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Unsolved Mystery of Flannan Isles · Shallow Nights: Scary Bedtime Stories

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In December of 19103, lighthouse keepers stationed on an isolated
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group of islands in the North Atlantic vanished without trace.
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Was their disappearance the result of a freak accident, or
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was there something more sinister at work?
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Join us as we recount the still unsolved mystery of the Flan and
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Isles Lighthouse. On the evening of the 7th of
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December 1900, Superintendent Robert Muirhead of the Northern
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Lighthouse Board stepped off the east landing of Eileen Moore and
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climbed into his waiting launch. Having shook hands and bid
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farewell to his three colleagues, he now headed out to
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a larger steam vessel anchored offshore, which would take him
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back to the mainland. As his small boat made its way
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over the choppy waters, he looked back at the three men he
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had left behind on the tiny, secluded island to take charge
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of its lighthouse. Their names were Donald
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MacArthur, Thomas Marshall and James to Cat, and they were
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stood on the landing waving to him as he raised his hand to
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wave back. Not once did the thought cross
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his mind that he would be the last person to ever see them
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again, for when the relief vessel arrived 19 days later,
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they were nowhere to be found. The Flanen Isles, a group of
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seven small islets situated some 20 miles West of the Outer
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Hebrides, western Scotland, were to be the setting of this
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strange disappearance, one which makes his tale all the more
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unsettling. Something about the mystery of
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these three men, isolated at the edge of the civilised world and
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surrounded by the vast and hostile Atlantic Ocean, sends a
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chill up the spine. The islands themselves were
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named after the 7th century Irish priest St.
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Flannon, and for as long as anyone could remember they had
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remained uninhabited. The settlers on the neighboring
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islands of the Outer Hebrides always viewed this bleak and
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deserted group of craggy rocks with great superstition.
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Many fishing boats and merchant vessels had founded there over
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the years, and although the Hebrideans often ferried sheep
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to graze on the Flannon's lush turf, they believed it very
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unlucky to spend a night there. During the 1890s the Northern
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Lighthouse Board decided to construct a lighthouse on Eileen
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Moore, the largest of the seven islets.
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It took four years and building work was constantly Hanford by
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the tempestuousness of the wild Atlantic Ocean, which made it
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very difficult to land supplies. Nevertheless, the lighthouse was
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completed and went into operation on the 7th of December
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1899. It had no wireless communication
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and the only way of contacting the mainland was through the use
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of visual semaphore style signals which could be seen by
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the Hebrides on a clear day. The lighthouse itself would have
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been operated by up to three men at a time, with the rotating 4th
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man spending time on shore. The mystery begins on the night
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of the 15th of December 1900, when a sudden squaw broke out in
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the vicinity of the islands. The first signs of anything
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amiss came when the captain of an American steamer, the S S
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Arch Tour, making its way from Philadelphia to the Port of
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Leith in Edinburgh, passed close to Eileen Moore just before
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midnight and noticed that the lighthouse was eerily dark,
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something almost unheard of for an operational rock station like
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the one on the Flannons. This was reported when the ship
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docked at Tobin a few hours later, and although a dark
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lighthouse would have been considerable cause for alarm, no
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immediate action could be taken due to the harsh weather.
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The relief vessel Hesperus was due to set sail on the 20th, but
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because of the unfavourable conditions it didn't actually
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set out until dawn on Boxing Day, the 26th of December,
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carrying fresh supplies and the relief keeper Joseph Moore.
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As they approached the East landing, the captain of the
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Hesperus, Jim Harvey, gave 3 long blasts on the horn and set
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off a distress flare, but no response was forthcoming.
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It was obvious from the moment they arrived that something was
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terribly wrong. There was no welcoming committee
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from the three men who would normally have been outside to
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greet them, no provision boxes had been put out to be
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restocked, and the flag wasn't flying on the Flagstaff.
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Save for the shrilling and cawing of seagulls overhead and
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the ominous sound of waves breaking against the Cliff
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faces, the Isles were eerily quiet.
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The Hesperus moored in silence, and Joseph Moore set off towards
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the island alone. Upon reaching the east landing,
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he immediately made his way up the steep incline and headed
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towards the lighthouse, calling out to the three men as he went.
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But there was no reply. He found the entrance gates of
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the compound and main door both closed, and inside the
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lighthouse itself, nothing seemed to be out of the
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ordinary. The lamps were cleaned and
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refilled, the beds were unmade as if the men had just awoken,
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the washing up was done and there were cold ashes in the
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grate. After his initial observations,
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he spotted an overturned chair in the kitchen and then noticed
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that all the clocks had stopped, which only added to his
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concerns. Returning to the Hesperus, Moore
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relayed these findings to the captain, then made his way back
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up to the lighthouse with more men in the hopes of conducting A
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wider search. At the East landing everything
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had been intact, but the West landing provided considerable
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evidence of damage caused by recent storms.
