1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: Hey, Happy Saturday everybody. Today we are revisiting a history mystery, 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:08,959 Speaker 1: and that's the case of the flann and Niles disappearance, 3 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: in which several lighthousekeepers all simply vanished. We will probably 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: never know exactly what happened to these men, but this 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,119 Speaker 1: episode gets into some of the possible causes that have 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: been proposed over the years. Enjoying Welcome to stuff you 7 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: missed in history class from house stuff Works dot com. Hello, 8 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. My name is Holly fro 9 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:40,880 Speaker 1: and I'm Tracy Vie Wilson, and today we're going to 10 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: talk about another maritime mystery which I know a lot 11 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:46,560 Speaker 1: of our listeners have written when we've talked about ship 12 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: bricks and they really enjoy them. But this one does 13 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: not involve a ship. It involves them, but in a 14 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: sort of way. Uh it doesn't center around a ship 15 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: at all, but in fact a lighthouse. Yes, uh so, 16 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: just for a little bit of background. The Flannin Islands, 17 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: also called the Flannin Aisles, are named after a sixth 18 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: century Irish bishop who is storied to have brought good 19 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 1: fortune to everything and everyone he touched in the Flannin Aisles, 20 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: which are off the coast of Scotland have been rumored 21 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: for centuries to be haunted by either c spirits or 22 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: other supernatural powers. But the event that we're talking about 23 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: today is uh an incident that happened in nineteen hundred. 24 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: Construction of the Flannin Lighthouse ran from eighteen ninety six 25 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: to eighteen ninety nine and it costs seven thousand pounds 26 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: to build. David Stevenson was a relative of Robert Louis 27 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: Stevenson and he was the person who designed it, and 28 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: the contractor on the job was named George Lawson. The 29 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: lighthouse officially started its duties in December of eighteen ninety nine, 30 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: and the lighthouse was owned by the Northern Lighthouse Board 31 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: in Edinburgh, which is a company that at the time 32 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: owned and operated more than six dozen lighthouses and employed 33 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: six hundred men. That company does still exist today, but 34 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: that was those were its stats at the time. The 35 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: lighthouse was built on Eilean Moore, which is the largest 36 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: of the seven islands that make up the Flannins, and 37 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 1: these are also called the Seven Hunters Eileen Morrise. It's 38 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: about eighteen miles from Gallon Head on the west coast 39 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 1: of Louis in the Outer Hebrides. This area, prior to 40 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: their being a lighthouse, there had been extremely dangerous for 41 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: merchant ships. Uh. And so that's really why there was 42 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: calls for a lighthouse to be built. And for stats 43 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: on the lighthouse itself, it was seventy ft tall. It 44 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: still is. In fact, it stands at the top of 45 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty ft cliff and it's a pretty 46 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: sheer drop off to kind of raging waters between the islands. 47 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: And when it was built, it produced one hundred thousand 48 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: candle power and it flashed twice every thirty seconds. Uh. 49 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: And those flashes were visible theoretically for a radius of 50 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: twenty miles. It was built to be incredibly sturdy, and 51 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: it really had to be because it was sitting there 52 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 1: on a rocky cliff in the North Atlantic. An aside 53 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: from the lighthouse keepers, there were no other inhabitants on 54 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: the Flannens. If you look at pictures of them, there 55 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: is pretty much empty desolate rock. They're they're very small 56 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: and there's not really much you could do with that 57 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 1: lands desolate in a beautiful, very remote The wildlife in 58 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: that area there is some of it's really unique it's 59 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: a very pretty area, but yeah, not so hospitable for 60 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: people to make their lives there. No, there was always 61 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: a list of men willing to work the lighthouse, and 62 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: it used a rotating schedule of two weeks shifts. The 