The Flannan Isles Mystery 

Things Simon does not believe in 1: Ghosts 2: Lighthouse Keepers

As a man of science, nothing frustrates me more than people who think we already have it all figured out.

Fact boy and his bazillion channels are the only thing that make chemotherapy a bit better. Thanks Fact boi!

Three minutes in, and Simon already name-droped Gul Dukat... And that's why I love some factboi content xD Idea for April fools content, post only star trek related videos on all the channels: Brain Blaze could talk about Ferengi business tactics, casual criminalist could talk about war-crimes from the Dominion, decoding the unknown could tackle the bajoran light sail... The fun would be to see Simon talk about this kind of thing in the more serious channels, like Megaprojects...

32:25 I've actually always disliked this argument for why aliens wouldn't be interested in us. The average alien? Sure. But they would surely have oddballs interested in us just as we have people who dedicate their life to studying Ants.

In 2000 the British oceanographic vessel RRS Discovery recorded a 29-metre (95 ft) wave off the coast of Scotland near Rockall. In 2019, Hurricane Dorian's extratropical remnant generated a 30-metre (100 ft) rogue wave off the coast of Newfoundland. Both noted in Wikipedia.

If you do talk about Nessie, please consider mentioning her canonical little brother Champ who lives in Lake Champlain, Vermont. I have no idea how he would've gotten in there, but apparently he did.

Simon: Who says they want to be a lighthouse keeper? Me: quietly looks away because I 100% thought about it at one point despite knowing how labor intensive it was

Simon get all heated over supernatural theories is rapidly becoming my favorite part of these channels. I hope the writers keep putting those in for my entertainment.

Now I kinda want to see you start a channel called "Stating the Bloody Obvious"

The thing about proper protocol and what people do in emergency situations is that you can be trained to do one thing, but when it isn't a training scenario but a real one, you may react differently. To me, knowing human nature, it isn't that much of a stretch that the third one would leave if something crazy like a giant wave was happening, going on his instincts to try to help the others over the proper protocol to stay in the light house.

First, I am totally enjoying Decoding the Unknown. Second, I have seen and read about the missing light house keepers but never have I seen such a thorough take on it. Very well written. Simon's take was pretty much on the same page as I was and the minutes just flew by listening to this. Thank you.

Your comment about tall waves is ancient history. Large waves, often called rogue waves, (AKA freak waves, monster waves, episodic waves, killer waves, extreme waves, and abnormal waves, are unusually large, unpredictable and suddenly appearing surface waves that can be extremely dangerous to ships, even to large ones.) were considered urban legends for many years until the Gorm Platform, a North Sea oil rig was hit by a 36 foot wave in 1984, then in 1995 the Draupner Platform suffered minor damage when it was hit by an 84 foot wave. In February 2000, a British oceanographic research vessel, the RRS Discovery, sailing in the Rockall Trough west of Scotland, encountered the largest wave ever recorded by any scientific instruments in the open ocean, with an individual wave height of 95 ft. 10 rogue waves of 82 feet or higher were recorded during a 3 week period in 2004. After such experiences such waves have been considered not only possible, but common. Since then, rogue waves have been recorded by ships, rigs and stations around the world.

Simon, We haven't yet disproven the Loch Ness monster, thank you. Signed. The Scottish Tourist Board. Seriously though you could do a Megaprojects on all the efforts that have been made to find Nessie over the years with material from the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre at Drumnadrochit.

Captain: Why didn't you build the lighthouse? LIghthouse Bureaucrat: Too many ghosts. Captain: But hundreds of sailors have died! Lighthouse Bureaucrat: Where do you think the ghosts came from?!

51 minutes and not a single mention of Cthulhu. Not one! The Loch Ness monster got a shout out, and that thing isn't even a marine animal! What the hell, Simon?! And Katie. And Jen.

I love Simon's analogy of us being like ants to intergalactic aliens. I agree, and my friend made the same argument in high school. That same friend now owns a few ant farms and one can frequently catch him wandering off the trail to poke at the ant hill and look for new specimens. Perhaps that's all we are, just some big Alien Ant Farm

This channel is a lighthouse of reason in a sea of irrational theories. Thanks Simon!

I've been to the Flannan Isles, at least one of the group is a breeding colony for Puffins (since there are no rats on the island) and in August they circle the island in their thousands at dusk. Same trip saw a Force 9 Gale (later learned a fisherman was a casualty of the storm) while sailing on to St Kilda. I can believe the rogue wave for sure - the weather varies from idyllic to hell's fury in a matter of hours (and that's in August, December is much worse!).

