Adeptus Ridiculous - THE FLANNAN ISLES VANISHING: TAKEN BY THE SEA | Detective Ridiculous

Episode Date: January 29, 2023

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Welcome everybody to another episode of Detective Ridiculous. My name is Bricky. My co-host here is D.K., and he's going to be teaching us the only thing more frightening than Warhammer, real life. But before we start, if you would like to support us or the podcast, head on over to patreon.com slash adeptus Ridiculous, where you can get bloopers if they happen, some amazing HD posters, as well as access to the Discord and all the great stuff there. you can even suggest topics if you'd like. Now, another thing that is very exciting to note, we have a special poster for Detective Ridiculous,

specifically. Shai went ahead and decided to make one for our fun little offshoot series, and you've got Moth Man, but it's not Moth Man, it's Moth Girl, and the proportions there, adequate, extreme, powerful. And it is also available at the merchandise store, Orchidate, If you would like a big physical version of the print as well, link in the description. Oh, you got to get the big physical version, right? Also, it is moth woman.

Yeah, I know. Oh, yeah, whatever. Honestly, the best part about the poster besides the fact that it's a cursed moth is the logo we have, which is the skull with the top hat, the fedora. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's so good. Great. So good.

Absolutely. of it. So anyway, the poster itself with the moon behind it and it's just, it's a great poster. It's a very good one. All right. Anyway, what's this world that you've got going on for me? What, what is this, what is this, uh, real life problems we have? The real life problems today on detective ridiculous will be stepping away from the fantastical world of cryptids that we did in our last few episodes and venture back into the world of strange and eerie disappearance. We're going to be talking about the disappearances at the Flannan Island Lighthouse all the way back in the 1900s. Is this the one that was based on the lighthouse movie?

I was about to say I'm sure that immediately we're all thinking of the movie with Willem Defoe and Robert Pattinson. But sadly, as I discovered while looking stuff up for this episode, that movie was based on a totally different lighthouse tragedy that took place in the 1800s. That is also really, really bizarre because, you know, it inspired the lighthouse, so it must be. And hopefully we get to cover it in an episode someday. I'm not sure how much stuff there is on it. There was enough to make a movie. But anyway, Flanin Isles Lighthouse.

Wait a bit. So to set the stage for this whole thing, let's talk a little bit about the Flanin Isles. So the Flaninan Isles are just to the west of Scotland They are pretty remote Like if you look at those Google map pictures that Shai just put up You might miss them Wow They're so out of the way and remote

That is Wow that is extremely far Yeah they are very isolated Very remote You have to know they're there to even find them on a map. Well, it's not even off the islands of Scotland. It's off the islands that are off the islands of Scotland. Oh my God.

It's out there. Okay. Out there. All right, all right. So the chain of islands got their name from an old Irish bishop, obviously his name, St. Flannan, who had set up shop and built a chapel on one of the aisles. Eileen Moore. The island is called.

And as far as I can tell, people were always really, really superstitious about Eileen Moore. Like the only time people would go there would be like to graze their sheep for the day and then they leave before nightfall because nobody wants to stay there overnight because it's just, it's a creepy place. It has this eerie aura about it. I'm sorry, two things. One, where is there to stay? that is the tiniest

fucking islands true it is a tiny island and just steep cliffs all around but apparently people would go there to graze their sheep and then just GTFO by nightfall

okay I don't I don't know why you would just go there to graze your sheep but it's the 1800s it's like the late 1800s before the lighthouse has been built. So I don't know why you do what you do with tending farm animals. I've never had a hard day's labor in my life.

So I don't know. Maybe it was an 1800s thing. Also, why is, is this the Luke Skywalker Island? It looks a lot like the Luke Skywalker Islands, because they film out there pretty often in like the Ireland and Scotland Isles. I don't think it is officially, but I can 100% see why you would think that that's the Luke Skywalker Island. Because it's, yeah, it's just that remote, just all these treacherous clips and everything. But no, I don't think it is.