63 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: duties of the men who were employed there by the 64 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: Northern Lighthouse Board included polishing the lenses every day, keeping 65 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: the mechanics working and clean, maintaining the buildings, and generally 66 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: keeping the place tidy. And because of the lack of 67 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: radio contact at the time, the Northern Lighthouse Board had 68 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: actually made a deal with a gamekeeper on the island 69 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: of Lewis named Roderick Mackenzie, in which they would pay 70 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: him eight per year to keep an eye on the lighthouse, 71 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: and he was instructed to report to the board's headquarters 72 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: if the light ever went out. So in mid December 73 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: of nineteen hundred, the lighthouse was manned by three people. 74 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:17,119 Speaker 1: There was James Ducat the principal. He was forty three 75 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: and he had two decades of lighthouse experience. He was 76 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: also married and had four children. His second assistant was 77 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: Thomas Marshall and he was twenty eight and not married. 78 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:32,600 Speaker 1: Then Donald MacArthur was an occasional keeper and he was 79 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: serving an alternate. He was serving for William Ross, who 80 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,720 Speaker 1: was the first assistant and was out on sick leave. 81 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: So Donald was forty and married. And on December fifteenth, 82 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,040 Speaker 1: nine hundred, an American vessel, the s S. Arch Tour, 83 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: which was on route from Philadelphia to Leith, passed by 84 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: Eileen Moore just before midnight, and the captain of that vessel, 85 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 1: Captain Holman uh noted that there was no light emanating 86 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,919 Speaker 1: from the lighthouse, and when the arch Tour made port 87 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: three days later, he reported that missing light to the 88 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,600 Speaker 1: port authorities, but for some reason, that information was never 89 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: relayed to the Northern Lighthouse Board at that time. It 90 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: just kind of died on the vine. And also in 91 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: the for some reason category gamekeeper Mackenzie also hadn't reported 92 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: the outage to the board. Will actually come back to 93 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: why that may have been the case in a bit, 94 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: but uh so that had been again on December fifteenth, 95 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,200 Speaker 1: and then they reported it three days later, but it 96 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: wasn't until December that some someone arrives to check out 97 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: the situation, and on that day Captain James Harvey, who 98 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: was aboard the Northern Lighthouse board boat, the s s 99 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,359 Speaker 1: Hesperus approached Eileen Moore, and on board with him was 100 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: a man who had been intended to replace one of 101 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: the three men stationed at the Flannin Lighthouse, so he 102 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: was going to be a shift change and they were 103 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: going to rotate one man out. The Hesperus had actually 104 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: been originally scheduled to make the relief personnel switched on 105 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,279 Speaker 1: December twenty, but because of advert whether they weren't able 106 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:03,160 Speaker 1: to stick to their schedule and they were delayed by 107 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: several days. At this point, the lighthouse had been dark 108 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,480 Speaker 1: for eleven days and people were really worried about what 109 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 1: was going on. No one welcomed Harvey's boat at the 110 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: landing stage, so the captain at first he blew the 111 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: ship's whistle uh and siren, and then he fired at 112 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: a stress signal repeatedly so that he could alert the 113 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:26,919 Speaker 1: keepers of his arrival. But no response ever came. No 114 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: one came down from the lighthouse relief keeper Joseph Moore 115 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:34,279 Speaker 1: road Ashore. He went up the cliff steps to the lighthouse, 116 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: and it's worth noting that because no one was at 117 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: the landing stage to help them, he had to kind 118 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: of back into the landing and jump ashore. So this 119 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: was a tricky maneuver and possibly dangerous. More made his 120 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:51,840 Speaker 1: way to the lighthouse and he proceeded initially to the kitchen, 121 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 1: and there he found a few things that were a 122 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: little off. He found an overturned chair, the remains of 123 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: an unfinished meal, and a clock which stopped. And that 124 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,359 Speaker 1: clock comes up a lot. This being one of those 125 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: history mysteries, some people want to give it some sort 126 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 1: of supernatural element, like the clock stopped, but remember clocks 127 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: had to be wound at this time, so that's that's 128 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 1: really not a hint at anything supernatural going on. It 129 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: had wound down. Yes, the beds were all made, the 130 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: fire grate was cold, and Moore went on to investigate 131 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: the rest of the lighthouse, but he couldn't find the keepers. 