safe from the 23 00:02:17,841 --> 00:02:31,721 Speaker 2: rocks below. Its cost was isolation. Three men lived there 24 00:02:31,841 --> 00:02:36,441 Speaker 2: at any one time. They rotated shifts months apart from 25 00:02:36,481 --> 00:02:47,081 Speaker 2: the mainland. They worked, eight slept, and waited together and 26 00:02:48,121 --> 00:02:57,761 Speaker 2: alone in December of nineteen hundred. Those three men were James, 27 00:02:58,041 --> 00:03:04,281 Speaker 2: the principal keeper, Thomas, the second assistant, and Donald, the 28 00:03:04,361 --> 00:03:11,161 Speaker 2: occasional relief keeper. They were not inexperienced, they were not reckless. 29 00:03:11,921 --> 00:03:17,481 Speaker 2: They knew the sea. Each day followed the same rhythm. 30 00:03:17,921 --> 00:03:23,721 Speaker 2: The lamp was cleaned, the wick was trimmed, weather was 31 00:03:23,761 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 2: logged in careful handwriting. Meals were taken at set times, 32 00:03:30,921 --> 00:03:35,201 Speaker 2: and every evening, as darkness crept across the water, the 33 00:03:35,321 --> 00:03:46,841 Speaker 2: light was lit. That light matted. On the night of 34 00:03:46,881 --> 00:03:50,201 Speaker 2: the fifteenth of December, a ship called the Arch tor 35 00:03:50,881 --> 00:03:58,441 Speaker 2: past the islands. The crew noticed something immediately. The lighthouse 36 00:03:58,601 --> 00:04:06,721 Speaker 2: was dark, no beam, no warning, just blackness where there 37 00:04:06,761 --> 00:04:12,161 Speaker 2: should have been light. This was not a small error. 38 00:04:13,081 --> 00:04:19,361 Speaker 2: A lighthouse going dark was rare and dangerous. The captain 39 00:04:19,681 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 2: made note of it in the ship's log, but the 40 00:04:23,361 --> 00:04:26,481 Speaker 2: storms were moving in and there was nothing the ship 41 00:04:26,521 --> 00:04:32,481 Speaker 2: could do. It would be another eleven days before anyone 42 00:04:33,041 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 2: reached the island. When a relief vessel finally arrived on 43 00:04:39,921 --> 00:04:45,921 Speaker 2: December twenty sixth. The sea was rough but manageable. As 44 00:04:45,961 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 2: the ship approached, the captain sounded the horn once, then again. 45 00:05:00,601 --> 00:05:06,681 Speaker 2: No response. There was no movement on the island, no 46 00:05:06,801 --> 00:05:13,481 Speaker 2: figures on the path, no smoke from the chimney. Joseph, 47 00:05:13,961 --> 00:05:19,161 Speaker 2: a relief keeper, volunteered to go ashore. As he climbed 48 00:05:19,201 --> 00:05:23,481 Speaker 2: the steep steps carved into the rock, the silence pressed in, 49 00:05:25,401 --> 00:05:29,481 Speaker 2: not the peaceful kind, but the kind that feels wrong, 50 00:05:31,081 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 2: as though something has been interrupted. The lighthouse door was closed. 51 00:05:39,761 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 2: Inside the building felt orderly, too orderly. The kitchen table 52 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:52,081 Speaker 2: was clean, the chairs were pushed in, the beds were made. 53 00:05:52,481 --> 00:05:58,281 Speaker 2: There was no sign of panic. Two sets of heavy 54 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:03,041 Speaker 2: oil skins coats designed to withstand brutal storms, were missing. 