Oh, well, no wonder it's so absolutely like haunted or anything. It literally is where the last Jedi was filmed. It's so cursed. Anyway, so we've got this. sufficiently creepy island called Eileen Moore in the Flanon Islands. But the other thing we've got are some really treacherous waters alongside a really nice little transatlantic trade route. Now by this time, the chapel is long gone, except for some rough shod little ruins that are literally just like this pile of rubble and rocks on the island. So the northern lighthouse board

decides that this is the perfect place to build a brand spanking new lighthouse. So construction of the Flan and Isles lighthouse would begin around 1895, and they projected that it would take around two years to fully complete this lighthouse. And this lighthouse was going to be, by 1800 standards, decked out with all the newest stuff. Like they literally build this sort of. of like steam engine track and rail car system that would take supplies for like the lighthouse fuel provisions and stuff like that up to the shore house or up to the lighthouse because as you can see in

those pictures the cliffs are so steep that like trying to haul everything from the shores to that lighthouse would be an absolute pain in the butt because this lighthouse is like 200 feet above sea level I think. So you really need something like, there's also a crane that can take things to the lighthouse, make things easier. So this thing, by 1800 standards, was gonna be just primo,

just the bees' knees, if you will. Total side note, but, you know, you ever driven through like a rural area of America where they don't have street lights and stuff and the only thing that's illuminating the area is like the headlights of your car? I can't imagine being in the middle of the ocean like this, and there's just no lights anywhere but the lighthouse,

and it's just, it's just black. You're trying to move some of a rail cart, and it is just pitch dark. Pitch black. Hopefully, though, hopefully they're not moving anything in the night, because I imagine the supply ships would probably come in the morning, so they could at least do everything. Yeah, doing that in the dead of night must be an absolute,

nightmare all. Anyway, while the plan was to have this thing up and running within two years, it was so difficult to get supplies and workers to this place because of how steep the cliff was and how awful and stormy the waters could potentially get, that the construction of this lighthouse took an additional two years and the lighthouse wouldn't actually be finished until 1890. specifically December 7, 1899, if you needed a date for whatever reason. So, now we've got this basically brand spanking new lighthouse on Eileen Moore that is literally lighting the way for ships heading towards Scotland.

But on December 15, 1900, there's a ship called the Arc Tour, heading to the port of Leith in Scotland by way of Philadelphia. Strange thing, the Eileen Moore Lighthouse is completely dim. It's not operational, and the weather conditions are not great for the Arc Tour, but the Arc Tour still makes it to Leith without the aid of a lighthouse on December 18, 1900. And pretty much as soon as they make land, They send word to the Northern Lighthouse Board that there is something wrong with that lighthouse. Like there is no real reason that that lighthouse should be out.

Eileen Moore was being manned by three men rotating in shifts so that very important light for ships never goes out. So what the hell happened in order for that lighthouse to be dim when they passed by it? So a relief vessel called the Hesperus was supposed to set out and figure out what was wrong. They were also going to bring in a relief lighthouse keeper named Joseph Moore and get things up and running again because this lighthouse is pretty important. Again, the waters around here get real treacherous. It gets really, really stormy in this area, so we need to get this lighthouse up and running again. I also feel like just because of the sheer tininess of these islands, you wouldn't really think about them. And then by the time you're there, you're like, oh, my God, there's rocks.

And then you just smash. Very important lighthouse. Very important. And apparently the Hesperus was supposed to leave on December 20th to get to this lighthouse. But again, the weather can get really bad around the Flan Niles. And because of how severe the weather conditions, were the Hespros doesn't actually make it to Eileen

Moore until December 26th, almost a full week later. It's actually quite a while in terms of, of, well, isn't that long in terms of water time? Uh, yeah, I mean,

even, even just regular time, that's a long time to, like, wait out a storm. True, a full week. Almost a full week, yeah. All right. True. Shai says it's also 1900's transportation,

so it's not exactly going to be the speediest thing in the whole world. But, you know, also, I know we haven't talked much about the lightkeepers that are being relieved on Ely and Moore, but their names are Donald MacArthur, James Ducott, and Thomas Marshall. Holy shit, those mustaches. Mm-hmm, mm-mm, mm-mm. The guy in the middle. middle, let's go.

I strive to have a stash like that. Oh, they're just... God damn. You know, for the longest time, I never could understand the amount of layers they would wear, especially because, like, they would still wear that kind of clothing in the Midwest of America when they come out of the train

with the bag, the suitcase and stuff. And I can't imagine it's just boiling in that thing. But where they're out right now in super north Scotland, that makes a lot more sense. That's a... Oh, yeah. But it's... That is a much more acceptable. That old-timey fashion, though, I kind of love it with, like, the vest

and the pocket watch and the coat. I kind of love that aesthetic, to be honest with you. I kind of wish that would make a comeback that, you know... I love it. Anyway, it's also worth noting that a man named William Ross was supposed to be on duty at Eileen Moore, but he was on sick leave for like over a month. So he literally couldn't report for duty.