132 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 1: There was a pet canary in a cage which appeared 133 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: not to have been fed for a while. The lighthouse mechanism, though, 134 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: appeared to be fully functional, so there was no mechanical 135 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: problem that would cause it to go out. And Joseph 136 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 1: Moore wrote a letter and his own description of the 137 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: incident two days after this, which was on December, and 138 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: in it he says, on entering the kitchen, I looked 139 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: at the fireplace and saw that the fire was not 140 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: lighted for some days. I then entered the rooms in succession, 141 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: found the beds empty, just as they left them in 142 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,559 Speaker 1: the early morning. I did not take time to search further, 143 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: for I only too well knew something serious had occurred. 144 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: I darted out and made for the landing. When I 145 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: reached there, I informed Mr McCormick as an aside. Mr 146 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: McCormick was the second mate of the Hesperus. I informed 147 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: Mr McCormick that the place was deserted. He with some 148 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: of the men came up a second time so as 149 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: to make sure, But unfortunately the first impression was only 150 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: too true. So after more reported back to the Hesperus 151 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,360 Speaker 1: that he couldn't find any sign of life at the lighthouse. 152 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: More men from the boat joined him and started a 153 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: thorough search of the small island, and there was no 154 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: trace of the three missing men. So Joseph Moore, along 155 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:56,160 Speaker 1: with three volunteers, which included Um and Alan McDonald who 156 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: was a boy master, and two seamen, Mr Lamont and 157 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,319 Speaker 1: Mr Campbell, remained on the island to keep the lighthouse 158 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:06,480 Speaker 1: in operation. While the investigation continued. Because while this mystery 159 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:09,520 Speaker 1: slash tragedy had occurred, they still had to warn ships 160 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:13,480 Speaker 1: away from the rocks. Captain Harvey sent a telegram to 161 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 1: the Northern Lighthouse Board telling them about the tragedy and 162 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: UH letting them know that arrangements had been made for 163 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: the lighthouse. And then on December twenty nine, so three 164 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:29,439 Speaker 1: days after the initial discovery, UH Board Superintendent Robert and 165 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 1: Ware had arrived at Eileen Moore to probe the matter, 166 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: and he made arrangements for a new crew for the 167 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:38,440 Speaker 1: interim management of the lighthouse station, and then he set 168 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: to the business of investigation. He went through the lighthouse 169 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 1: again looking for for clues, but he couldn't find anything 170 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: suspicious aside from the overturned chair and the abandoned meal, 171 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: and the last slate entry, which was written on the 172 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: morning of December fift had not yet been transferred to 173 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 1: the log. So we've talked about this before, where often 174 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: there's the book log, but what will often happen is 175 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: on a chalk boarder of slate, they'll write down log 176 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,040 Speaker 1: entries before they transfer them down. It's kind of like 177 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,960 Speaker 1: an interim step. So that last slate entry not in 178 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 1: the log um included no extraordinary information. It was you know, 179 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:17,839 Speaker 1: standard barometer, thermometer readings and then notes about the wind conditions, 180 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:21,559 Speaker 1: but nothing jumped out as odd. The work that would 181 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:23,960 Speaker 1: have been done the morning of the fifteenth had all 182 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 1: been done from weird heads of report. The lamp was crimmed, 183 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:30,839 Speaker 1: the oil fountains and canteens were filled up, and the 184 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: lens and machinery cleaned, which proved that the work of 185 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:37,640 Speaker 1: the fift had been completed. So the afternoon of the 186 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: fifte was pinpointed as the probable time of the disappearance. 