Sandy Supposes....

Seven Hunters

         Yes, what did happen to the three fellow lighthouse keepers? How could three adults vanish without a trace? What calamity befell them?

                   Well, I'm certain a helicopter did not pluck them from the island and whisk them away to obscurity. This mystery unfolded in 1900 and helicopters were not yet a viable thing, or mode of transportation. According to accounts of the day this island, Eilean Mor, existed under the effects of a heavy mist that cloaked it and made it impossible to see. Even today a helicopter would find it difficult to navigate this terrain. For these same reasons commandos did not drop from the sky and abscond with the missing men. They'd have been flying blind by the seat of their pants.

         In researching the lighthouse of the Flannan Isles off the west coast of Scotland, I learned that it is accessed by a hefty 160-step climb. Surely, the keepers would, could, and should have heard and witnessed the arrival of anyone, or anything in the measured time it would take to reach the lighthouse. In other words, no one could possibly sneak up on them in a blitz attack. And if by some happenstance an intruder did manage to breach the defences, he or she would most likely be too winded to risk permanent harm to themselves with a show of force.

         Were the three keepers garbed in heavy, woolen kilts during the immense storm that blew in? I imagine the wind gusted. Perhaps it buffeted their kilts and lifted the men as if they were kites? Were they spirited away, far away? Who could resist against such a strong natural force?

         Maybe just maybe the heavy, wet kilts hindered movement and tangled themselves about exhausted legs as the men struggled to maintain their balance in the reported raging storm. Could they have stumbled down those steps, or tumbled? That would be a considerable fall with abrasions and contusions at the least. A concussion is possible. I can see the injured keepers staggering with the loss of equilibrium. One misstep and a precipitous dive onto the jagged rocks and churning waves below might result in a battering and drowning.

         Most likely the keepers were soaked and 'frozen to the bone' if they were outside during the storm. Pelted and slashed by a downpour and wind-propelled salt water might they have succumbed to hypothermia? Suffering with severe symptoms they'd experience exhaustion, confusion, memory loss and drowsiness. This can and does play out in minutes. How could they rescue themselves?

         The Flannan Isles are known as the Seven Hunters. Could this refer to the existence of seven kelpies? Kelpies are believed to be supernatural water horses able to shape-shift into the human form if need be. Did all seven kelpies abduct the lighthouse keepers, or did a trio initiate a raid? Was there a sudden swoop from the storm-shrouded sky? During the thunder and lightning were the men vulnerable? Had the fierce storm aggravated the kelpies? Were the keepers sacrifices meant to appease the seven?(506 words)

         

         

                   

         PROMPT
Wednesday, April 7

The Flannan Isles Lighthouse Disappearances

In 1900, three keepers of the Flannan Isles Lighthouse off the west coast of Scotland disappeared under the strangest of circumstances. The lighthouse was manned by a three-person team (Thomas Marshall, James Ducat, and Donald MacArthur), with a fourth man rotating in from shore. On Boxing Day (December 26) of 1900, the relief keeper arrived to find none of the lighthouse keepers present. The only sign that anything was amiss was an overturned chair near the kitchen table. No bodies were ever found, which has led to endless speculation. Theories range from drownings to abduction by foreign spies, a ghost ship, or a giant sea monster. Whatever happened back in December 1900 at the Flannan Isles Lighthouse, we may never know.

So, tell us what happened to the lighthouse keepers!