Unexplained Mysteries

The Vanished Paralyzed Man & The Flannan Isles Mystery & The Time Travel Tunnel

One of the most baffling disappearances has to be that of the retired sailor, Owen Parfitt from his home in 1763.

Parfitt shared a home with his older sister in the small country town of Shepton Mallet. In his younger days he was a sailor. But it's also alleged that he was involved in a number of dubious practices such as - piracy, smuggling and piracy. He was also a known womaniser. >:) There are references to a scandal that broke out, involving his much younger cousin called Dorothy.

It's not known exactly when Parfitt suffered a stroke. However, the condition left him unable to move on his own and he was cared for by his sister. She was assisted by a friend a night as two people were needed to get the now 60 year old Parfitt in and out of bed.

Frequently during the day and in the evenings, Parfitt would sit outside the house wearing just a nightshirt and was kept upright by placing his old great coat underneath him. But on one particular evening he simply vanished. While many farm hands were working in the fields next to the house and his sister was inside, Parfitt mysteriously disappeared. The alarm was raised when his sister's friend came to help her put Parfitt into bed. The two women went outside to assist him in, but there was nothing there except the great coat. Helped by the farm hands a thorough search was made in the area, but no trace of him was found.

His sister maintained that he was spirited away by the Devil because of his lurid past. Other rumours suggested that he was kidnapped and made to reveal the hiding place of buried treasure he had stolen during his days as a pirate. But kidnapping was ruled out as neither his sister nor the many farm workers close by, had heard any noise of a struggle or violence. Moreover the place where Parfitt was sitting was not disturbed - his great coat that was used to keep him upright, was still in the same position as his sister had placed it earlier that day.

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The Flannan Isles is a beautiful location off the North West coast of Scotland. They are part of the larger group of Islands - the Outer Hebrides. The Flannans are also known as the Seven Hunters. Apart from the lighthouse, the islands are mainly a habitat for wildlife. It is this lighthouse that gave rise to one of the most puzzling mysteries in the UK files of missing people.

The year is 1900 and about one week before Christmas. Not one person went missing from the isolated light house but three - James Ducat, Thomas Marshall and Donald MacArthur. It was a ship on route from Philadelphia to Edinburgh that raised the first alarm. On passing the lighthouse the crew noticed that the light was not working and reported the matter as soon as they docked.

Finally, a relief boat - The Hesperus - arrived at the island on December 26th 1900. Captain Jim Harvie had the whole island searched in addition to the lighthouse. But the men could not be found.

The search party began a more exhaustive investigation, searching for any clues that would point to the source of the keepers' disappearance. Looking in all areas of the lighthouse they noticed nothing out of place. The work for the 15th December had all been completed - machines cleaned and oiled, lunch plates, pots and pans washed, kitchen tidied. These observations pointed to the fact that the men probably disappeared sometime in the afternoon after they had eaten lunch; as no further cooking had been carried out for the evening. A search of the sleeping quarters showed that their beds had not been slept in. The clocks in the light house had all stopped. The doors and windows were secure and showed no sign of damage. The mystified search party completed a report on their findings and left the island.

The main theory then put forward was that a recent savage storm had been responsible in some way, for their disapperance. However, the lighthouse keeper's last log was dated 15 December - this was at least 24 hours after the storm had passed. One of the keepers had also recorded in the log what outside damage had been caused by the ferocious winds. When the news broke that the keepers were alive after the storm abated, all manner of theories and rumours erupted.

Some of theories given were:

Despite the date, the storm was in some way responsible - the most likely theory was that the keepers had been swept out to sea. A freak wave or other natural phenomena had caught the keepers off guard - most likely causing them to be drowned. One of the keepers had murdered the other two and then committed suicide. Although there doesn't seem to be any reason to think that the keepers were other than friendly with one another. A sea serpent or other monster was seriously considered. Up until this time there had been hundreds of reports from all over the world about huge sea serpents/monsters that could swallow ships whole. Most of these accounts have proved to be misidentifcations and hearsay. The light house keepers had been kidnapped by spies. This is unlikely as no ransom money or any other demand was made for the mens' return. The light house keepers had been murdered by persons unknown. One theory put forward was that the murders were committed by a ghostly crew from a phantom ship! Leaving the spooks aside, if murder was the cause then it was the cleanest one ever committed. There was no sign of trauma, blood or violence of any kind. In addition, robbery is highly unlikely as nothing was taken.

It might have been expected that at least one of the bodies would have shown up - either washed ashore or discovered in another location. However, no trace of the men were ever found. So intriguing is this mystery that not only songs and poems have been written about it, but an opera also.

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In 1975, a man named Jackson Wright was driving with his wife from New Jersey to New York City. This required them to travel through the Lincoln Tunnel. According to Wright, who was driving, once through the tunnel he pulled the car over to wipe the windshield of condensation. His wife Martha volunteered to clean off the back window so they could more readily resume their trip. When Wright turned around, his wife was gone. He neither heard nor saw anything unusual take place, and a subsequent investigation could find no evidence of foul play. Martha Wright had just disappeared. This story is cool but can easily be a hoax.