I don't know what he had, but he was sick for a long time. So Donald MacArthur was actually the occasional that was filling in for him. Anyway, when the Hesperus shows up and before the Hesperus even makes port or landfall or whatever, they already know that something is wrong. Obviously, the light is still out, but there's no flag in the flagstaff. There were no provision boxes set out for them to fill and send up that nice little rail car system we talked about. And there was no one on shore waiting to greet them, which is odd, because when you're kind of stranded alone

on a lighthouse island like this for weeks on end with no other company other than those two other dudes that you're working with, you really want to see anybody else. You are chomping at the bit to interact with literally

anybody else. I disagree, D.K., you never leave your home and you seem fine. Well, yeah, but I have the internet. That's true. They don't have the internet. So... They have gotcha ball. I don't think they even have a telegram system set up on this lighthouse yet.

So I don't think you can even send telegrams. It's just them. In that second to last picture Shia's post, is that the little elevator thing on the bottom right that they kind of go like, so they can bring stuff up and down? Probably. That's what it looks like. It looks like that's a road leading right to the lighthouse.

So yeah. That initial climb. That's a treacherous. Cliff. That initial climb up there looks like agony. Oh, absolutely. Yo-oy. They even

the Hespris even sends up flares to make double sure that if someone is on this island, they know that the Hespros was here and like, hey, we're trying to reach you. And still, nobody shows up. There's just no

signs of life when they make port. Upon inspection of the island, it is very clear that Eileen Moore got hammered by a storm at some point, a really bad storm. There were like these metal bars that were set into the cliff to hold supply boxes, provision boxes in place. Those metal rods were twisted and ripped out of place. Oh, holy hell. That's like hurricane level stuff. Yeah.

Up near the actual lighthouse, there was this huge stone that weighed over a ton that had been shifted and thrown around. Wow. There was dirt and soil that had been uplifted from the ground for like 30 feet. It was enough to rip the soil from the ground. Okay, okay. I'm not going to lie

that's pretty hardcore shit Yeah There was also I heard a source say that there was like Remember that crane we talked about That helped move stuff Apparently That crane was untouched

And undamaged And it still had like a tarp that was covering it That was just completely undisturbed Just like nothing happened The crane is hanging Hmm The crate is hanging off the one side Is it a possibility like the wind came in from one side of the island and kind of hit it really hard, went over the crane and didn't like hit it as bad?

I mean, it's possible. But it's just weird that like it's still not the tarp over it and everything and it just. Yeah. Or maybe they like specifically tried to maintain the crane because like that like that's the one thing they really need. So shit was getting bad. They're like, oh, God damn. Go to go to the crane. Fix the crane. Yeah.

there were also like ropes that were found that were just kind of strung around when normally they were kept in a box that was like 70 to 80 feet above the crane so stuff above the crane got screwed up but the crane itself fine and the rail car system had part of its tracks that had been uplifted from their moorings in concrete okay maybe not So Eileen Moore got absolutely slammed by a storm, multiple storms, because it's been over a week. They first noticed this lighthouse going dim on December 15th. It's now December 26th, so it's possible that multiple big storms have slammed this place. So this is between the one week time. They noticed it going a bit dim the week before. It took them a while to get there. And when they arrived, it's just chaos, basically.

It's, yeah. It, outside this lighthouse, it looks like just hell stormed through. Hmm. All right, all right. You got me, you got me, you got me hook, line, and sinker, D.K. Oh, hey, nautical stuff. I like it. You got me, uh, Willem Defoe's seaman.

Oh, no. Yeah. I saw the lighthouse finally, and yeah, I don't like it. Oh, you don't like it? I love that movie. Oh, no, I love the movie. I just don't like Willem Defoe's weird tentacle come. Yeah, but I do love everything else about Willem Defoe in that movie.

Fair play. All right. Fair play. You're a fan of my podcast, right, D.K.? All right, continue. More a fan of your podcast than you're cooking. When Joseph Moore and the crew of the Hesperus actually investigated the live, area of the lighthouse, there was surprisingly little out of place.

