Selects: The Flannen Isles Mystery | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

Hey everybody, it's me Josh and for this. week's select, I've chosen our episode. on the Flannon Isle mystery from. November 2021. Uh this is one of those. rare instances of a um missing person's. unsolved mystery disappearance case. where um the people weren't murdered. Well, almost certainly weren't murdered. That is one theory, but it's a lesser. theory. Uh and isn't that refreshing? Hope you enjoy this one. Even if you've. heard it before, I can attest it's still.

good again. Enjoy. Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a. production of iHeart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm. Josh Clark, and there's Charles W. Chuck. Bryant over there. And Jerry's out here, too. So, since the gang's all here, the. three of us alone on a deserted aisle,

stuff you should know. [Music]. Can I mention a couple of things here? >> I think you should. >> Uh, I want to pre-apologize to our. Scottish listeners whom we love. Uh, we. we toured in Scotland. Had a great time. One of our best live shows. >> in the beautiful city of Edinburgh. >> Yes. >> Uh, wonderful people. love the Scots, but we are going to butcher some of. these names. and I apologize ahead of time.

>> It's inevitable. Yeah, we're sorry. >> Uh, and what was the other thing? Oh, the other thing was it's impossible to. talk about the Flann Isles Lighthouse. mystery and research it without almost. always thinking about the movie The. Lighthouse. >> Uh, yeah. And actually, it comes up a. lot in the research, too. >> Yeah. I think one reason is because it's. clear that uh oh, what's the guy's name. who made it? I can't think of his name. >> William Edgars. >> It's not William Edgars. >> Well, it's definitely not Dave Edgars.

>> It's an Edgars, right? >> Yeah, I'm pretty Robert. >> I think Robert. Yes. >> Okay. Robert Edgars. Okay. Yes. >> Uh he clearly did his research. Uh and. you know, I I remember when that movie. came out, I I spoke on the show that I. wrote a movie, a period movie about a. lighthouse and a murder that takes. place. And then the the movie The. Lighthouse came out and I was like, "So. much for that." Um, but I did a lot of. research at the time and it was clear. that Edgars did a lot of research. because it was a very accurate film, especially when you read and researched.

the Flen Isles Lighthouse mystery. You're like, "Oh, yeah, that's like from. the movie." And that's like from the. movie. >> Apparently, they mention it in the. movie. I didn't go back and watch it. again, but I saw somebody say that they. they make a reference to the mystery in. the movie. >> Oh, cool. That's awesome. >> I thought so, too. Yeah, man. And I. can't wait for that Viking movie to come. out. >> Me too. And this made me want to see the. lighthouse again, which I didn't think I. wanted to do, but now I do. >> Same here. So, um, we are talking about. one particular lighthouse, uh, called. the Flannon Isles Lighthouse, and it was.

located on one island in the Flannon. Isles called Island Moore. Uh, that's. not exactly like Chuck was saying, uh, the Scottish pronunciation, Scott. Gaelic. Um, but it's close enough and it. actually means in English, I guess, the. Moore Island, right? >> Okay. >> So, anyway, that's where this lighthouse. is and and it's situated, it's still. there today. It's automated, though. It. went automated in 1971, but um it sits.

its light is about 75 ft at top the. cliff, which is the highest point of. Island Moore. And that cliff is 200 feet. above sea level. And it's a pretty good. place for a lighthouse because this area. of Scotland is kind of treacherous for. ships. >> Yes. And it's important how high this. one was. It figures into the story. >> I'm not just showing off with stats. here. >> Yeah, it is. It is treacherous. It's a.

windy area. Uh there are big winds in. Scotland, especially out there on those. islands. >> I think it is close. And this is kind of. funny, uh, the name of it, but isn't it. nearby supposedly the windiest place? Is. it the windiest place in the UK? >> Mhm. >> And what's the name of it? >> The butt of Lewis. >> Come on. >> I'm serious. But it makes sense. >> I know I'm not 12 years old, but. >> Lewis is a a nearby island um which is.

inhabited in the region, which is pretty. rare, I think. Um the but this this part. of it one end of the island is called. the butt of Lewis Island and it's the. windiest part. >> The butt of Lewis is the windiest. island. >> Right. So the the the area that these. Flannon Isles are in. So Island Moore is. in the Flannon Isles. The Flann Isles. are part of the larger um island chain. on the northwest of Scotland called the. Outer Heades. And um to the west of them. uh you can just keep going and going and.

going and then you'll finally reach. North America. Um they're pretty remote. They're pretty isolated. They are indeed. windy and like we were saying the seas. are are kind of rough around there. I. think that's kind of putting it mildly. Plus the islands themselves are often. very rocky and jagged and so it's. treacherous. So of course you'd want to. put a lighthouse there. >> Well, yeah. The winds blow strong from. the butt of Lewis. But the the. lighthouse that was built there finally. on Island Moore um wasn't installed. until 1899.