This mystery is one of the most interesting ive heard. Ive seen many different channels/outlets do this story and each has something a little different to shine light on. I can't even imagine what could have happened to these men.

The two men could have been caught by a wave and the third saw them in the water (rather than on the pier) from the lighthouse. IF he saw them in the water he absolutely wouldn't wait to put on his coat. Then in trying to rescue the two, possibly by swimming out himself with the life ring, then got into difficulty himself and couldn't get back to the pier. It is unfortunately distressingly common that would be rescuers get into difficulty (often for the exact same reason) and only serve to become victims themselves, especially at sea.

A nautical mile is slightly longer than a regular mile, and quite a bit wetter. - Patrick O’Brien

In my neighborhood (The Bronx, NY) any horror movie we saw in a movie theater just devolved into ghetto MST3K. You're so right Simon, no horror movie was ever scary in that setting. Ahh, the good old days of a "smokey theater" and "Riff Tracking" the movie from beginning to end.

There were 2 keepers who disappeared from Great Isaacs Light - Bahamas in the 1960s, but I don't hear much about it.

Reminded of the story of Thomas Griffith and Thomas Howell. A very grim story, and shows how rough being a keeper could be.

5:44 I used to go to the woods with my girlfriend and watch movies on her laptop inside my van, with the sliding door open, and no lights on or a campfire. We saw the movie Hush, and it was pretty terrifying in that setting.

Simon, Katy, and Jen out here droppin more amazing content

lighthouse keepers now usually work multiple lighthouses and are called "lighthouse maintenance technicians" machines still need regular preventative maintenence.

I’ve never watched this channel but I started on “today I found out” then “casual criminalist” so now I feel so familiar with Simon that all the other stories feel normal. I hope there’s no murder here though bc I too need a break.

Love your channel. I do not like having the dislike option though. I have never disliked your channel, but I should be able to say so. Censorship in it's worst form.

The longest coast with lighthouses is Lake Michigan. The lighthouses usually were run by a family.

7:00 The Nicolas Cage Wicker Man movie DOES NOT EXIST! Yes, there was an original one from the 70s and it's a bloody masterpiece.

Maybe… the large stone became displaced during a rain storm and slid down the hill; upon hearing this, one of the keepers lost their mind and had to be restrained by the other two. In the struggle, he dies. (Choked to hard, hit his head, etc… ). The other two decided to not report it as to not possibly face charges because no one would believe a seasoned lighthouse keeper would loos it. They clean up the place, put on their rain gear and take the body to the west landing and use some of the ropes and missing boat supplies used to secure visiting vessels, to tie him up and put him into the chest or box that held the supplies. They then move the trunk down to the water’s edge and use the remaining rope to tie on rocks or anything that will help container with the body inside, sink. While they prepare to shove this makeshift tomb into Davey Jones’ Locker, they try to get their stories straight. When they reach the edge, they give a mighty push and watch as their former coworker goes in to sleep with the fishes, not realizing that while they were discussing their sure to be a Pulitzer Prize winning story, that their legs have become tangled in the lines of their dearly departed friends bonds. Then in a final fuck you to the living, from their newly de-ghosted partner, the ropes tighten around their ankles and jerk them down into a watery grave and into history. The storms continue and the heavy seas drag the three men further away from their work place to join the thousands of souls already claimed by Poseidon.

After all these consecutive lockdowns last years, the lighthouse keeper work seems a kind of great)))) And if I will be able to have WiFi there.... I will do additional shifts)))

Simon, you've seen Stonehenge, but have you seen Carhenge? (It's a bunch of cars, many partially buried, all spray painted gray and arranged in the same pattern as Stonehenge. It's quite a monument to human something, can't decide what it is.)

It's so odd to me that Simon and many others commenting here don't understand why the sheep were moved. Allow me to state the bloody obvious: 1. Pasture rotation 2. Bringing them to/from market 3. bringing them to the mainland to shelter over the winter and for early spring shearing & lambing season

Three lighthouse keepers was standard; I read that there had been a time when only two were used, but then, the story goes, there was one lighthouse where one keeper died and the other was alone for months with the body [because the weather was too rough to allow a relief crew to land] and went mad. So the new rules came in: one instance of three's company. All UK lighthouses are now automated, though I did see a programme about them having to be visited once a year to change the batteries - but that was quite a while ago. [] The original Wicker Man was made in the 1960s, starring Christopher Lee trying to break out of the cliched Hammer Horror mould, and Edward Woodward. Also three Hammer Horror actresses. It became a cult classic. The Nicholas Cage remake was a piss-poor "homage". I found it on RU-vid, but could only stand about two minutes of it

Jen you missed a glorious opportunity to use a Spinal Tap clip when Simon was going on about the size of Stonehenge. JS. Otherwise, great work as always.