All of the clocks had stopped, and that might sound spooky scary, but it really wasn't a big deal in the 1900s. In this era, all the clocks had to be wound to keep them going, so all of the clocks not working and stopping at the same time was almost expected, since the first sighting of the lighthouse being dim was again December 15th, and the Hesperus didn't make it to Eileen Moore until like the 26th. So those clocks are set for like, what, 24 to 36 hours before they need to be wound up. So some sources tried to make it sound like that was like creepy, scary, ghost stuff, and it's like, no, that's just how the clocks worked back then. They also found only one set of oil skins, which if you don't know what oil skins are, they're kind of

like those really heavy kind of weatherproof jackets. You know, since we were talking about the lighthouse movie, it's like those big jackets and coats that they're wearing whenever they're out in the rain doing that heavy lifting. Whenever Robert Pattinson's out there wheeling stuff, you know, or when he's taken the shit and piss to throw it over the cliff, he's wearing his oil skins. One that kind of looks like a duster, just a little bit?

Yeah, essentially weatherproof rain gear, for all in the United. intents and purposes. Okay, okay. And so they only found one set, which can mean a couple things, but we'll get around to it. But yeah, the fact that they only found one means that at some point the weather was so bad, one of the three keepers potentially went outside without his oil skins, which doesn't sound great. Or lost his oil skin? Because I would imagine he would keep it on, maybe just the weather of full.

flugging off of him or something. It could be, could be, but they only found one. They only found the one set of oil skins. Some sources claim that there were uneaten meals set out on the table, but from what I could tell, that is mostly just rumor and sort of fiction because they wanted it to seem more spooky and scary and, ooh, look at how interesting this is. and in actuality there were no meals out

everything was just sort of put away everything was fine and dandy only thing that looked maybe out of place was some people think there was a chair that was overturned when Joseph Moore entered the living area but people can't even agree on that a lot of people think that that chair wasn't even overturned and that's another just

oh that's just fiction that someone added later to make it seem spooky and scary. But I'm sorry. Forgive me. Joseph Moore is the guy on the ship, right? Yes. Joseph Moore is the relief lighthouse keeper that they're bringing to sort of relieve the three guys that have left

the lighthouse dim and he's there to sort of relieve them and get the lighthouse back in ship shape. Right, right. Okay. Ship shape. Look what I did there. Oh, look. I didn't even intend to do that. I didn't even intend to do that. Look at me.

All the names of people way back when, they're all like two first names so often. It's hard to differentiate. They weren't so great. You know, they weren't so great at names back then. They were still getting used to it in the 1900s. Well, we're getting used to it today. Some asshole named me Bricky. Oh, well, hey, that's your own doing.

Yeah. Well, that's Microsoft's doing. But anyway, when they went up to the actual lighthouse, they found that everything had been cleaned, the oil for the lighthouse. was raring to go and everything was just normal. The lighthouse, it's not like someone broke it. It's not like the actual lighthouse was broken. It's not like someone, you know, went in there and turned into Cthulhu and broke the light and stole it or something. It's just, it's fine. It's fine. But there were no signs of the lighthouse keepers anywhere on the island.

with nothing found the captain of the hesperus sent a telegram to the mainland that reads as follows a dreadful accident has happened at Flannans the three keepers Ducotte, Marshall and the occasional

have disappeared from the island on our arrival there this afternoon no sign of life was to be seen on the island fired a rocket but as no response was made managed to land more who went up to the station but found no keepers there The clocks were stopped and other signs indicated that the accident must have happened about a week ago.

Poor fellows must have been blown over the cliffs or drowned trying to secure a crane or something like that. Night coming. Oh, yeah, go ahead. Oh, no, I'm just, just those words you said, like, poor fellows must have been blown over the cliff? Yeah, because, I mean, again, it gets, the weather gets so treacherous and the winds can get so strong that to them it is not unheard of that you could get caught in like a vicious storm with crazy wind and be in the wrong spot at the wrong time and get blown off the cliff but like I guess I mean like blown over the cliff though there was a stone that weighed a ton that got blown around that oh that's pretty sure

be fair, so they're like, all, it could happen, sure. I mean, if they're down there by the crane, like securing stuff, I totally believe that, like 100%. Yeah, but, yeah. Okay, maybe, maybe I'm having it, maybe I'm dumb. I was maybe thinking of my mind that they're like at the lighthouse and they just like do an extendedly long family guy bit where they're just rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling all the way down to the cliff and then falling off. I mean, you know, who knows? I feel like they would have like, they would be prepped for that somehow. They would know that that's a thing. Again, 1900s.