Um which is kind of late considering. that Scotland had something called the. Northern Lighthouse Board that they. organized in 1786 to basically oversee. and standardize lighthouse keeping in. that country. >> Yeah. So they were headquartered there. in Edinburgh. And here here's how it. worked at the time and this checks out. according to my research when I was. writing my movie and the movie The. Lighthouse. >> Oh, nice. Once again, >> uh they were staff uh you had your. principal lightkeeper called the. principal keeper. And then usually.

depending on, you know, where the. lighthouse was, how busy it was, how big. it was, and as far as needed uh. personnel for operation, you had one or. two assistants. Uh, and they were all. ranked uh, as you know, you you weren't. just like, "Oh, I'll be the first keeper. this week." Like, you earned that spot. >> Yeah. >> It was a promotion. Uh, and then you. were assigned to these stations by the. board just like in the movie. You don't. you don't stay there forever. You kind. of rotate and you go there for a little. while and you may get stationed with.

someone you've never worked with before. and you have to get to know that person. very intimately over the course of, you. know, a short period of time. or it's. somebody you have worked with before and. you're old friends with maybe. >> or old enemies. >> or Yeah, exactly. or old enemies. So, uh. aside from these two to three people as. principles and assistants, you had what. was called the occasional keeper. And. this is someone who actually lived. nearby uh either an inhabited island. resident or if it was uninhabited, if it.

was at least close enough, uh to where. they could get there easily. and they. would help out uh during the day, but. they would go home at night and sleep. and stuff in their own Betty B. >> And that was the standard. But for a. place like um Island Moore, where the. Flanning Isles Lighthouse was located, um if you were an occasional, you were. there for two weeks. That's how hard it. was to get to the island and how hard it. was to get off of the island. >> Right? So the purpose of the occasional. was to give two weeks rest off to one of. the other two or three people who were.

permanently st or temporarily stationed. there for much longer than you. >> Right. And in those cases the keeper the. occasional does not go home and sleep. >> Right. So, um, the one of the things. that I that stuck out to me, Chuck, was. that, you know, when you think about. lighthousekeeping, like yes, the person. has to live there and it's a lot of work. and they have to attend to the light and. everything, but I think. lighthousekeepers are very frequently. um portrayed as weirdos.

>> Yeah. >> Just complete alcoholics who like can't. can't do anything else but live by. themselves. almost like they're placed. there because there's there's nothing. else for them to contribute to society. So, they're kind of cast off or. ostracized. That's not the case. At. least not in Scotland. That was not the. case. Like, if you were a lighthouse. keeper, that was a very, very important. job. And you took it very, very. seriously. Um, so much so that there was. a study that found between 1850 and.

1900, 50 years, there were only 15. recorded instances of a lighthouse. keeper falling asleep at their post, which was about as bad as it gets as the. lighthouse keeper. >> Yeah. I mean, that's not to say there. weren't drunks and missenthropes here. and there. >> Mhm. >> Maybe those were the 15. >> Yes. But I did a little more further. math, Chuck, if I may be so indulged as. to share it. >> I saw that. I thought that was pretty. funny. >> So, so get this. Let's say you have.

about 150 lighouses in operation between. 1850 and 1900. >> Okay? >> And if you calculate that number of. lighouses times the number of nights. that occurred over that 50 years in. Scotland, you have what we'll call 2.75. million lighthouse nights. >> Mhm. Out of those 2.75 million. lighthouse nights in Scotland over those. 50 years, only 15 of those nights found. a lighthouse keeper asleep on duty.

That's how seriously they took it. >> Did you account for leap years? >> Oh, Chuck. >> I just really wanted to drive that home, man. I really thought that was an. important point and it didn't get come. across with 15 instances of 50 years. Who cares? >> No, I mean it's a big deal. Uh because. you know the purpose of a lighthouse I. guess we have not really said is to. light the way around rocky shores and. islands so boats don't run into them.

>> Yeah. Unless you've been living under a. rocky shore. You know that. >> it's a very important job though. Uh I. love lighouses. We've talked about them. quite a few times on this show. >> Big big fan. Every time I am near a. lighthouse, I will do my best to climb. that thing if it's allowed. So, who who. done it in your lighthouse mystery? >> Uh, who did do it? It was a good story, actually. >> Well, then maybe you should hang on to. it in case somebody comes along because. it's not like The Lighthouse is the only.

lighthouse movie ever made. >> Yeah. The briefest synopsis is it's two. sisters. >> who are attending the lighthouse because. it was their family job and their. parents died there. So, it's these two. sort of like a like maybe a 20-year-old. and a 16-year-old. >> out there alone in this island. And then. these two men wash ashore one day in a. shipwreck. >> And they tell the awful story of their. uh their ship going down. And it turns. out that the real story is is that they.

were uh prisoners aboard a ship being. transferred and they escaped their. shackles and murdered everyone aboard. >> Wow. >> And then there was a shipwreck. So, they. were bad guys who got washed ashore. Oh, it's a bit like a reverse dead calm. >> sort of. And they charm the girls, but. there is I guess I didn't know the name. was an occasional keeper. There's a guy. that lives, one guy that lives on the. island that helps them out. >> that is sort of suspicious of the guys. and it sort of plays out over the course. of the movie where they're exposed. ending in a a game of cat and mouse one.

night. >> Nice. >> And I remember how it actually it was. okay. I mean, so I I did it as a as an. experiment because all I've ever written. is comedy and I thought, hey, maybe I'll. write a serious thriller and uh it it. could be better if a really good. thriller writer got a hold of it, I. think. But. >> were there still like little jokes. peppered as a sides? Like one of the. sisters is running for the murderer and. says to herself, I left the mainland for. this. >> Like your comedy shines through still.

