The Eilean Mòr Lighthouse Mystery episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 21, 2025 · 30 MIN

The Eilean Mòr Lighthouse Mystery

from A Popular History of Unpopular Things · host Kelli Beard

Join Kelli as she goes over the mystery of the Eilean Mòr lighthouse.In December of 1900, the three men keeping the lighthouse on the Flannan Isles - James Ducat, Thomas Marshall, and Donald McArthur - vanished without a trace. The light was out for about two weeks. When a fourth keeper came to relieve one of the men and bring more supplies, he stumbled upon a dark island with an empty lighthouse - and no signs of distress.Let's go over the history of the Eilean Mòr lighthouse, the primary sources of those who were there to see it, and some of the theories as to what happened. Then, we'll apply Occam's Razor and determine the most likely scenario.Sources referenced in the episode:Primary Sources from the NLB website: https://www.nlb.org.uk/history/flannan-isles/Christopher P. Nicholson, Rock Lighthouses of Britain. 1983. https://archive.org/details/rocklighthouseso0000nich/page/179/mode/1up?q=flannan+islesKeith McCloskey, The Lighthouse: The Mystery of the Eilean Mor Lighthouse Keepers, 2014. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HSFUK1S/ref=kinw_myk_ro_titleThe Vanishing (2019 film)The Lighthouse (2019 film)Support the showIntro and Outro music credit: Nedric | Yello KakeFollow me on Instagram for episode updates! @beardhistoryIf you want to support the show, donate to the cause at Buy Me a Coffee

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 21, 2025

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Join Kelli as she goes over the mystery of the Eilean Mòr lighthouse. In December of 1900, the three men keeping the lighthouse on the Flannan Isles - James Ducat, Thomas Marshall, and Donald McArthur - vanished without a trace. The light was out for about two weeks. When a fourth keeper came to relieve one of the men and bring more supplies, he stumbled upon a dark island with an empty lighthouse - and no signs of distress. Let's go over the history of the Eilean Mòr lighthouse, the primary ...

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