Yeah, well, I mean, that's their job, though. It's like, I mean, storm is a brewing. We don't want to get launched away off the island. Like, there's got to be a, where's OSHA? OSHA. OSHA. OSHA is the company that's like safety laws, safety labor laws. Oh, oh, this is 1900s, man.

I mean, you got the Northern Lighthouse board and they, That's true. The old unionization is just to get paid enough so you don't die. Yeah, the only procedure in place right now that I heard about was like Shai said. The only procedure is there's got to be one person in the lighthouse at all times while the other two work. That's about the only procedure that I saw. That's really it, huh? Yeah.

Well, that I could see. I'm sure there were other procedures that were in place, but I don't. know if there was like a high wind procedure or anything like that like I'm sure there's a there was a guidebook on how to be a lighthouse keeper but yeah I feel like they if the weather got that bad they would stay inside the lighthouse well I'm sure we'll talk about it no yeah just before I'm jumping ahead continue anyway so the the telegram finishes off with night coming on we could not to make something as to their fate. I have left more McDonald, Bowie Master, and two

shaman, on the island to keep the light burning until you make other arrangements. Will not return to Oban until I hear from you. I have repeated this wire to Muirhead in case you are not at home. I will remain at the telegraph office tonight until it closes if you wish to wire me." I find it funny that he's just like, yeah, I'll just stay at the telegraph office all night that's anyway well I would do the same thing because I'd be like yeah I ain't going out there I'm going I'm going I'm staying now I'm staying there also Oban makes a great scotch oh bonn anyway yeah oh bonn it's like it's like a hundred dollar scotch who's lovely anyway also for the

record mirrorhead was mentioned in that telegram that is the superintendent of the Northern Lighthouse Board at the time, and he would actually go to Eileen Moore on December 29th to conduct an official investigation into the matter himself, since he had actually been the one to recruit the three lighthouse keepers that were lost on Eileen Moore. I believe he was also good friends with all of them. But his efforts didn't produce any more results than what the Hesperus and Moore had found, and in his official report, he would state, From evidence which I was able to procure,

I was satisfied that the men had been on duty up till dinner time on Saturday the 15th of December, that they had gone down to secure a box in which the mooring ropes, landing ropes, and et cetera, were kept, and which was secured in a crevice in the rock about 110 feet above sea level, and that an extra large sea had rushed up the face of the rock, had gone above them,

and come down with immense force and had swept them away completely. He did also make mention that whoever left the lighthouse unattended was in violation of the Northern Lighthouse Board rules, because as we said, you are never. supposed to leave the lighthouse unattended. So with no signs of the three men anywhere on the island,

what exactly happened to them? One thing a lot of people like to talk about are the log books that were kept in the lighthouse. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, video game storytelling. If they pause the game while we have to listen to these audio logs, I'm going to scream. Yeah, well, hit pause, my friend, because according to a lot of people, there were some very eerie entries in the logbook. Some entries mention that there was a severe wind and a heavy storm, and the storm got so bad that Donald MacArthur was actually crying.

Which is odd because Donald MacArthur was like this sort of ill-tempered man's man, and he was known for being a brawler, and he was so seasoned that a normal storm would never break him. Other entries mentioned that the storm had gotten so bad that all of the men started praying. And the final entry mentions the storm had finally passed and that God was overall. And while that may seem really spooky and unsettling and like, whoa, that's crazy.

There was an investigation done by Welsh writer Mike, dash and he discovered the log books were completely fictional and were added to the story after the incident. If I remember correctly, I heard a source say that a Pulp magazine had published these fictional logbooks trying to get like additional attention from the incident or make it sound more spooky, scary and ooh, please buy our magazine. We need to be. you to buy our magazine and eventually these details about the logbook got so confounded and so twisted up that people started believing that they were actual that they were the actual logbook entries wait so let me get this straight they added false logbooks to afterwards saying

that things were fine to make the mystery of their disappearance seem crazier yeah well because Oh my God, the guy was crying. They were praying. God was involved. And then they disappear. And whoa, whoa, whoa, spooky. Because, like, they didn't, they didn't find anything to reveal what happened to these guys. So people started making up details to make it seem a little spooky or a little more interesting, a little more crazy, a little more woo, you know?