>> Oh, I don't know. I I'll have to dust. that thing off. >> You should, man. Man, it sounds like a. good one. >> Thank you. >> So, um, this lighthouse, back to the. Flanning Niles Lighthouse on Island. Moore. Um, like we said that that most. of the outer heedes are uninhabited. I. think we said that, didn't we? >> Uh, I don't know, but you just said it. then. >> I think there's 70 islands in the outer. hees and only 15 of them are populated. And Island Moore is definitely not one. of them. The only It's. >> remote. >> It is extremely remote. um the only.

people, the only beings that live there, um what you would recognize as a a. genuine normal being as opposed to say. paranormal, which we'll get into, are the lighthouse keepers and some. sheep. Even the people whose sheep those. are don't live on the island or even. stay there overnight. They go out a few. times a year, check on the sheep, and. then leave before nightfall. That's. that's kind of how Island Moore is. viewed. It's seen kind of as a a place. where maybe gods or ghosts or just.

something otherworldly lives on island. more according to the locals according. to lore written about the locals. I've. never spoken to an outer heedian. >> Yeah. And I think the other thing we. need to mention too because I believe it. comes up later in one of the. supernatural explanations for what is to. come here with this mystery. >> is uh the name St. Flannon uh comes from. the fact that uh Island Moore was the. site of a chapel in the 7th century.

built by a traveling Irish monk who. eventually became St. Flannon. >> Yeah. >> And that's going to come up. Just put a. pin in that. >> It's a big time pin. Hang on to it. Okay. >> Is that a good setup? Should we take a. break? >> I think so, man. >> All right. We'll come back with more. spooky lighthouse mystery stuff right. after this. [Music]. [Applause].

[Music]. All right. So, we should probably. mention the uh steamship actor or. archer. Arctur. I've seen it both ways, but that kind of kicks off the story for. us, don't you think? >> Yeah. Well, we haven't mentioned the.

major players either yet, have we? >> No. No. I guess we could go either way. We can mention one or the other first. >> All right. Let's mention the players. because these are the actual keepers of. that lighthouse. >> Okay. >> Uh you had the principal keeper, uh. James Ducat. You had the second. assistant. >> Wouldn't he be the first assistant. though? >> No. Donald MacArthur. We'll get into. that. >> Okay. Uh Thomas Marshall was the second. assistant. >> And then Donald McCarth was the. occasional, right? >> Yeah. Here's my bit. So, he was filling.

in for a guy named William Ross. >> William Ross was the first assistant. keeper, which meant that since Donald. MacArthur was filling in for him, Donald. MacArthur was the first assistant. keeper, even though he was an occasional. keeper. Okay, that makes sense. And. William Ross was on sick leave. And just. judging from the movie The Lighthouse. and and all this research, like you must. have had to been really sick to get. taken off the island. >> Yes. But yes, that's what I thought too. But doing research for this, I found.

that these guys had all of them had a. rotating two weeks off. So at any given. point over a stretch of two weeks, one. of those men, James Ducat, Thomas. Marshall or William Ross would not be on. the island because they rotated two week. shore leave basically. So I yeah, I was. of the impression that if you went and. tended a lighthouse, they dropped you. off, left you with some food, and said, "See you never.".

>> But that's not the case. >> No, no. I think I think they were well. taken care of. So, I get the impression. the Northern Lighthouse Board was pretty. good at its job and really cared about. these people and looked after them. I. didn't see anything to to to. um deny that. >> Yeah. Well, it's a brutal and important. job. So, surely that they were taken. care of at least to a certain degree. >> Yeah. But the upshot of all this is that. there were three men on the island, >> three dudes. >> working that lighthouse. And aside from. some sheep, they that was it. That was. the only people on the island. And this,

by the way, this is December of 1900, right? >> Yeah. So, this thing is brand new. >> Yeah. They built it in 1899. That was. scheduled to take two years. It took. four years. The construction was started. in 1895. And what they built was at the. time a state-of-the-art lighthouse, but. it took so long. It took twice as long. as they anticipated because the the. cliffs and the the island itself was so. treacherous. That's how long it took. just to like get materials up the cliff.

to build the lighthouse. >> Yeah. So, it's finally in operation. And. then now comes the actor, which is what. you mentioned earlier. Not ac. >> Yeah. It was a transatlantic steam ship. from Philadelphia to Leath, which is a. port for Edinburgh. >> That's right. So, they were out there. I. was about to say sailing around, but I. guess they were steaming around. >> and they waited out a storm for a few. days and then uh this part got confusing.

to me. >> So, the actor was was passing by Flannon. Isles. It passed by on December 15th. >> and the actor uh noticed that the light. was out. Not that they couldn't see the. light because of weather or anything. like that. Like the light was straight. up not lit on the lighthouse on. Flannon's lighthouse. like that was it. was a very strange thing to see and it. was very noteworthy. um they ran into. some weather on their way to Leath and. had to wait it out for a few days and.

when they finally made it into port I. guess they passed the information along. but the the um northern lighthouse board. didn't catch wind of it until the. official relief supply ship um showed up. a few days later and the actor's. observation that the light was out. wouldn't come into play until an. investigation was launched later on. >> Right. So that relief ship was the. Hesperis. >> Mhm. H E S P E R U S. And that arrived. uh on December 26th,