187 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,480 Speaker 1: And uh it was also noticed that only one set 188 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 1: of wet weather gear was remaining in the building, and 189 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: that was MacArthur's, which meant that Ducotton Marshall had been 190 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: wearing their's. And it also you know, suggested that MacArthur 191 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 1: went out in his shirt sleeves, which further suggested a 192 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: possible emergency situation because remember it's December, yes, well and 193 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,800 Speaker 1: then sort of imagine the Atlantic, yes, the it's like. 194 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: The logical conclusion is two men were outside in their 195 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: wet weather gear. MacArthur was inside getting ready to eat, 196 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:18,199 Speaker 1: knocked over the chair in his haste to exit. That's 197 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: sort of seems like a logical progression of events, but 198 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:25,280 Speaker 1: we don't really know. According to lighthouse regulations, all three 199 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:27,679 Speaker 1: keepers were not supposed to be outside at the same time. 200 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: Somebody always had to stay put inside the lighthouse, so 201 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:35,200 Speaker 1: something had caused them to break with their procedure. There 202 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,800 Speaker 1: was coiled rope discovered strewn about the rocks below the 203 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: crane platform, but the crane was secured, so that rope 204 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:44,960 Speaker 1: was not in use when the men disappeared, and the 205 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,560 Speaker 1: railings there were bent out of shape. There was also 206 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 1: a block of stone that was estimated to wait at 207 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: least a ton that had been dislodged from the cliff 208 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: wall and had fallen onto the landing stage. Normally, all 209 00:11:58,080 --> 00:11:59,960 Speaker 1: of this rope would have been stored in a box 210 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:03,200 Speaker 1: near the crane, but the box itself was missing. In 211 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:07,560 Speaker 1: the superintendence report, he stated quote the ropes were strewn 212 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,680 Speaker 1: in the crevices of the rocks near the crane platform 213 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,320 Speaker 1: and entangled among the crane legs, but they were all 214 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 1: coiled up, no single coil being found unfastened, so it 215 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 1: didn't really look like the ropes had been uncoiled in 216 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,719 Speaker 1: some sort of rescue effort. Yeah. I think a lot 217 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: of times when you read accounts of this incident when 218 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:29,560 Speaker 1: they say that the ropes were strewn about it in 219 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 1: my head the first time I read about it, I 220 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 1: was like, Oh, they must have unfurled the ropes to 221 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:36,840 Speaker 1: try to reach someone. But then when you read wareheads report, 222 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,000 Speaker 1: it clearly says like, no, no, they were still all 223 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,120 Speaker 1: tied tight. They had just fallen out of their box. 224 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: They were sort of scattered haphazard more scattered. Yeah. Uh. 225 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: And there had also been a life boy that had 226 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 1: been fastened to the railings and it was gone, But 227 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: it appeared to have been swept away rather than used 228 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,680 Speaker 1: for an emergency evacuation, because the fastening ropes that would 229 00:12:57,679 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: have held it were still in place and time aid 230 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:02,960 Speaker 1: with bits of canvas still attached to them, So it 231 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 1: looked much more like a breakage than anyone had cut 232 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: or unfurled them. We're Head's assessment. Uh. Theorized that three 233 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,160 Speaker 1: men probably tried to secure the wooden box during some 234 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,320 Speaker 1: rough weather and then were swept away by a large 235 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:21,560 Speaker 1: wave while they were trying to work. He wired his 236 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:25,360 Speaker 1: findings to his superiors and then called the widows of 237 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,280 Speaker 1: Duckett and MacArthur in his report, where Head notes that 238 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,320 Speaker 1: Joseph Moore was severely shaken by the events that had 239 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: happened to Eileen Moore and stated quote, if this nervousness 240 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:38,720 