That's, that's awful. That's horrid. For a second, I thought that it would, like, the story was going to be a lot easier because they said, oh, the storm had passed. And that means like, oh, if they're missing in the storm had passed, and that means there's something else that would have gone on in that case. But, but no, they're just, they're just, uh. Yep. Yep. That's awesome. It's also worth noting, as many others who have covered this topic have mentioned, that logbooks aren't supposed to be used like that anyway.

The logbook is. a personal diary for workers to write their personal feelings or the morale of their fellow men. If I'm not mistaken, there are several sources that said that if those fictional logs were accurate and the men had survived, whoever wrote about MacArthur crying and the praying and the god is overall, they would have been fired for misuse of the logbook, or they would have had their pay significantly docked, which none of them would have risked because they all had families they needed to provide for, and boy, 1900s is a real bitch when it comes to money. Some other theories suggest that the men might have pulled the old Ephraim Winslow and charted

a boat off the island under a different name in order to escape over. overwhelming debt or some shady past misdeeds. You know, who knows? Maybe one of them brained a seagull on the cistern and the gods of the sea turned against them, right? Bad luck to kill a seabird. Bad luck to kill a seabird. Did you laugh your ass off when you killed the seabird? I thought it was the funniest thing on the planet.

I did indeed laugh my balls off. It was like I was both horrified and giggling at the same time. I mean, if he had only smashed it against the cistern once, I would have been okay, but he just like slams that poor bird like 80 times on the cistern. It was great. I think you got him. I think you got him. It was quite funny to me. Anyway, that makes sense, though, the whole escape.

Go do a, like being off the grid is a very possible thing in the 1800s era. So trying to escape something is definitely more of a possibility. Yeah. Some people also believe, and while this may seem crazy, it is, some people believe that a giant sea serpent whisked the men off the island, or that a famed kelpie took the men, lured the men to their doom and just dragged them to the bottom of the sea. Since we were talking about God of War Ragnarok,

before the episode started. Though I think Kelpies generally keep to locks, like the sort of small, I don't want to say lakes, but yeah, small locks, and they don't really venture out into, like, oceans and big bodies of water, according to myth. So chances are slim, but Kelpie, another possible cryptid-like creature for a future episode, right?

there are some weird theories that for some reason foreign spies came in and abducted the men without a trace for some seedy purpose and I had to mention this crackhead theory I heard on one of the podcasts that Shai gave me but there's this theory that there was like a crazy group of pagans that used to worship on this island and they would make human sacrifices on Eileen Moore, like hundreds of years ago, like the sacrificial burial sites were under the rubble of the chapel, and that somehow this pagan god has been so starved for sacrifices, that as soon as the men were placed in the lighthouse, this god was like, oh, food for me, it's been so long.

and took them as a long overdue sacrifice in his name. Okay, well, we can write that one off pretty quickly. Yes, we can definitely write that one off. It was also speculated that perhaps MacArthur, who we already said is that sort of ill-tempered man's man, he's a brawler, had murdered both Ducotte and Marshall in a fit of rage. Then, after he threw their bodies into the ocean, he decided to jump into the ocean himself as well to commit suicide to avoid the punishment that he surely knew was coming. Problem with that and a couple of these other theories is, I mean, if he was going out there to commit murder, right, you would think that he would have put on his oil skins or that they would have.

wouldn't have found any oil skins, but they still found the set. Uh, and like, there's no evidence that there was any struggle or fight anywhere on the island. Because again, the lighthouse is in mint condition, basically, other than maybe an overturned chair. So, I don't know. It is possible that the storm destroyed the evidence. I was about to say it is possible that the havoc of this storm just totally tore up any evidence of a struggle outside in the outside lighthouse area. This is very fair, very possible. But you'd still think you'd put that weatherproof jacket on? Anyway, the other big problem that a lot of the public and some of the officials in the northern lighthouse board had, even with Muirhead's explanation,

was that if the men had somehow been swallowed by the sea, where were the bodies? Surely, at some point, the bodies would have washed ashore, right? But since there had been no reports of a body washing up on land, what happened? What happened? The storm, I have good enough to believe that, well, I have good enough believe that the storm can be hard enough and rough enough to really just send their bodies out far, far away. Yeah, but eventually those things, I mean, you would think that they would eventually wash up on a shore somewhere. Sure, a shore somewhere, but let's not forget, we're not even in the islands. We're in the island's islands.

It's true, we are in the island's islands. We are gone. Or maybe in the storm, they got tangled up in something heavy, and they just sunk like a stone. I mean, that wouldn't surprise me. They also, they do wear quite a lot of stuff. But, I mean, it doesn't make it non-boyant or whatever. Yeah.