I have never seen people next to Stonehenge. I just looked it up and yeah they are huge. I never realized how big the rocks are. That is kind of crazy. Makes it more impressive because people with more privative technology.

Watching this just made me think about the horror/psychological thriller "The Lighthouse " with William Defoe and Robert Pattinson. Would not be surprised if this was one of the sources of the film. A psychological mind fuck of a film with some fantastic acting and excellent snapshot of the kind of work on a Lighthouse shift.

Was waiting for this topic to come up since this channel started! Fantastic mystery that we learned about in school because of the poem written about it!

I think you should bring back the segment from the first episode where Kate asked her daughter

Please don't do the Loch ness monster. Its overdone and the story has been wrapped up and I'm pretty sure everyone who's interested knows the ins and outs of it. Love this video though looking forward to more 😁

I think one of the contributions to "rogue waves" now being accepted to exist is the video footage. Prior to being able to record and the widely distribute it amongst the public, "rogue waves" were considered just another yarn about the sea that sailors told to frighten landlubbers.

In the 1890s, some keepers began floating their lenses in liquid mercury. The lens's metal base spun more easily in the mercury, which helped the light rotate faster with less frequent winding.

I was listening to this on Spotify and I think that what happened is one of the house keepers went to get something or makes sure the box was secured. he fell, and the other two got washed away trying to save him. imo

I got to do a tour of a lighthouse. Part of it involved being handed a bucket with the equivalent weight of oil they needed to carry up the stairs. It was brutal, and needed to be done like 6 times a night.

Honestly watching horror movies in the cinema is scarier for me than at home, they go NUTS with the volume.

I really appreciate these longer videos; I don’t know why the algorithm suggests creators do 15 second videos??

"I just made a video on one of my other channels, I can't remember which one ..." said Simon, on every one of his videos, on every channel.

I wonder how likely it would be that wreckers did them in? Wreckers are generally locals who contrive to have ships wreck and then salvage the goods on them for profit, and I wonder how likely it would be for a group of them to have decided that the lighthouse was ruining their business, and thought that getting rid of the keepers and putting out the light would solve their problem. Maybe they didn’t realize that someone else would come and just reignite the thing, or maybe they caught wind of that ship that did wreck was on its way and they just wanted it out long enough to make that happen. Speculation, of course, but people do crazy things if they think they’ll make enough coin.

I like the down to earth comical documentaries.

The ocean ranger was hit by a 28 meter wave, so apparently waves over 20meters are possible even without a tsunami. All bets are off with a landslide type tsunami.

Movie with Willem DeFoe and Robert Pattinson is about this mystery. Well done, greatly acted!!

That lightbulb socket in your studio has to be haunted

Just watched the Vanishing and now I'm here because of it

I wonder if anyone checked for earthquake activity in the area. It's very rare for large rocks to be moved by wind.

Whistle-boy! I love these vids!

Because, Simon, Death scares the ever loving fuck out of me. And if I can believe in ghosts, it can bring me some comfort about death. Even if I'm just lying to myself.

An oil rig sensor has a wave measured over 90 ft. 20 meters isn't near their limit. Scientists used to think even 20 meters was impossible, as well as rogue waves altogether