1900, which was Boxing Day, day after. Christmas. >> And what these ships brought was they. usually brought either supplies or uh. fresh dudes or both. >> And in this case, I think they had. supplies and a fresh lighthouse keeper. >> And it was uh captained by uh Captain. Harvey. And they were like, "All right, something's going on here. This lights's. out. The flag's not flying. Let me toot. on the horn a few times.". Nobody comes out. They're, "All right,

well, let me send up a flare." They send. up a flare. No one comes out. And what. they're trying to do is say, "Hey, we're. here. Get your little uh your little. rail car system going." It had a little. cable a little cable pulled railroad. system that was operated by uh a steam. engine in a shack. And so when the ship. pulls up, they would toot the horn and. the dudes would come down and they would. get that steam engine going and get that. cable car ready to transfer the goods. onto this thing so they could, you know,

it's like hundreds of pounds of stuff. going up a really really steep cliff. side. >> Yeah. There's just no way to move that. stuff otherwise. >> No, you'd have to do it. So nobody came. out. No one gets that steam shack going. and uh they're like, "All right, something's going on. We're going to. have to to go on land and figure this. out.". >> Yeah. And just the fact that they. weren't greeted by one or more of the. guys from the lighthouse, which is. apparently custom. Like even the most. grizzled missenthrope um lighthouse. keeper just knew it was custom to come.

down and greet the relief ship. >> You're still dying to see someone else. >> pretty much. I think so. Yeah. So that. like the fact that no one showed up and. then no one responded to their signals, they were like something really weird is. going on here. And they had Joseph. Moore, who was the relieving keeper, >> which makes me think that William Ross. was really, really sick because he would. have been on sick leave for way over two. weeks by this time because I believe the. relief ship was um 5 days late because. of weather. >> So, he must have really been laid up.

And they sent another relieving keeper, Joseph Moore, um instead. And Joseph. Moore went ashore and he was friends. with these guys. He wasn't some new dude. or anything like that. So, he was. genuinely concerned. and he went up the. steps to the lighthouse. There's. apparently 160 of them and he just knew. right away that something was way off. There was no sign of life. There was. nobody around. There was the the just. nothing was going on. It was abandoned. basically. And he didn't have a very.

good feeling about it. So he runs back. down to the boat to say, "I think we. have a problem here.". >> Yes. So he says, "I think we have a. problem." And then that's when basically. everyone on board said, "All right, we. got to this is a situation now that we. all have to deal with.". >> Uh I think it was uh the captain who. went with Moore to search for other. stuff. They said, "In the meantime, you. other guys, you got to get up there and. start operating this lighthouse. >> cuz it's been down and we need to get.

that thing cranked up again.". >> Yes. So they so the first for the first. time possibly since December 15th, the. lighthouse was lit again with by these. relief guys who who took over and kind. of settled in and we're like, "All. right, this is our job now." Um, but. that follow-up search, it it's weird. like we'll talk about some of the. legends and layers that were added to it. over the years, but to me the thing that. was like so weird about the follow-up. search was that everything was in place.

>> Yeah. Like it would be way more like. kind of middle of the road to me this. mystery if there was like signs of. struggle or you know there were like. like everything was just kind of a skew. It's way more eerie to me that like. everything was exactly how it should. have been. It's just the three human. beings that were supposed to be there. were missing. But that's what what um. Joseph Moore found and the others found. when they searched a lot more. thoroughly. >> Yeah. the the door to the uh keeper's.

house was closed. The gate was closed. >> The uh in the kitchen, everything was. all and span. Everything was all. cleaned up. That it was clear that. someone had done some cooking in the. great, but not anytime soon. >> Uh there were ashes in there. The beds. were made. Uh the clocks had all stopped. because no one was there to wind them, obviously. >> Mhm. >> And everything was fine. Uh except like. you said that there was no one around. The there was a full uh fountain of. paraffin oil. It was all like the light.

was ready to be burned. The lamp that. Fresnel lens was cleaned up and ready to. go. The blinds were drawn. The records. were all filled out, you know, all the. way up until Saturday, I think the. morning of December 15th. Right. >> Yep. >> And so everything was great except for. there were two missing sets of uh rain. gear. Uh they were called oil skins, their coats and their boots. Uh two of. those were missing out of the three. guys. >> Mhm. And. so that's sort of the only thing out of.

the ordinary at this point. >> Yeah. Yeah. That was basically the only. trace of the missing men. Like like had. those oil skins still been there, you. would you would have taken the. lighthouse and and the the uh the area. as like having been prepared for. somebody else. They just hadn't shown up. yet. Like the missing oil skins were the. only trace that those men were missing, that there had been men there that were. no longer there anymore. >> Right. Uh, and then there were a couple. of pieces of literature that kind of. confused things after the fact, right?