Which one was the one who said that there wasn't a storm? Was it was a logbook that said there was no storm logbooks? Yeah, in the official logbook, they didn't actually have a storm on those days. Well, hmm. Would you write about the storm if you're caught in the storm? I mean, you would probably write about the really awful, terrible weather conditions. Yeah. Yeah, probably.

You wouldn't write that you were praying and crying about it. That's true. You would write that there's a pretty bad storm in the area. Yeah. Yeah, that's fair. So the best explanation that anybody can really come up with are actually pretty similar to what Murrow. Head's official report said.

Ducotte and Marshall had probably gone out in some pretty bad weather to secure a supply box. The weather then took a turn for the worst. They were in noticeable trouble and maybe started like calling out for help. MacArthur probably heard their

distress and even though it was against regulations, left the lighthouse in a flurry to try helping his fellow men, leaving in such a hurry that he didn't have time to put on his oil skins. As the men were trying to secure the box and as McArthur tried to help them, a rogue wave

comes out of nowhere and just like Mirrorhead said, swallowed them up, which is a big freaking wave because they are like over a hundred feet above sea level. That's a hundred, that's a hundred plus foot wave. Yeah, unless they're down near the, uh, down near the crane and working on that stuff. That's true. That's only, that's, that's only an 80 foot wave. Oh, that's good point. Thank God's. Yeah, thank goodness. Nothing too crazy.

Also, if you're wondering why MacArthur would leave the comforts of the lighthouse for something like that, aside from not wanting to see his fellow keepers die, apparently he had been fined five shillings for losing some equipment before coming to Eileen Moore, and he could not afford to have his pay cut again, so of course he would be anxious to just rush and secure and save the supply box. I cannot afford to have my pay cut again. I got kids. Some variations also suggest that a rogue wave may have taken out Ducat and Marshall when they were at that supply box and they never returned.

And MacArthur was just like, whoa, this is weird. Like I was supposed to be relieved hours ago. What's going on? on and so he would leave his post and go look for them and he would meet the similar fate of oh my god a rogue wave came out of nowhere and though again i find that one a little hard to believe because like if he knew that ducat and marshall were missing and he went out to go find him why wouldn't he put his shit on like why wouldn't he put on his weatherproof jacket and all of his stuff so i don't i don't necessarily buy that one that one that one's

seems like a little bit of a stretch to me. Every concept, every idea, every decision is like constantly being reinforced and then removed by another piece of lack of evidence or evidence. Yeah, pretty much. Maybe this happened. Well, that doesn't make much sense. So how about this? Like, well, they wrote that in the book.

How about this? Well, he wouldn't have written that in the book. It's like, it's like. Yeah. And that's one of the hard things about like looking up information on this because there's, there are so many theories and there are so many. much like weirdly false information that people tried to publish to make this sound more interesting, that it's just, it's everywhere and all over the place because there's so little evidence

other than those damn oil skins. But what I kind of find crazy is that with how dangerous the weather gets, you know, with seemingly 100 foot tall waves crashing against the cliff, making stones that weigh a ton and rip up grass, you'd think accidents like this would happen all the time. Shockingly, though, an accident like this never happened again at Ely and Moore. The lighthouse is still up and running today. I think in 1970 or something, it became fully automated and doesn't actually need keepers to tend to it.

Probably just needs, like, maintenance every few years or so. But it's probably going to forever remain a mystery as to what actually happened to MacArthur, Ducaut, and Marshall. Their bodies never washed up on any shore, and the only real sign that something was wrong on that island were the two missing oil skins. Yeah, and it never happened, well, never happened before their disappearance. weren't they like the first keepers there? Well, I guess not because it probably would have been in operation for a year. So I guess there are probably a few people that manned it before. But yeah, there was no accidents before and there were no accidents after.

