Jack the Ripper is not the only unsolved mystery of the British Victorian era. In 1900, three lighthouse keepers on a tiny island off the coast of mainland Britain disappeared. They disappeared just four days before Christmas that year - no one knew what happened to them or where they went, and we still don't know what to this day. The mystery of the Victorian lighthouse keepers is one of histories unsolved events. Background The missing lighthouse keepers were working on the small Flannan Isles. They were employed to work at the highest tip of the Flannan Isles, where the lighthouse is to this day - on Eilean Mor in the Outer Hebrides. The Flannan Isles are very remote, they are a small group of islands, which makes that unsolved mystery even more interesting. What makes it more interesting, is that this island was uninhabited beside the four lightkeepers; Donald MacArthur, Thomas Marshall and James Duct. There was no one else recorded on the island at the time. One of the lighthouse keepers was an onshore lighthouse keeper, while the others were situated at the Eilean Mor lighthouse. One man was supposed to be in the lighthouse all of the time, the men could take turns, but one lightkeeper at least had to remain in the lighthouse. Whatever had happened to the lighthouse keepers, all of them must have left the lighthouse, as there wasn't a trace of any man within it. There wasn't a trace of any of the men at all when another crew arrived at the lighthouse. The Arriving Crew A relief crew arrived on the islands on Boxing Day 1900, they had been alerted by a ship on the 18th of December 1900, that there were storms in the area, a few days earlier. The relief crew made their way up to the Flannan Isles from Edinburgh and arrived on Boxing Day. Before the relief crew got the island, the captain of the relief ship, Jim Harvie, tried to gain the attention of the island lighthouse keepers, he sounded the ships horn as it approached the small island were the lighthouse lay - no men appeared before him. No one came out of the lighthouse. There was no sign of life, but life had looked as if it had stopped in the middle of something when the captain arrived on the island. With inspection of the lighthouse, he noticed that there was a chair knocked over, half-eaten dinner lying as if the lighthouse keepers either rushed out of the lighthouse in a hurry, or they were taken out in a hurry... There was also a clock which had stopped, which seems quite fitting for the occasion. Captain Jim Harvey sent a telegram to the lighthouse board saying he thought there had been an accident, which took the men's life. However, no bodies were recovered to provide evidence that they disappeared through a storm. The telegram Harvey sent to Edinburgh read as follows: ''A dreadful accident has happened at Flannans. The three Keepers, Ducat, 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 Moore, 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 they must been blown over the cliffs or drowned trying to secure a crane or something like that. Night coming on, we could not wait to make something as to their fate. I have left Moore, MacDonald, Buoymaster and two Seamen 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.'' The strangest thing about the incident was that the lighthouse keepers last log was on the 15th of December. It read ''Storm ended, sea calm. God is overall.'' This was on the same day as the passenger ship the Archtor had reported that the weather conditions were poor on the 15th of December. What happened to the men? There are several theories as to what happened to these men. One theory is, is that they fell to their deaths over the cliffs due to the storm, or perhaps due to a fight between the men. But none of their bodies was found. Also, why did all three of them abandon the lighthouse, when the rules were, that one of the must always remain within the lighthouse? Perhaps one of the men got caught in the storm, while the other two tried to help him, but it ended up taking all three of their lives. Or, another interesting theory, is that someone else was on that islands that had something to do with the mens disappearance. Could someone have murdered them? If who, why? Could the passenger ship that informed Edinburgh been involved in the mens disappearance? But if that was the case, why would that same ship informed Edinburgh about the storms. Or, what about Captain Harvey and his assistant, did they have something to do with the disappearance? Someone or something was responsible for these men disappearing.
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