>> Yeah. That really kind of made this like. to a lot of people like a much bigger. mystery. I think some people came along. and weren't satisfied with how. mysterious it was on its own and so. added to it and added to it over the. years through magazine articles and. newspaper reports and then later on like. podcasts and stuff. And so you really. have to be careful navigating these. waters if you'll excuse the pun or the. stupid metaphor. um when you're. researching this because so much of it. is just regurgitated as fact because it.

has been part of the story for a hundred. years that it was actually thank to the. thanks to the efforts of a a journalist. named Mike Dash who if you are at all. interested in non-fiction writing. especially non-fiction history writing. go check out Mike Dash's website he's. probably the best in the business. >> Oh yeah. But yes, he's just amazing. Um, but he uh he set his sights on getting. to the bottom of this and he did some.

stuff and basically finally definitively. proved no, this was added to it later. on. This was added to it later on. This. is not true. That kind of stuff. So, hats off to Mike Dash for demystifying a. lot of it. true, but also making it not. as fun. because it's decidedly creepier with. these newspaper stories as they were. written. Um, one of the newspaper. stories talked about uh the log book and. this is completely fabricated, you know, like Mike Dash exposed it as.

fabrication, >> right? >> But it's still pretty creepy. Uh, the. log entries uh in the the fake log. entries were by second well, not by. second assistant marshall, but this is. how they wrote it, >> right? uh and wrote on December 12th, they saw severe winds the likes of which. I've never seen before in 20 years. >> and wrote and these are these are people. that have seen some of the worst storms. you could imagine right. >> out there on these outer islands and. pretty unshakable guys I would think. >> right. >> and he said he wrote in the next two. days that the storm continued and was so. unbearable that Ducat the principal.

keeper uh was uh struck mute by the. storm and that occasional keeper. MacArthur who was supposedly a really. tough guy was recorded as weeping. uncontrollably for days because of how. bad the storm was, >> right? >> Yeah, >> it's good stuff. >> It is good stuff. But Mike Dash made. mince meat out of it and he's kind of my. hero for it. One of the things that he. basically just points out is if if this. were an official log book, if you were a.

second assistant, you put that in there, you would you would basically get fired. for that kind of thing. Like that's not. what a log book is for. And you. certainly wouldn't put that your. superior was weeping uncontrollably in. the log book. Like that's just not what. you would put in a log book for the for. in the first case. And then secondly, he. also said that somebody being quiet um. because of a storm or whatever um or. their mood like it also kind of mentions. their mood a lot too. That that would. have no bearing on anything. And the.

only way that that makes sense in. relation to the story is after the fact, which he said obviously that means that. these were written after the fact. And. then years later after he'd first. investigated it, he he finally turned up. a copy of the the magazine that this uh. came out in in like 1921 and it was like. a like a pulp magazine called like True. Confessions or something like that. So. he definitely he definitely. deconstructed that for sure to my great. satisfaction. I love it. >> Yeah. It's kind of funny though, like.

the log book was basically like dear. diary. >> That's exactly right. He said like log. books were not diaries. No, they were he. actually specifically said that. Yeah, >> that's funny. Uh the other thing he. uncovered or did he uncover the poem or. was that just. >> I think that was a little more common. knowledge, but yeah, he wrote about the. poem being the poem too. Okay. So, in. 1912, there was a poem by Wilfried. Wilson Gibson who wrote a poem about. this mystery where uh he says there was. an untouched meal on the table, cold. meat, pickles, and potatoes. The kitchen.

chair was was knocked over. Uh the only. sign of life was the keeper's canary. half starving on his perch. Like, these. are all the things that you mention. would have made this a different story. Yeah. But everything was really just. fine. I don't even think the chair was. turned over, right? I the I don't know. I think. >> the guy later on Well, we'll get to him. >> Yeah. The way that Mike Dash treated it. is um that it's possible. Okay. I don't. know if Mike Dash treated it like that.

Wait, Mike Dash wrote about a later guy. who we'll talk about who treated it as. fact. So, >> Oh, okay. I I don't I I don't I think. what the upshot of it is that in doing. like this research on primary resources. like what what Joseph Moore wrote um. what Robert Murehead who we'll talk. about wrote these people who were. actually there when it happened or right. after it happened. >> um that nobody mentioned anything like a. turned over chair and based on what they.

did mention it seemed like they probably. would have mentioned a turned over chair. they were so meticulous in the details. else. >> All right. Well, let's talk about some. of the evidence that was there. >> Okay. >> Uh because what we're really talking. about is. was there I mean the kind of obvious. thing you would think about is was there. some big storm that that washed these. guys away forever? Like that's kind of. the the one reasonable explanation. And. so as far as evidence goes, most of it. is storm related uh for the you know to.

to sort of support that and to go. against it. >> Um there was a railway uh that we talked. about and that had a crane and the crane. was sort of, you know, built to help. unload things off of this uh platform, off the cargo. >> uh container. And it was about 70 ft. above sea level and it was fine. It was. It even still had the canvas wrapped. around it. Uh so if there was some big. storm and and evidence shows there. probably was one, right?

>> Mhm. But at least this crane 70 ft up. wasn't damaged and that uh canvas was. still there which is a little weird. >> It is a little weird because even a. little higher up toward the top of the. cliff. So this the the crane was at. about 70 feet above sea level. Right. >> Yeah. >> A little higher up than that at about. 110 ft above sea level. There was a box, a big box that held a lot of like. mooring ropes and ropes for the crane. and just some really important stuff,

tackle, and it had been busted open and. the contents like strewn all down the. cliff's face. There was a buoy that was. tied to the railing right around the. same place as that crate 110 ft above. sea level. It had been torn clean away. from the ropes that had lashed it to the. railing. The ropes were still there, but. the the buoy just a little piece of buoy. was left attached to it. >> U and yet the crane was intact. And then. even weirder, the the iron railings. around the crane um that you would use.

as handrails had just been completely. twisted and wrenched out of place. >> That's a heck of a storm. >> It's an amazing storm. It's crazy to me. that the crane was left intact and that. the canvas was even on it still. >> That was really weird. Um, there was a. 2,000lb stone that was up on the cliff. that slid down. >> Mhm. >> Uh, and then I I believe the the railway. tracks were even torn up from the. concrete. >> Mhm. >> And then the grass at the top of the. cliff. This is 200 feet up.