Speaker 1: does not leave more, he will be he will require 241 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: to be transferred. But I am reluctant to recommend this, 242 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:43,640 Speaker 1: as I would desire to have one man at least 243 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:46,319 Speaker 1: who knows the work of the station. So at that point, 244 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:50,800 Speaker 1: because the other three men were gone, uh, he wanted 245 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: someone on shift who was familiar with that particular lighthouse 246 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:58,680 Speaker 1: and its workings. He also investigated the seeming negligence of 247 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 1: the gamekeeper mckenns. So, as we talked about earlier in 248 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:04,839 Speaker 1: the podcast, the light had been out for a while, 249 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: he hadn't said anything about it. After first talking to 250 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 1: Mackenzie's sons and then with Mackenzie himself and discovering that 251 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,840 Speaker 1: the light had not been seen between December seven and 252 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:20,640 Speaker 1: twenty nine, he reported quote Mackenzie stated, and I have 253 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:24,360 Speaker 1: since verified this. The lights sometimes cannot be seen for 254 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: four or five consecutive nights. But he was beginning to 255 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 1: be anxious at not seeing it for such a long period, 256 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 1: and had for two nights prior to its reappearance been 257 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 1: getting the assistance of the natives to see if it 258 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,360 Speaker 1: could be discerned. Had the lookout been kept by an 259 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:42,640 Speaker 1: ordinary lightkeeper, I believe it would have struck the man 260 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:46,080 Speaker 1: ashore at an earlier period that something was amiss, And 261 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: while this would not have prevented the lamentable occurrence taking place, 262 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: it would have enabled steps to have been taken to 263 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:55,240 Speaker 1: have the light re lit at an earlier date. So 264 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: he's basically shocking all of this up to the fact 265 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: that Mackenzie was not an experienced lighthousekeeper. It was it 266 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: was a problem of inexperience rather than just falling down 267 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:06,880 Speaker 1: on the job, right. Uh. Yeah, And Mackenzie, it turned out, 268 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 1: had kept records and had noted these you know, times 269 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 1: when the lights would go dim but they always came back. 270 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:24,200 Speaker 1: So so that was Weareheads report. And as Tracy mentioned earlier, 271 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 1: based on the weather proof gear being gone, it seems 272 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 1: like two men went out to do something, something took 273 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 1: place in a third men left, which is basically kind 274 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 1: of what We're Head suggests. But despite that report, uh, 275 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,680 Speaker 1: there are some sticking points that bother people that really 276 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: love a good mystery and to theorize about other things. 277 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,760 Speaker 1: And some of those sticking points include number one, none 278 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: of the bodies ever washed back on shore, and as 279 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 1: the second one, the men were generally fairly experienced semen 280 00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:58,160 Speaker 1: and lighthousekeepers, it would be odd for them to be 281 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: taken unawares by a wave. However, freak waves do happen 282 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 1: in the North Atlantic, as they do in other bodies 283 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:06,360 Speaker 1: of water, so it's conceivable that they could have just 284 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: been surprised by a water wall whipping up. It's also 285 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 1: really not addressed why one of them would have been 286 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 1: out in the december wet weather without his wet weather 287 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,920 Speaker 1: gear on. Yeah, although you know, there are lots of 288 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 1: theories that pretty quickly explained that away. It's it seems 289 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: pretty logical and believable that if there were a dire 290 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,840 Speaker 1: emergency somebody could run out without their coat on. Uh. 291 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: And while the tipped chair and the abandoned meal found 292 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: in the kitchen suggested an emergency, the gate and the 293 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 1: door to the lighthouse were actually closed when Joseph Moore 294 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 1: first arrived there, which seems contradictory initially, but uh, many 295 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 1: have kind of written that off as it being entirely 296 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:50,560 Speaker 1: possible that the wind just blew them shut. It is 297 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 1: a very windy area. Another problem was that the weather 298 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:56,640 