This is the only time something like this happened. I am at a total loss. The dudes just seem like they straight up vanished. It seemed that the only real major sign is the idea of, what I'm looking for, the damage. Yeah. Like the damage to like the concrete and the thing just ripped out. Like that's, okay, okay, so like that, that sheer damage of boards and, uh,

and not just boards, but like the, um, the, the, the, the metal railings. Like, that is not done by humans. No. There's no way humans could do. that. So there's obviously a storm. Like there is a storm. I mean, I guess humans could do it, but like, why? So a storm, even if it's not written about, I'm like 100%, there is a storm. There was a storm. Yes. At some point, there was a bad storm. Or maybe multiple bad storms. That being said, I could see the idea of them not writing about the storm as a way to cover up some nefarious doing.

it's a bit of a stretch A little bit, short A bit of a stretch Um And I'm a bit of a primed reach as you would say Ha ha ha More framed jokes Look at us

But Uh yeah Um Shai says people suggest pirate slavers Yep There's so many theories out there Of what people think could have happened I don't know about pirate slavers

Personally Uh Especially if there was the major I guess the storm may have happened and then afterwards but like the lighthouse oh well no that's actually not the worst concept because the lighthouse started going

dim who knows how long they had been missing since it was going dim like true it was only first noticed on December 15th that's when they first noticed that the lighthouse was dim as the arc tour was passing by

which means if it was dim that doesn't mean that that was the first day it lacked maintenance that means that it has been lacking maintenance for a while, right? True, true, but I assume there are enough ships passing by on a regular basis that you would have noticed it before. So it probably wasn't, like, if it happened before the 15th, it might have been a couple of days at most, right? Because that's that nice transatlantic trade route.

So surely someone would have noticed. in the span of like a week. Hmm. It is a... It is a miss... Because there's just no evidence in the lighthouse. If there was any evidence outside the lighthouse, it's been compromised to the nth degree

by just the worst storm weather you can imagine. So it's just... It's one of those things where it's just the mind just wanders to every possible thing that could have happened to these guys. and it's just nobody knows. I'm pretty lost. I'm actually really unsure. Yeah, I have no idea.

Like, a part of me wants to say, like, the most plausible thing is, yeah, they got washed up. Just this rogue wave came and just took them out. But... Huh. And it's so strange that, like, this never happened before, never happened after. And like Shai said,

uh, it says the lighthouse board had 102 lighthouses. They never lost. the entire crew even once. And what was it? I forget which source I was listening to that said, like, in the Northern Lighthouse Board's, like, entire existence, even, like, lighthouse keepers falling asleep

has only happened, like, 15 times. That's pretty, yeah, that's extremely rare. Yeah, so it's just, who knows? Who, I don't know. But that's the Ayleans. more lighthouse disappearance. That's fascinating. I really do, hmm, that's extremely,

I don't know exactly where, like, because foul play doesn't seem like it would be there. I feel like there would be more evidence of things like blood and, in fact, even pirate slavers, you would argue that there'd be some things like blood, unless they stole them, you know, via gunpoint or something and didn't,

yeah, didn't actually hurt them. You'd think there'd be a little evidence, but foul play is, it's possible because like again, any foul play, blood, evidence, ripped clothes, whatever, those are getting washed away by the storm. The storm is covering all of that up. So, I mean, MacArthur going into a bit of a fit, throwing him overboard or something, and then throwing himself over, I mean, the storm's going to cover up any of that.

That is. Hmm. It's confounding. I am come-fuzzled. Yep. Like Shai said, there's so little evidence that any theory, realistic or not, seems plausible. Because there's no evidence to say, oh, well, I can't be that, or, oh, it has to be this. Yeah, it's the perfect setup to make your own story.

Well said, Shai, well said. Yeah, that's a good one. Now, I can't wait for Robert Eggers to take this on. and utilize it as his next masterpiece. He will corner the market on lighthouse-based disappearances. Have you read about the lighthouse incident that that was based off of? I don't think there's enough on that to do an episode, but that incident is just all kinds of kooky.

It's wacky. It's some wacky shit. I remember that. Oh, yeah. It's, whew, yeah. I, it's enough to drive a man crazy. It's enough to drive a man mad. It's enough to drive a man mad. Nothing like getting choked by tentacles. Hell yeah. Nothing like,

Mermaid vagina. Oh, that's right. The mermaid had a giant vagina, didn't it? It did. Fish vagina, Robert Patton, Seagulls, and lobster. What a life. What a life.

You do like me lobster, don't you? God damn it. I know you do. I know you do. I think if you actually click on my profile on Discord, I still have that as my background profile. I do, yeah. It's a, that movie is rife with me, Marie. It really is.

Oh, it's great. It's great. Take us home, Bricky. Oh, don't you take us home? No. country road screw you dude go go

I don't know I don't know how to take us home from this one it's too mysterious what if we just end the episode randomly like in the middle of my I