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A box at 110 feet above sea level had been smashed and its
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contents strewn about. Iron railings were bent over,
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the railway by the path was wrenched out of its concrete
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housing and a rock weighing more than a ton had been displaced
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above that on top of the Cliff at more than 200 feet above sea
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level. Turf had been ripped away as far
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as 10 meters from the Cliff edge.
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Further investigation revealed that the keepers had kept their
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log until 9:00 AM on the 15th of December, and their entries made
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it clear that the damage had occurred before their
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disappearance. The only other significant piece
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of evidence was that two sets of oilskins were missing.
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Only one set of outdoor gear remained hanging in place by the
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entrance, suggesting that one of the men must have ventured
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outside without wearing his protective clothing, which was
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surprising considering the severity of the weather on the
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date of the last log entry and especially during a harsh North
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Atlantic winter. Of the keepers themselves, there
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was no sign either inside the lighthouse or anywhere else on
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the island. They had simply vanished.
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Moore and three volunteer seamen remained behind to attend to the
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duties of getting the lighthouse back up and running whilst the
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Hesperus returned to the shore station at Breastcleat.
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From there, Captain Harvey sent a telegram to the Northern
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Lighthouse Board dated the 26th of December 1900, stating.
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A dreadful accident has happened at the Flammons.
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The three keepers, the cat Marshall and the occasional have
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disappeared from the island. The clocks were stopped and
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other signs indicated that the accident must have happened
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about a week ago. Poor fellows, they must have
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been blown over the cliffs or brown trying to secure a crane
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or something like that. The Riddle of the Flan and Isles
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has been an endless source of fascination, one which has
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inspired stories, poems, songs and even an opera.
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But the whole truth of the mystery may never be known.
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A number of embellishments have been added over the years.
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For instance, it was said that Joseph Moore discovered 1/2
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eaten meal upon entering the lighthouse, a common detail in
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so many vanishing tales, but in this case it simply isn't true.
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Also false are the log entries regarding the keeper's states of
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mind, which are frequently referred to but never actually
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existed. The only details recorded in the
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log book referred to damage at the West landing and minor
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documentation of the storms. There was nothing mentioned
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about Dekat crying or Marshall being irritable.
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These were fictitious details added many years later by an
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American pulp magazine, perhaps to add more intrigue.
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Even so, no bodies were ever found.
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No other clues were uncovered. We can only speculate as to what
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happened on those windswept Isles in that cold December
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during the first year of the 20th century, and theories have
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ranged from the mundane to the extreme.
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Some have suggested that one keeper had murdered the other
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two and then thrown them and himself from the cliffs in a fit
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of remorse. Others suggest that a sea
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monster had lurched from the wash as the men stood on the
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West landing and carried them away, or that they had been
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kidnapped by foreign spies. Another alleged eyewitness
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account recalled that a boat full of spirits had been seen
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rowing towards the islands on the night of the keeper's
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disappearance. Of course, the legend of the
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Phantom of the Flanen Isles was widely suspected locally and
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particularly in the latter half of the 20th century.
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Some have even suggested alien abduction.
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The simplest explanation though, is usually always the correct
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one. And as the Northern Lighthouse
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Board concluded in their investigation, the three men
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were more than likely surprised by a freak wave and swept away.
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Thomas Marshall and James the Cat had probably gone to secure
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some of the damaged equipment at the West Landing, whilst Donald
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MacArthur had remained inside the lighthouse.
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As procedure dictated, it was strictly forbidden to leave the
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lighthouse unattended at any one time.
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From his vantage point, MacArthur would have been able
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to see a large swell approaching the islands and must have rushed
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outside of the lighthouse in the hopes of warning his colleagues.
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But he got to them too late, and instead all three men must have
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been caught in the oncoming wave and swept away.
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This would certainly explain the overturned chair as well as the
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remaining set of oil skins, and also gives a reason as to why
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all three men had been outside at the same time.
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However, if MacArthur did leave in such a rush, why was the
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lighthouse door closed and the entrance gate to the compound
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locked? And how were three highly
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experienced men who had spent countless hours surrounded by
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harsh seas, taken unawares by a freak wave?
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And if that was indeed the case, why had none of the bodies been
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swept back to shore, as usually happened in these waters?
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It seems there are still more questions than answers, and
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perhaps the reality could be far stranger than most of us allow
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ourselves to imagine. In any case, the lighthouse
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remained manned and without further incident up until 1971
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when it became fully automated. It is still in operation to this
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day and the Isles are now only visited occasionally for
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maintenance purposes. Over the years, the islands
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never could quite live up to their cursed reputation as
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nothing out of the ordinary ever took place there again.
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But the mystery of Eileen Moore lives on, perhaps forevermore.
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In closing, we leave you with the words of Superintendent
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Muirhead, who in his official report of the 8th of January
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1901, said of the Keepers. I visited them as lately as the
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7th of December, and have the melancholy recollection that I
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was the last person to shake hands with them.
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And bid them adieu.