Speaker 1: on the day of the last entry in the lighthouse 299 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: log and the first time the light was noted to 300 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 1: be missing, which December fift that had been a clear day. 301 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:05,440 Speaker 1: There were storms the day after, but not on the fifteenth, 302 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,160 Speaker 1: So again, if it were a weather thing, it would 303 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:12,920 Speaker 1: have to have been a freak wave. So because there 304 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,639 Speaker 1: are just enough question marks still on this story. Uh, 305 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: many other theories and stories grew out of the mystery 306 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,560 Speaker 1: to had to explain what had happened to the keepers, 307 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 1: And we'll do a short list of them, and some 308 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:27,520 Speaker 1: of them are very funny, but again, remember the three 309 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:29,960 Speaker 1: men didn't lose their lives. But some of these really 310 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 1: are outlandish. I find all of them to be very silly. Yeah. Uh. 311 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,840 Speaker 1: One is that a foreign power had landed and captured 312 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: the men, because lighthouse keepers or who you want to 313 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:45,440 Speaker 1: take prisoner totally spaceships. Spaceships, they really there were people 314 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:50,440 Speaker 1: theorizing the aliens had landed. Also ghosts and alcoholic murder, suicide. 315 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:54,159 Speaker 1: My favorite the c monster theory that some sort of 316 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:56,919 Speaker 1: ce monster had come out of the North Atlantic and 317 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 1: dragged them off. That they okay, this one's not actually funny, 318 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,200 Speaker 1: but that maybe they were lost trying to help a 319 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: vessel that was in distress. Yeah, although to the best 320 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:09,680 Speaker 1: of my knowledge, there are no records of a distressed 321 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:12,920 Speaker 1: vessel happening at the same time. Uh. And the last 322 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:15,399 Speaker 1: one on our list, but there are more is that 323 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:19,000 Speaker 1: they were carried off by giant birds. That there are 324 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: only two things on this list that seemed remotely to 325 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:27,440 Speaker 1: the murder, suicide or the lost wall. Yeah. Yeah, trying 326 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:33,159 Speaker 1: to help another vessel, yeah, yeah, most people agree. I 327 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,360 Speaker 1: think that one or two of the men likely went 328 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: out to the landing stage to secure something, probably this 329 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: box with the ropes in it, and UH was swept 330 00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:46,639 Speaker 1: away one or both of them, and that the room 331 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:50,359 Speaker 1: whoever was remaining went out to help and got swept away. Also. 332 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: At the end of his report, which was dated January nine, 333 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,080 Speaker 1: Superintendent Muir had said, I was with the keepers for 334 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: more than a month during the summer of when everyone 335 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: worked hard to secure the early lighting of the station 336 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:09,720 Speaker 1: before winter, and working along with them, I appreciated the 337 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:13,040 Speaker 1: manner in which they performed their work. I visited Flannon 338 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: Islands when the relief was made so lately is seventh December, 339 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:20,359 Speaker 1: and have the melancholy recollection that I was the last 340 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:24,640 Speaker 1: person to shake hands with them and bid them ado. Yeah, 341 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 1: that's uh. Sort of an interesting point that adds color 342 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: to this whole story is that we're had knew all 343 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: of these men personally. He wasn't just like a big 344 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,800 Speaker 1: wig from the company that came to look things over 345 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:39,639 Speaker 1: and write his report. He was investigating the deaths of 346 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 1: men that he knew and appeared to have really liked. 347 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:44,920 Speaker 1: If you read his report, he really says very good 348 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,119 Speaker 1: things about them, even beyond that that brief bit that 349 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,879 Speaker 1: Tracy just read. So it's a little bit extra melancholy 350 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: to think of him, you know, having to investigate the 351 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:57,159 Speaker 1: death of people who were basically his friends, uh and 352 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 1: born of this tragic incident. There have been a couple 353 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:04,119 Speaker 1: of interesting pieces of art. One is a poem entitled 354 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 1: Flanning Isle, which was written in nineteen twelve by Wilfred 355 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,600 Speaker 1: Wilson Gibson, and