Mystery of the Lonely Lighthouse
March 17, 2014
Sara Marie Hogg

Eilean Mor is a rocky island west of the Scottish coast some eighty miles. Its most distinguishing feature is Eilean Glas Lighthouse.
On December 20, 1900, a supply boat was supposed to arrive there bringing supplies and Joseph Moore, who was coming to relieve one of three colleagues. The keepers of the lighthouse rotated duties and there were normally three there on the island.
The supply boat from the Hebrides could not make that trip because of bad weather. It could not even get to Eilean Mor until December 26. When it finally arrived, the crew of the boat and Joseph Moore were in for a shock.
“The empty provision boxes have not been put on the landing—eerie!” Michael observed.
“And look! No flag is flying,” Ian pointed out. “That is odd.”
When some of them went ashore and climbed the dizzying steps carved into the cliff, the base for the lighthouse, they were all met by an uncanny silence. The rhythmic splashing of waves on rock provided a haunting soundtrack to their experiences.
They ventured inside the buildings. “Look! This meal of meat, pickles and potatoes on the table has not been touched. Where are my mates?” Joseph wondered aloud.
With trepidation, they decided to explore further. The slept-in beds were un-made. They ventured into the lightroom, the light of the lighthouse fueled by acetylene. They found the lightroom orderly.
“The lens has been freshly-cleaned but not covered!” Ian exclaimed as they entered the actual area of the lighthouse light. “They were surely interrupted, to not have done that.”
Further examination revealed overturned chairs and missing oilskin coats. The December 15th weather log recorded a violent storm that had done some damage, but the log later reported, “Storm ended, sea calm, God is over all.”
Nothing of the three lighthouse keepers was ever seen again. What happened to them? Kidnapping? A sea monster? A giant swooping bird?
An angry ghost? All of these theories were presented in 1900, along with the possibility that they had killed each other.
More modern theories include abduction by aliens.
The lighthouse had an unlucky history and seemed to be the victim of a curse. After it was completed in 1899, three keepers died, a few went mad,
And another fell to his death from the seventy-five foot lantern tower.
1900 would be the year that Joseph Moore’s fellow lighthouse keepers disappeared into thin air—without a trace.
The only possible solution, some conclude, is that maybe a giant wave washed all of them away, as they stood unaware, on the landing. There is no real evidence found of that possibility. What could it have been?
Please click the book cover image to read more about Sara Marie Hogg and her novels.