55 00:06:04,401 --> 00:06:09,121 Speaker 2: One remained hanging on its hook, which meant that at 56 00:06:09,201 --> 00:06:14,321 Speaker 2: least one man had gone outside without protection. That alone 57 00:06:15,041 --> 00:06:20,921 Speaker 2: was strange. The clocks inside the lighthouse had stopped. The 58 00:06:21,001 --> 00:06:24,841 Speaker 2: lamp had been cleaned and refilled, ready to be lit, 59 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:31,241 Speaker 2: but it had never been lit. And then there was 60 00:06:31,281 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 2: the log book. The final entry spoke of storms, violent winds, 61 00:06:38,281 --> 00:06:45,281 Speaker 2: damage to equipment, and fear. One entry dated December twelve 62 00:06:46,001 --> 00:06:51,201 Speaker 2: mentioned one of the men crying. Another entry described one 63 00:06:51,201 --> 00:06:54,280 Speaker 2: of the other men, known as a strong seasoned sailor, 64 00:06:55,081 --> 00:07:05,321 Speaker 2: as very quiet. But this is where the story fractures. 65 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:15,241 Speaker 2: Lighthouses on the nearby islands recorded no storms at all. 66 00:07:15,361 --> 00:07:18,681 Speaker 2: The sea had been rough at times, but nothing extraordinary, 67 00:07:19,521 --> 00:07:23,241 Speaker 2: nothing that matched the fear written in the log. Something 68 00:07:23,601 --> 00:07:31,161 Speaker 2: didn't make sense. Outside investigators found signs of damage, a 69 00:07:31,241 --> 00:07:37,281 Speaker 2: storage box torn from its moorings, iron railings bent, evidence 70 00:07:37,321 --> 00:07:42,001 Speaker 2: that waves had reached far higher than expected. One theory 71 00:07:42,121 --> 00:07:45,561 Speaker 2: suggested the men had gone out together to secure equipment 72 00:07:45,601 --> 00:07:49,841 Speaker 2: near the cliffs, and then a sudden rogue wave swept 73 00:07:49,881 --> 00:07:57,601 Speaker 2: them into the sea. But this explanation left questions. Why 74 00:07:57,641 --> 00:08:01,121 Speaker 2: would all three leave at once, why would one go 75 00:08:01,201 --> 00:08:05,041 Speaker 2: out without his coat, and why were the lighthouse doors 76 00:08:05,241 --> 00:08:12,361 Speaker 2: locked behind them. Another theory suggested something slower, that one 77 00:08:12,441 --> 00:08:15,481 Speaker 2: man was taken by the sea and the others followed, 78 00:08:16,561 --> 00:08:22,041 Speaker 2: one to help another in panic. And then there were 79 00:08:22,081 --> 00:08:27,401 Speaker 2: theories that stay unspoken, the ones that don't sit easily 80 00:08:27,561 --> 00:08:35,121 Speaker 2: in official reports. Fear, conflict, something unseen beyond the cliffs. 81 00:08:36,681 --> 00:08:42,041 Speaker 2: No bodies were ever recovered. The sea kept its answers. 82 00:08:44,761 --> 00:08:50,281 Speaker 2: The lighthouse returned to operation. New keepers took over. The 83 00:08:50,401 --> 00:08:55,801 Speaker 2: light once again swept across the water. But those men 84 00:08:55,881 --> 00:09:01,841 Speaker 2: reported seeing something else, the heaviness in the air doors 85 00:09:01,841 --> 00:09:06,081 Speaker 2: that seemed louder than they should, in an absence that 86 00:09:06,201 --> 00:09:13,641 Speaker 2: felt occupied. To day, the lighthouse is automated. No one 87 00:09:13,681 --> 00:09:17,521 Speaker 2: lives there any more, and when the wind moves across 88 00:09:17,521 --> 00:09:22,601 Speaker 2: the island, there are no voices to interrupt it, only 89 00:09:22,681 --> 00:09:27,801 Speaker 2: the sound of the waves hitting the rocks, over and 90 00:09:27,961 --> 00:09:45,481 Speaker 2: over and over again. Thank you for listening to silent secrets. 91 00:09:46,481 --> 00:09:49,121 Speaker 2: I hope to Night's story has given your mind something 92 00:09:49,241 --> 00:09:54,761 Speaker 2: soft to wander through as you drift towards rest. But 93 00:09:54,921 --> 00:09:58,041 Speaker 2: the quieter the night rap around you now, and know 94 00:09:58,321 --> 00:10:02,441 Speaker 2: that mysteries will still be here to morrow. Close your eyes, 95 00:10:03,561 --> 00:10:10,361 Speaker 2: breathe deeply, and let's sleep take over until we share 96 00:10:10,721 --> 00:10:12,801 Speaker 2: another secret next time. 97 00:10:13,881 --> 00:11:18,761 Speaker 1: Good night, schools 98 00:12:18,801 --> 00:12:18,841 Speaker 2: U.