>> Uh, at the very top was ripped up uh as. far back as 30 ft from the edge. >> That's nuts. Like, do you know how much. force a wave would have to have to tear. up grass in the first place? And then. that thing would have to be over 200. feet tall to even reach that grass. >> That's a bad storm. >> It's a monster wave. But the storm part. that's that kind of confounds things big. time. Uh and I think we should take. another break and we'll talk about how. everything's just so confounded still to.

this day, which is why this is a mystery. right after this. [Music]. [Applause]. [Music].

All right, we've got this mystery. brewing. >> These three men are missing. It's pretty clear that there was a big. storm that blew through there. >> So, like I said earlier, the obvious. explanation was these strong winds just. came along and just blew these guys the. heck off this island and they were never. seen again. >> That's not entirely out of the question. because of the butt of Lewis. >> That's right. Strong winds flow from the. butt of Lewis as everyone knows. Um, and. I'm 12 years old. Uh, Robert Mirhead, he. was the superintendent of lighouses and.

he investigated this disappearance. He. knew all these guys. Uh some really. really well, but uh I think the. occasional keeper he knew the least, but. he still knew pretty well, >> right? >> Um he's the one that did this. investigation personally. Uh and went. out there, wrote up this report, and I. think he was the last person he was out. there, you know, because it was a new. lighthouse, I guess, sort of finishing. up. And I don't know if he christened it. or whatever, but he was one of the last, in fact, maybe the last person to even.

see them alive, right? He says in his. report that he's probably the last. person to shake hands with these men and. see them alive when he shoved off on. December 7th when the last relief ship. the the the previous release ship had. come along. >> All right. So his in his official report. he said I don't think it was a strong. wind that literally blew them off the. island. It was blowing westerly that day. >> and it that means it would have blown. them back inland toward the island. And. there's no way that these guys would.

have blown completely across the whole. face of the island off the other side. because they know what to do. They know. to drop and get flat and hold on. And. they they probably would not have been. blown all the way off if it was. westerly. >> Mhm. They knew to stop, drop, and do not. roll. >> Yeah. Don't roll. Please don't roll. >> Not in that case. >> I would grab something heavy. >> Yeah. Anything. A sheep, whatever. Anything that will keep you from being. blown off. But that's just nuts. It. shows you how windy it is up there. That.

that was a possibility that Mure had. considered and was. like plausible enough that he had to at. least put it in the report as a. possibility. >> That's right. >> The one that he focused on that most. people who um think in level-headed ways. kind of agree with too is that um. instead a wave probably came along and. knocked these men off. Yeah, I mean this one.

I'm an amateur when it comes to like. figuring out island Scottish island. mysteries and weather. This one makes a. lot of sense to me. >> Yeah, totally agree. So being blown away. by wind sounds kind of nuts unless you. think about it. U in which case it's not. super nuts in this instance at least. There were more um slightly nuttier. explanations. And the like the thing is. you can't fully discount any one of. these because the men's bodies were. never found. So there was never any.

conclusive proof of what happened even. still to this day. >> Um and some of the the likelier less. likely scenarios seem to always focus on. Donald MacArthur. Um who was supposedly. a bit of a hothead, quick to fists kind. of dude. um not necessarily the kind of. occasional keeper you'd want to have on. rotation for two weeks with you, but. that's that's what a lot of these uh. secondary theories kind of presuppose.

>> He would have been the William Defoe, right? >> I guess so. Yeah, I I kind of imagine. him as such. He had a. >> He got the story from this, didn't he? >> I I I don't know. >> I'm curious. I bet you did. >> I don't know. I'd have to watch it again. now that I know that. I hadn't even. heard of this story when I saw the. lighthouse. So, I um I I need to watch. it again and see see what I think. >> I'm going to do some research on that. I. doubt if he like based it on this, but I. wouldn't be surprised if it it triggered. the idea or something. >> Gotcha. >> All right. So, he uh MacArthur was like.

you said, a tough guy, a hotad, and he. of course there's going to be. speculation that he started a fight and. they all got in a big fight and they all. fell off the cliff together. Or maybe he. murdered these two guys and then knew. what his comeuppance would be and flung. himself off the cliffs himself in sort. of a murder suicide situation. >> Yeah. Again, it's plausible like some. people can go nuts like especially in. extreme isolation kind of thing, but. there's just no evidence whatsoever of.

any sort of fight. It's possible the. fight started entirely outside, but it. just doesn't satisfy all of the. evidence, right? >> I don't think so. like the the guy whose. um weatherproof coats were still there. was Donald MacArthur. So why would he. start a fight outside in weather that. was bad enough that his his comrades. would put on their weather gear, >> right? Or maybe when it comes to. fighting, you don't want that rain coat. on.