The reason of why there are three lighthouse men is down to the The Smalls Lighthouse, some 20 miles off the scenic Pembrokeshire coast. In those days there were only two men then there was a tragedy and one man died, He couldn't get help and had to tie the corps to the outside but this turned the man left behind mad. It's a lot more complicated than that and is a shocking real story. When Griffith became unwell after a freak accident Howell tried to get help - but help did not come. The pair’s remote location, the battering storms, and the analogue means of communication at the turn of the 19th century meant that Howell was his only hope. After weeks of suffering Griffith died at Smalls Lighthouse. Panicked, Howell was unsure of his next move. He was certain that he would be accused of murdering his colleague, who was in reality known to be a foe, if upon the arrival of other human beings at the post there was only one man to be seen. Throwing the lifeless body of Griffith into the ocean below would incriminate him and paint a picture of a crime he did not commit. Instead he kept the body in the lighthouse. At least, that is, until the stench of a decaying man began to drown his senses. So, he made a coffin, placed Griffith inside and tied it to an exterior shelf. But the storms continued to batter The Smalls, at the rocks, at the lighthouse, and at the mind of Howell, now a lone ranger in the middle of nowhere. Nobody quite knows for sure how long Howell was alone with the corpse of his colleague but it was thought to have been around three weeks. However many days and weeks it was it was long enough for trauma to seep in - trauma caused by the isolation that came with nothing but waves for company and by the haunting presence of a dead body just feet away. After all this was not a large structure - the hut was less than five metres in diameter - so any attempts to escape the reality would have been futile ones. “There has been quite a lot of discussion over the years about how the two men got on,” explains Dr Sian Rees, co-editor of Wales and the Sea - 10,000 Years of Welsh Maritime History. “I don’t know for certain the nature of that relationship but what is clear is that they must have been extraordinary people to be able to withstand those conditions. “Howell had been a joiner previously and he made the coffin in which he put Griffith. That in itself must have taken a few days. Once he had finished it he placed Griffith inside and put the coffin on a shelf outside. But the extreme weather conditions blew the coffin apart. “There was not a lot of room in there so Howell would not have been spared the sight of this but the light still burned and there have been a lot of descriptions of ships going past and seeing the light still on, not realising what had happened. It’s a tragic tale.”

The Dungeness Spit Lighthouse has a team of volunteers that man it and swap out every few months. But 90% of that is because it's a tourist attraction, and they also conducted some experiments out there. But the Dungeness Spit (Olympic Peninsula, Washington State, USA) is a constantly shifting sand bar, so they need to constantly update the navigation charts, which is also part of their job.

my new favorite channel by simon, i stay laughing, you guys are doing great things.

most lighthouses are automated these days, but there are exceptions. An example is the Lighthouse of Cordouan which while fully automated still has keepers to maintain it as it is an Historic Monument.

Yeah, I remember way back when. When Zombie land was in theaters, the power went out suddenly. And someone in the back jokingly yelled. “Well, guess the zombies are gonna get us!”. My family and I waited a bit, to see if it’d start back up. It didn’t. So, thinking everyone already left, I jumped up outta my seat! Onto one leg, another leg raised in the air! And let rip a loud echoing fart into the theater! It was awesome! Then I turned around, and see that the whole crowd’s still there. And I started laughing hysterically, right outta the room. Nonstop. All the way to the car. The silence of the crowd after that fart, and the way they all looked at me. In both smiles and disgust, was amazing. I was hoping the place was empty, but, then was glad it wasn’t. One of the funniest memories I’ve got. Anyway. The reason the power went out, was because someone crashed into a pole. That held the power for the movie theater. Don’t know much else about that part. (Autocorrect got me, so edit) edit.

The Wilhelm Scream. Nice

I love your shows …….watch as many as I can…….

I understand old writing better than most modern ways of writing lol! Comes of too much Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice, I suppose.

Back when the lighthouses ran on oil lamps they had to constantly polish the mirrors, because otherwise there would be no greater reflection of the light and the light would not show far enough because the mirrors would get soot on them, as would the mantle of the lamp itself, so there was a lot of elbow grease involved and they had to go up and down quite a lot and expect quite a bit of physical labor.

All three fell madly in love with each other. Had nights of passionate love making. Eventually they got an owl and pussycat to build them a pea green boat and they sailed away too Hawaii. 🤣🌈🤪

I'm pretty sure that dodgy socket is haunted.

I researched this a lot in school and this is what I came to. Mccarther owned a gun and took it to work to shoot birds in his free time. There is record that he had his wife were in severe debt and about to loose everything and won’t be able to provide for their children so they came to a option of getting life insurance for working out there. He took his gun out that night and shot the two men and threw them over the rocks and then stood near the rocks and shot then fell. This explains why he put out the light and left the coat because he knew he wouldn’t need it. His wife later got the life insurance payout

I went to Stonehenge in the mid 70's when you were still allowed to go up to it. I was around ten or eleven. I slapped the rocks and sat on one of the fallen stones. One thing you see up close that you never see in pics is all the graffiti. They were covered with graffiti, some of it pretty high up there. Some of the graffiti itself is really old, though.

OK Simon. I've heard you say you liked Star Trek growing up but pulling Gul Dukat out of nowhere there convinces me. Live long and prosper!