it uh tells the tale of a 356 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:14,080 Speaker 1: mystical force that turned the men into sea birds. There 357 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,119 Speaker 1: is another story that goes along with the landing of 358 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:21,119 Speaker 1: the Hesperus and Joseph Moore's exploration. That says that Joseph 359 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:23,840 Speaker 1: more allegedly saw these three odd birds on the island 360 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: when he first landed on December six, and that story 361 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,440 Speaker 1: is what provides the inspiration for that poem. The opera 362 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 1: The Lighthouse, composed by Sir Peter Maxwell Davis, was also 363 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 1: inspired by the vanishing at Flannon Isles. It debuted at 364 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: the Edinburgh Festival. In this version becomes more about the 365 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:47,480 Speaker 1: tension among the three men trapped together at the lighthouse. Yeah, 366 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:51,680 Speaker 1: it almost goes along with the alcoholic murder suicide theory. 367 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 1: I have not actually seen that opera, but it seems 368 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,880 Speaker 1: to be much more about interpersonal communication in the drama 369 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:01,920 Speaker 1: of that Uh, and the flat and lighthouse still stands. 370 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: It remained manned peacefully and without incidents, so for all 371 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: of the stories of the islands being haunted didn't seem 372 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:12,000 Speaker 1: to have any effect on the functioning of the lighthouse. UH. 373 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: It continued to be manned by a crew until September twenty, 374 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,080 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy one, and at that point the lighthouse at 375 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:20,919 Speaker 1: Eileen Moore became what's called a major automatic light, so 376 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:25,159 Speaker 1: it's fully automated, it's unmanned. Uh. It receives maintenance visits 377 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:27,720 Speaker 1: and annual inspections, but it doesn't have a crew that 378 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: stays there. In two thousand, the three lost lighthouse keepers 379 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:36,560 Speaker 1: were commemorated in a ceremony attended by residents, relatives, and 380 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,240 Speaker 1: officials from the Northern Lighthouse Board. And mystery levers, of course, 381 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,399 Speaker 1: still bandy about theories as to what really happened on 382 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: December fifteenth of nineteen hundred, although I think most historians, 383 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 1: except some variation and weareheads, report that it was really 384 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,560 Speaker 1: just sort of a an unfortunate accident that happened while 385 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:59,119 Speaker 1: trying to secure something at the crane and the landing stage. 386 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,120 Speaker 1: I think I would have liked to have been a lighthousekeeper. 387 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,520 Speaker 1: You think, allegedly this one of the reasons they always 388 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:07,440 Speaker 1: have people wanting the job is that compared to other 389 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 1: jobs at the time, it was a pretty sweet deal 390 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:11,360 Speaker 1: when you had to be away from your family, but 391 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,640 Speaker 1: you you know, basically got free room and board. During 392 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,679 Speaker 1: that time. It wasn't particularly horrible or arduous work. If 393 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 1: you had any experience with the sea, it probably seemed 394 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 1: pretty easy. By comparison, so it was a really good 395 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,440 Speaker 1: job to have all those solitary jobs that don't really 396 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:32,399 Speaker 1: exist anymore, like lighthousekeeper or the people who manned fire 397 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,360 Speaker 1: watch towers in florests. Like all of those want them. 398 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:38,920 Speaker 1: They're pretty appealing to see the appeal of them, but 399 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,160 Speaker 1: I would go a little crazy after a bit. Yeah, 400 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:49,239 Speaker 1: I think. Thank you so much for joining us on 401 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,639 Speaker 1: this Saturday. If you have heard an email address or 402 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:54,919 Speaker 1: a Facebook you are l or something similar over the 403 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: course of today's episode, since it is from the archive 404 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:00,359 Speaker 1: that might be out of date now, you can email 405 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,360 Speaker 1: us at history podcast at how stuff Works dot com, 406 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:05,600 Speaker 1: and you can find us all over social media at 407 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,720 Speaker 1: missed in History, and you can subscribe to our show 408 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 1: on Apple podcasts, Google podcast, the I Heart Radio app, 409 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: and wherever else you listen to podcasts. For more on 410 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics, visit how Stuff Works 411 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 1: dot com.