Merlin and the Flannan Isle Lighthouse Mystery - story info

Merlin and the
Flannan Isle Lighthouse
Mystery

A novelette inspired by two real unsolved mysteries.
A prequel to The Merlin Paradox.

Merlin, a young runecaster and a half demon, is eager to prove to the world the power of magitech. With his innovative gadget, he can solve any mystery and secure the launch of his career.

That is if the world is ready to handle what he uncovers.

The real-life mysteries
that inspired this story

This story offers an explanation to seemingly unrelated and unsolved real-life mysteries from worlds apart.

Flannan Isles are located off the coast of Scotland. One of the islets is Eileen Mor, home to the infamous lighthouse, where in December of 1900 three lighthouse keepers disappeared, leaving cryptic clues behind. No bodies were ever found.

Explaining their disappearance as a mere accident is plausible, but why would three experienced keepers vanish during calm weather? Their journal entries describe them praying for the evil storm to leave them alone.

What storm? What evil?

Add to this another unexplained mystery

Deep in the heart of Vermont, lies a forest obscured in myths, dubbed as the Bennington Triangle. The area encompasses a few small towns surrounding the Glastenbury Mountain. Founded during the boom of logging industry, the towns are now abandoned with only few residents remaining.

In a span of five years, five disappearances were reported in the area, of which only one body was recovered years later. Cause of death couldn’t be determined, and the cases were never solved.

A little island on harsh, cold, sea, and a scenic forest, beloved by hardened hikers—two mysterious sites that seem to have nothing in common.

Or do they?

This novelette is

free to read online.

Enjoy!

A few fun facts about this short story

When I stumbled upon the article describing the unsolved mystery of the disappearance of Flannan Isle lightkeepers, I felt like I was reading a writing prompt. I wrote down the details, thinking to find a use for this mystery in one of my stories one day.

I didn’t have to wait long. Come Wattpad prompt for Sci-Fi Holiday Contest (2020):

We all know a time machine can't be built. But what if someone invented a camera that could film events in the past?

And I thought, what if young Merlin invented a camera like that and tried to solve the lighthouse mystery? What would he find?

While researching what lighthouses looked like, I found an old picture of an elderly lightkeeper with a cat in his beard. I fell in love with him and decided to incorporate him into the story. He only got one paragraph as a painting on a wall, but I’d like to think that he’s one of the characters. Feeling sorry that I couldn’t give him the spotlight he deserved, I drew him. Now, he is a real character.

Merlin and the
Flannan Isle Lighthouse
Mystery