>> I guess maybe he found it restrictive. That's entirely possible, too. But. that's again, as far as like these. secondary kind of paranoid theories go, those make a lot more sense. The other. ones just are much more squarely in the. realm of paranormal. >> Yeah, you could say that. Uh, the outer. heedes are home of the Kelpie. >> Mhm. >> And the Kelpie is a water spirit, a. shape-shifting water spirit that drowns. human victims. Uh, but there are two. problems with this. One, that is not.

real. >> And two, even if it was real, let's just. do a thought experiment. Everyone knows. that the kelpies are not seaside. dwellers. They are inland at the locks, >> right? They're not known to frequent the. the seaside. >> No, they don't like that salt water. >> No. So, the kelpies probably did not. kill these men and cart them away. >> Uh there's more supernatural there, right? >> Yeah. The the island being named after. St. Flannon and that ruined chapel being. there and the idea that the um the.

locals just kind of view that island as. a weird place. There was this one. author, a supernatural like a Forian. type author um who came along and said, "All right, I've got it. Everybody ready. for this?" So the the the locals think. that this place is kind of inhabited by. spirits. I'm guessing that the pagans. who used to live here sacrificed people. on this island and that the gods came to. be used to a certain type of sacrifice.

and that with the northern lighthouse. board installed these three men in a. tower on island Moore. >> It awoke something. >> and the gods mistook it as a sacrifice. So they took their sacrifice and that's. what happened to the three men. It's. >> I think you you skipped over the best. part of this whole thing though. >> What? That was an ancient race of tiny. people. >> Well, so I I can't tell if that guy made. that part up or if that is actually a. local belief, but yeah, that was part of. it, too.

>> How small were they? >> Supposedly, they found small bones that. seemingly belong to humans, and so there. was a race of tiny people who supposedly. lived there before. >> But are we talking like are they the. size of a of a sea rat or a like two or. three feet tall person? >> I don't Am I Scottish? I don't know. >> Uh-huh. All right. I was just curious. >> A sea rat. >> He was tiny. >> That's a very tiny tiny person. Pagan.

But I think that's really interesting. The idea that the gods mistook the. lighthouse keepers as a human sacrifice. and that's what happened to him. I love. that one. >> It's like a big wicker man or something. >> Yes, exactly. I think that's exactly the. point the guy was making. >> Uh, all right. So, those those were. obviously all bunk. Um, what probably. really happened is as follows. And I. think this is a pretty plausible. uh I think this is pretty plausible was. >> but even still it's still astounding if. you step back and look at it.

>> Yeah. And well, and there's no way to. prove it. So it's it's I kind of like. these mysteries where you just don't. know, you know. So, here's what could have happened is. that uh there was bad weather reported, but it wasn't maybe that bad on the. 15th. >> Mhm. >> Um but let's say that that box. uh is is loose or well, how could it get. loose? Let's say that box needs tending. to that's holding all this stuff, >> right? It's an important box. Don't.

forget, >> it's an important box. And I think. Marshall had previously been fined uh. what would be about 20 lbs today for. having lost some equipment. >> So he may have been like really quick to. like, hey, we got to secure that box. And so maybe uh Ducat and Marshall went. out there to like they left their. quarters while uh the other dude, the. the occasional keeper, MacArthur, is up. there in the lighthouse still and. they're securing this box down. And then. maybe this freak uh wave comes through.

or maybe they just get in trouble and. then MacArthur needs to really leave. quickly which would explain why they did. have their rain gear on and MacArthur. didn't cuz MacArthur had to leave really. quickly to go down there and help these. guys. >> Yes. So like that that definitely checks. all the boxes that after that MacArthur. was swept away as well. But the thing is. is like that that supposes something. really amazing, Chuck, that there was a. a freak wave that the the men just did.

not expect that carried at least one of. them away. The second one, this who. survived that wave ran back to get help. from MacArthur to help get the first guy. who went in. and a second freak wave. washed those two away, just cleaning the. island of its human inhabitants in two. swift waves over the course of a minute. or two. >> because the idea is that the storm. wasn't bad enough to just sweep them all. away. >> Yeah. And the actor.

>> it had to be a rogue wave, >> right? And the the steamer, the actor uh. noted that the the area cuz the actor. passed by just a few hours, a couple. hours probably after this event. happened, >> right? And they noted that it was calm. but stormy, which is the opposite of. what you would think. You would think it. was not stormy, which would draw the men. out to to make them I mean stormy enough. that they needed to secure the box, but. not so stormy that they they felt like. they couldn't go out. But calm really.

kind of makes it the idea of two freak. waves really freaky because that would. mean that those waves just came out of. nowhere and swallowed the men up. But in. the whole I mean we did a episode on. rogue waves and the idea is that that. it's awave. >> Yeah. >> Or is there a set of rogue waves? I. >> I I think if I remember correctly it was. awave but but. >> that's what I think. Maybe maybe there. was more. I don't know. But yes, that. that that's how this that's the only way. that could happen is because MacArthur.

wasn't wearing his rain gear, which. suggests that he ran out in a hurry into. bad weather, which means that one of. them would have had to have come and. gotten him. he wouldn't have been there. with the other two. So, it could not. have just been one freak wave. It would. have had to have been two successive. freak waves that cleared all three. >> Well, and this does um lend some. credence to the idea that this thing was. big enough to damage the turf, you know, 200 feet above sea level and destroy. that box. >> and wash that 2,000lb stone down the.

cliff, too, right? >> Yeah. And there was also there's a. there's a chance that all that stuff. that that just was evidence of a. terrible storm actually came after the. men had been washed away from the island. several days later when there was a. really bad storm on December 20th. >> Okay, that makes sense. I didn't think. about that. >> But isn't that weird to think that that. damage had happened after the after the. fact, >> right? And it and it sure that makes. sense. >> because it's almost certain that they. that this event happened on December.

