The North Atlantic is perhaps the most severe corner of the earth inhabited by people. Sudden storms, changeable currents, rocky islets … The land of a harsh climate, cold waters and harsh people. And the Outer Hebrides are the hallmark of the North Atlantic.
Regular shipping is not possible here due to the vagaries of the weather and the unpredictability of the sea. And there is practically nowhere to moor to the shore - rocks, skerries, shoals and waves tens of meters high. Sometimes, the Outer Hebrides barely have 60 days of sunshine a year. The rest are cloudy, with rain, snow and fog.
The Seven Islands of Flannan are considered to be part of the Outer Hebrides, although they are in fact a separate archipelago. This is about 80 hectares of now uninhabited rocks. On several islets, amazing green grass grows, and in some places trees. However, no one would think of settling there of their own free will now - the last inhabitants left the Flannan Islands in 1971, when the local lighthouse was fully automated.
It is located on the largest island of the archipelago - Eileen Mor, a piece of land measuring 720 by 450 meters. The name translated from the Gaelic language means "big island".
However, in the Middle Ages, people no, no, and even visited Eileen Mor. Either the shepherds will plant a flock of sheep there, or the locals will hide from the Viking raid. But this island was notorious. It was believed that it serves as the last refuge for ghosts, and not simple ones, but elven ones. The ancient Scots called the surrounding waters “the sea of spirits”. Even the formidable Normans, who owned these lands until the middle of the 13th century, did not dare to stop at Eileen Mor for the night.
By the end of the 19th century, the volume of transatlantic flights had grown so much that the British had to remember the Flannan Islands. Too many ships lost their course in these difficult waters and crashed on the rocks. In 1899, a lighthouse with a capacity of 140 thousand candles was built on Eileen Mor. It was assumed that its light would be visible for more than 30 miles, which, according to experts, would ensure the safety of navigation.
Strange loss
Everything was in order for about a year. However, on December 15, 1900, the captain of the freighter Arcturus Holman telegraphed ashore that the Eileen Mor lighthouse was out of service. Holman's information was also confirmed by the captains of the other ships that happened to pass by the Flannan Islands that night.
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The time for the caretaker crew was approaching, and Lighthouse Relief Joseph Moore was about to leave. But while the ship was equipped, a protracted storm broke out. Therefore, the departure was postponed for as much as 10 days.
On December 26, the clipper Hesperus with Moore on board docked at the pier of Eileen Mor. The caretaker speculated: what happened at the lighthouse? He knew all three of the brigade on duty well. Thomas Marshall, Donald McArthur, and James Ducat were experienced employees. The duty on Eileen Mor was far from the first and not the most difficult for them. If they could not fulfill their duties and light the lighthouse, then something serious has happened.
There were two berths on the island - west and east. Usually ships moored to the west. Moore did the same. What he saw did not like him immediately. Nobody came out to meet the arrivals. Iron boxes for provisions and other supplies were not prepared at the pier. The lighthouse, of course, did not work. After shouts and shots, no one showed up.
Moore went upstairs alone - the sailors of the Hesperus shifted uncertainly from foot to foot and clearly did not want to move away from the dock. Moving up to the lighthouse, Moore saw that the doors and windows were carefully locked, but the flagpole in front of the entrance was empty - the flag seemed blown away by the wind. Reluctantly, the chief caretaker stepped over the threshold.
Almost everything was in order inside, except for the overturned kitchen table.
And it was turned over neatly, as if it was going to be repaired. The rangers' storm cloaks hung in place, the dishes were washed and put away after dinner. The logbook was also on site. The last entry was made at 19:00 on December 15 by Marshall's hand: “The storm is over. God is with us again. The room was apparently abandoned by the inhabitants no later than a week ago.
Realizing that something more mysterious had happened than it seemed at first, Moore returned to the ship. There they gave him three sailors to help him and left him on Eileen Mor to investigate.
Mysterious storm
For the next three days, Moore and his assistants surveyed the entire lighthouse and all the spicy things. They found no trace of the caretakers. But they could not explain some of their discoveries.