Wasn't the Hesperus a famous wreck? I think it was a poem, even.

‘Stating the bloody obvious’ would make for a fantastic new channel.

Ok, top of my head hypothesis as to why the two men were down on the west landing in the first place. Smugglers. They receive one shipment off a ship before the day in question, hold it, then give it to a boat to be taken to another vessel. This would explain why they would have to be down there despite bad weather (ship can't be late or else questions) why they were down there in dangerous conditions (money) and fits in with the bad weather hypothesis. I don't know how common it was for lighthouse keepers to participate in such things, nor what would be smuggled in that location which would warrant such logistics.

Great video, fascinating subject. And Simon, good luck with the flight training! You're going to have a lot of fun with that.

Stating the Obvious should be another of SImon's Channels

I earned my pilots license in 1974. Ages before the new regulations that are in place now AND I earned it in North America, which allowed me to avoid all of the regulatory bullshit that you are dealing with, in Europe. I earned my "private" certificate in 42 hours. Imagine that!!!!! I flew planes in Massachusetts, Texas, New Jersey and, most importantly, in Hawaii, USA. I flew to all of the Hawaiian islands that allowed visitors (more on that if you are interested) and I am SO happy that I did so. I don't envy your path to your certificate and yet, I am pretty sure that you will have earned it, in a big way, if you actually pursue it to the end. Good luck. I'm betting that you will. (Don't disappoint me!)(HA!) Good luck with this endeavor. I am subscribed to most of your channels.

Nice use of the Wilhelm scream. *Tips hat

Why isn't the fourth lighthouse keeper stationed on the mainland the one watching to see if the light is working instead of Gamekeeper Mackenzie?

According to the Buzzfeed Unsolved episode on this mystery; the sheep commuted because of some superstitious quality to the grazing. Questionable, but I'm not a shepherd, so I don't know if it would be worth boating sheep around for the possibility that magic grass can make my sheep extra fertile or whatever.

Yes there are still lighthouse keepers well in the US, in my city we have one. Boston City law legit passed in 1989 lol states the Boston light must always remained manned.

My theory is that it was McArthur who left first, a hot head who might well have had a drinking problem gets posted there straight from another lighthouse and ends up cracking from stress, burnout, and/or withdrawal and wanders outside without his jacket, the other two notice and get dressed the the weather and start a search around the building, when they are blown off the cliffs.

That movie was fantastic, gotta watch.

His why are your sheep commuting had me laughing so much

St Catherine's Lighthouse, Isle of Wight, is stilled manned.

Simon, if you ever make a pure shorts channel, call it "stating the obvious" ;P

"Why are your sheep commuting?" Seriously one of your best rants ever.

Ah yes, I can't wait for Simon's New Channel, "Stating The Bloody Obvious." I'd definitely give it a watch

a friend of mine in Cornwall used to work as a security guard and was frequently assigned to remote buildings like disused asylums, homes, and on one occasion he spent two weeks at a light house. They may be mechanized, but some are guarded because of the risk of vandals and would be ghost hunters and the potential damage to equipment.

Decoding the Unknown is slowly becoming one of my favorites. Thanks guys for something always interesting & entertaining. Katie & Jen are so good they can cover up the chaos Fact Boy brings. (Although that's part of the fun.)

I've heard this covered by probably close to a dozen RU-vidrs, but I'm still going to watch this, that's how much I love this channel.

The immediate boost of confidence when Simon says something correctly is exactly what I needed today 😂 #Legend

Simon lighthouse keeper do still exist, but mostly as a mechanic. I have a friend who used to work at one in/near Aero, Denmark.

Simon, up until the late 20th century most off-shore lighthouses required people living on-site to ensure the light had sufficient fuel to operate and was turned on when required at dusk. Originally they had oil and similar fuels for the light itself and when electric lights were installed they had to ensure the generators had sufficient fuel to work to supply the electricity.

The wave doesn’t have to be 30 meters tall to hit the rock 30 meters up. The force of the moving water would push it up the hill to wet the steps or knock them down

“Horror movies in the Theater aren’t that scary”, Simon, the OG Exorcist movie would like to have a word with you. Also, you should totally cover the Sker House in Wales on this channel!! Totally spooky and creepy.

38:00 It is my understanding that a great many _Lighthouse Keepers,_ were former sailors very much used to being alone/part of small crews for extended periods of time. A big part of that life is being able to live with another's foibles as they overlook yours. It's kind of part of the job.