15th. The last info they had on the log. slate was 9:00 a.m. December 15th, like. we said. So, it couldn't have happened. earlier than that. And it would have. happened before dark on December 15th, which would have happened about 400 p.m. Uh because otherwise they would have lit. the light that night and the the steamer. actor would have seen the light in the. lighthouse as it passed by on December. 15th. >> That's right. Uh, I think all this gets. really interesting in the 1950s.

when a lighthouseman named Robert uh. Alderbert who worked there, served as. principal keeper between 53 and 57, he. lived there, obviously had a little time. on his hands and was really enthralled. by this mystery and was like, I'm going. to do some research and I'm going to. take a lot of pictures and do keep a lot. of records in my diary. And uh he said. that you know I've I was in the. lighthouse. uh itself and got and so that's how many. feet above sea level at the top of that.

>> 75. >> Yeah. Like 200 close to 300 feet up and. got sea spray from some waves. >> So he's like it's very possible that a. big wave could come through and reach. these heights. >> Yeah. He did tests where he took coils. of rope and put them on the the top of. the cliff and they get washed away by. some of those horrible waves. So he. basically said it was almost certainly a. wave that got these guys. That's not the. craziest part. The craziest part is it. was two waves. Almost like the sea was. waiting for all three of them and took.

them all. >> That's pretty weird. I wonder if he got. fined for losing those ropes. >> I don't know. Maybe. So if the if if. it's the Northern Lighthouse board I. know. He definitely did. Well, and he. what was his final exp because he's the. one that we mentioned earlier that said. that uh that one of the chairs was. turned over in the kitchen, right? Like. he kind of bought into that that false. narrative. >> Yeah. But I wonder because this was a. good, you know, 40 years after that poem. had been written, maybe it was so woven. into the story by then he just presume.

that it was true or not. So, how that comes in is he's basically. like, "All right, after dinner happens, >> um, like there's bad weather going on, these two guys go out there, >> uh, and are and are See, this doesn't. make sense to me, and I'll tell you why. in a second, but these two guys go out. there to secure this box or whatever. >> Uh, Cookie's back in there washing up. and cleaning up, and that's where. everything's nice and tidy.". >> Yeah. >> And then all of a sudden, they need. help, and so he turns the chair over cuz.

he just like runs out of there real. quick. >> Yeah. But wouldn't that be wouldn't. someone have to be in the light, too? Isn't that four guys? >> No. That's why they think that this. happened in the afternoon of the 15th. because they never went to light the. light. They hadn't lit the light yet. Remember, the light was all set up and. ready to be lit for the evening. >> Yes. It was daytime. >> Yes. It was before It was before sunset, which would have been before 400 p.m. >> All right. That's the one part I I. didn't get. I get it now. White houses. shine at night. >> Yep. And. >> I forgot that part when I wrote my.

movie. Everything takes place during the. day, >> right? I left the mainland for this. You got anything else? >> Good stuff. No, I like a good mystery. You're good at finding these, >> man. I love this one. So, thank you very. much. Um, yes. Well, if you want to know. more about the Flanniles mystery, go. read Mike Dash's work on it. It's really. interesting stuff. It's pretty. comprehensive, too. Uh, and since I said. it's pretty comprehensive, everybody, that means it's time for listener mail.

Uh, I thought this is really. interesting. This is a follow-up to the. dingoes episode about dingoes not really. barking much. >> Uhhuh. Uh, >> hey guys. In response to the statement. that dingoes don't bark, you left out a. very fun fact and perhaps a topic for. another show. Uh, while domesticated. dogs bark throughout their lifetimes, wild adult dogs do not routinely bark. Uh, one popular theory is that. domesticated dogs were bred for. tameness, which as a result selected for. dogs that never reached full maturity.

>> Uh, the upshot of this is that our. domesticated dogs are trapped in a state. of suspended adolescence. They're more. or less trapped in puppyhood, an age. where all dogs, wild and domestic bark, play, lick, and most important of all, don't kill, which is an important trait. for the family pet. >> Mhm. uh and sent an article from uh tampa. Bay.com. why dogs why do dogs bark from 1991. Uh. love the show. That is from Peter uh.

Vonyier. V I R Vonier. >> Yeah, either one of those will work. depending on whether you're in France or. not. >> Uh and Peter's a PhD in owl oncology. research. >> Awesome. With an interest in dog. barking. Sounds like Peter just is. interested in stuff, which is our. favorite kind of listener. >> Yes, that is a died in the wool stuff. you should know listener. Thanks a lot, Peter. That was a very interesting email. and we appreciate it. Uh belated. congratulations on your PhD. Uh if you. want to get in touch with us like Peter.

did, you can send us an email, right, Chuck? >> You surely can. Then you might get a. response even. >> Yep. Or you might end up on listener. mail. Who knows? >> Yeah, I try to answer these. Why don't. you roll the dice and find out by. sending your email to stuffodcast@. iheartradio.com. [Music]. Stuff you should know is a production of. iHeart Radio. For more podcasts iMheart. Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple. Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your. favorite shows.

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