What do you think about this?
On a lonely rock in the Atlantic far off the west coast of Scotland stands the lighthouse of Eilean Mòr, in the Flannan Isles. In December of 1900, it was tended by three experienced keepers, James Ducat, Thomas Marshall, and Donald MacArthur. Then, sometime around the fifteenth, the light went dark.
Passing ships noticed the beam had failed, but rough seas kept a relief boat away for days. When the tender Hesperus finally reached the island the day after Christmas, the keeper they sent ashore found the lighthouse empty. The door was closed, the beds unmade, a meal sat uneaten, and one of the three oilskin coats still hung on its hook, meaning one man had gone outside into a storm without it. The clocks had stopped. The last log entries described a terrible storm, though records show the seas had actually been calm on those days.
All three men were simply gone, and no bodies were ever found. The official conclusion was that a freak wave swept them off the rocks while they secured equipment near the landing. But that would mean all three left the safety of the tower at once, in weather one of them did not even dress for.
Makes you wonder what could pull three seasoned lighthouse keepers out onto a storm lashed cliff together, and close the door behind them, never to be seen again.
A rogue wave and terrible luck, or something stranger on that island? What do you think happened to the keepers of Eilean Mòr?
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