Disappearance of The Flannan Isles Lighthouse

The **Disappearance of The Flannan Isles Lighthouse** was a lighthouse in the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers on the island in Flannan Island, Scotland. The entrance gate and the door of the lighthouse were closed, the men's beds were not cleaned and the clock stopped disappearance.

## History

On December 6, 1900, one member of the team, Joseph Moore, was returning from the island by boat to the shore, leaving behind his colleagues Donald McArthur, Thomas Marshall and James Ducat. However, he could not have guessed that this was the last time he would see them.

Moore was supposed to reappear on the island on December 20, but bad weather forced him to stay on land, so he did not go to the island until December 26. He was worried for two reasons: the delay had prevented his colleagues from bringing in the Christmas mail, and John had heard that the lighthouse on the island had been out for a few days. The first indication that something was wrong came already on December 15. The crew of the steamer Archtor, sailing past the islands in bad weather, noticed that the lighthouse was not down.

So the steamer Hesperus went to the island with Moore on board. Moore was dropped off on the island alone, but he immediately noticed something strange - no one greeted him at the pier as usual. The entrance gate and the door of the lighthouse were closed, the men's beds were not cleaned and the clock stopped. So three other sailors arrived on the scene to investigate the strange occurrences with Moore. They found that there was no one in the lighthouse, but everything was in its place. The mechanism for running the lighthouse, the lens, the lamp and its wick - all this was prepared according to the rules. One of the men's rubber boots were in the room, indicating that he had gone without them into the inhospitable and wet weather. The only disturbing evidence was an overturned chair at the kitchen table. However, there was no sign of the men either in the lighthouse or on the entire island.

Moore and the sailors searched every corner of the island, but they could not find any more clues that would at least explain the absence of the men. There was some damage to the building and railings from the recent storms on the west side of the island, but this information was also found in the maintenance workers' notes, so the damage happened before they disappeared. The notes also talked about the bad weather that prevailed on December 12 and 13, but the sea calmed down the next two days. It was later discovered that this was around the time the lighthouse went out. It was also strange that Ducat's and Marshall's bad weather gear was missing, but McArthur's was in place.

The steamer Hesperus returned to the coast, and Captain Harvie sent a telegram to the Lighthouse Board on December 26: "A terrible occurrence has taken place in the Flannan Isles. Three watchmen, Ducat, Marshall and McArthur, have disappeared from the island. The watch has stopped and the tracks indicated that the disappearance took place about a week ago. The poor men must have fallen into the sea or been swept away by the waves while trying to repair the damage or something."

But where did the three men disappear and why? Some theories talk about huge waves that form in the open sea during storms. These waves can be several meters high, and if the men were outside during the storm, they could easily be swept off the island into the sea by the waves. There are sharp rocks around the island, which reduce survival in icy water to practically zero. However, these opinions are difficult to confirm, as the men were experienced and knew what dangers lurked at sea. Another theory was that one of the men went mad, killed the others and then threw himself into the waves. However, Moore knew the men and knew that they were healthy in body and mind. and so he rejected this version. Moore spent several more days on the island guarding the lighthouse, constantly pondering this strange mystery. He later mentioned that the whole atmosphere of the island and solitude had an extremely depressing and gloomy effect on him. The disappearance of the three men has never been solved.