They found that the lamps at the lighthouse were filled with oil, the wicks were cut - it means that they were already going to light them, but for some reason they suddenly interrupted their studies. Steel boxes for supplies had been prepared for some reason on the eastern wharf, although they were not usually used. The pier itself was in a terrible state.
The metal handrails were turned out of the concrete base and twisted. The supply box looked like it was being worked with a blacksmith's hammer, and was lying on its side, with things from it scattered around. And he was, by the way, at an altitude of 33 meters above sea level. But traces of destruction were found even higher. At the top of the hill - and this is already 60 meters - a huge piece of granite rock was moved from its place.
The conclusion was that all three keepers were washed into the sea by a huge wave. But Moore rejected this version. Firstly, it is strictly forbidden for all the keepers to be on the pier at the same time, especially during a storm. Secondly, even if they were forced to violate the instructions, they would certainly have put on storm cloaks. But the cloaks remained in the house. And finally, Moore was sure that there was no storm on either December 14 or 15 in the Flannan Islands area. The sea was calm and quiet these days.
The house was also full of mysteries. For example, the beds were not filled. It turns out that the caretakers had supper, removed the dishes, managed to go to bed, but for some reason they did not light the lighthouse. And then all of a sudden they all rushed to the eastern pier, where they were washed away by the wave. But Marshall had time to record that the storm was over.
Moore returned to the diary, which he had forgotten about during the search. There were some very strange entries. For example, on December 12, Marshall noted: “Dukat is annoyed,” on the 13th he wrote: “Dukat is calm. MacArthur is crying ", and on the 14th:" Ducat, MacArthur and I prayed. " On the morning of the 15th, another strange entry appeared: "God is above all." It turns out that the caretakers were, so to speak, not themselves for several days.
By the way, in addition to the diary, they had to register weather conditions. This information was chalked onto a slate at the entrance. The last entry was made on December 12, and the next three lines were erased by someone.
On December 29th, Scottish Lighthouse Authority Chief Robert Muirhead arrived at Eileen More. He was supposed to announce the official results of the investigation. Moore later recalled that Muirhead was much more worried about investigating mysteries where the caretakers would find violations of instructions to evade the assignment of pensions to their families.
As a result, the official version of what happened is as follows: Marshall, MacArthur and Ducat were in service until lunchtime on December 15th. Seeing that a storm was coming, they left the lighthouse unattended in order to better strengthen the supply box. They violated the instructions, as a result of which they were washed away by an accidental wave.
Versions and guesses
Few people were satisfied with the official investigation. Moore spent almost a month alone at the lighthouse, so notorious was Eileen Mor. Perhaps loneliness affected the conclusions of the chief caretaker, or he really faced something supernatural.
At least Moore claimed that he had heard more than once, as it were, calls for help from his missing comrades. This usually happened in the evening, on the eve of the storm. Once, when the storm played out especially strongly, Moore again thought that someone was calling him. He ran out into the street and began calling all three in turn. And it seemed to him that they answered him once.
Moore insisted that during his stay on the island he felt a terribly oppressive atmosphere. It seemed to him that someone was watching him all the time. And when a ship came for him to take him to the "mainland", and he shouted the names of his friends for the last time, three huge black birds of an unprecedented breed took off from the lighthouse tower and rushed towards the ocean.
A somewhat more prosaic version of events was expressed by Walter Alde-bert, who worked as a lighthouse keeper from 1953-1957. He once noticed a huge wave, which, in perfectly clear weather, was moving exactly towards Eileen Mor with a relatively narrow front. Fortunately, he was inside the tower, although after the impact the water almost reached the threshold. In principle, such phenomena in the ocean are quite possible.
So Aldebert suggested that two caretakers were working on the dock, when the third, filling oil in the lamps, saw a wave. He rushed down to warn his comrades, but underestimated the scale of the elements. So all three were carried off to sea. True, this version does not explain the strange entries in the diary, and a person rushing to help would not carefully lock the doors. But we must admit that other versions are even weaker. After all, it was not the elves who carried away the keepers of the Eileen Mor lighthouse?
Mark ALTSHULER
