Previews

Brief Story Introduction: 1912: A young cartographer, Parker, is sent to the Cornish harbour town of Trewarthan, where he is to map the lethal rocks that have claimed lives through the centuries. A thick fog rolls in from the English Channel as the faithful light of Fetch Rock Lighthouse is plunged into darkness, putting the lives of those at sea in peril. Parker is sent to investigate, where he discovers that Fetch Rock Lighthouse hides an ancient secret....

Extended Story Introduction: 1912: The jagged, lethal rocks around the bay of Trewarthan have claimed many lives throughout the passing centuries, which is why Parker has been sent to draw up scaled and accurate coastal maps of the area.
Arriving in the town, Parker senses hostility. Is it simply his work that the local fishermen fear, or is there more to Trewarthan than meets the eye?

Why do the locals avoid any mention of the lighthouse on Fetch Rock?

At dusk of April 29th, darkness begins to fall across the coastline, the sea is calm and all seems well....

A foghorn breaks the silence. A thick mist creeps across the channel towards the town....

Rumours begin to fly that Fetch Rock lighthouse has been plunged into darkness. How will the returning fishermen guide their trawlers into the safety of the harbour... what has happened to the lighthouse keepers...?

Parker may be their only hope. Armed with his compass, charts and wits he sets off to uncover the mystery. Along the way he discovers that Fetch Rock and its lighthouse have a very sinister history....

Is time running out? Or does it have an agenda of its own....

Arriving at Fetch Rock, it becomes immediately obvious that all is not well. The lighthouse men (keepers) have vanished without trace. An untouched meal, still warm, is laid out on the crew-room table. The oilskins (fisherman's coats) are still hanging on their pegs, which suggests they didn't leave the lighthouse. The actual light is plunged into darkness, with the mechanism destroyed beyond repair. What evil is at work this dark night?

Main Character Profiles: Benjamin Parker was born on the 7th of November 1883 to middle class parents in London. A childhood dream to be a painter is shattered when his authoritative father enrols the young student to the London Academy of Cartography (map making). Finding the work both dull, and stifling, Parker becomes known for his avant-garde work and highly decorative maps. Upon graduation, the Academy dispatches our hero to the furthest reaches of the British Isles, to map rocks around the Scottish coast. Many years of loneliness and self-doubt follow…. …until he is suddenly contacted by a Mr. Robert Demarion, of the Cornish harbour town of Trewarthan (pronounced Tray-war-fan). Recent maritime disappearances at sea have prompted the Academy to review their maps of the area. Parker is requested to get to work immediately. The locals, who deny all knowledge of the nearby lighthouse of Fetch Rock, hinder his work. Unperturbed, Parker travels to the lighthouse, one fog shrouded night, to find out why.

Story Foundations:

Dark Fall II: Lights Out is loosely based on the famous "Flannan Isle" mystery.

Flannan Isle is a small island in the Western Isles, off the coast of Scotland. Christmas of 1901: The lighthouse fell into darkness and the three lighthouse keepers disappeared over night. What did happen that night?

On December 15th 1900 a passing ship (the Hesperus) noticed that the Flannan light was not flashing, so it went, very quickly, to the mainland and reported it. It went back, with five volunteers, and three of the volunteers went ashore to see what they could find. They searched everywhere, but they could not find them anywhere. First, they found the front door ajar, then, they went up stairs to the landing of the living room. They decided to burst in together. So they did, and only found a canarys starving on it's perch, an over-toppled chair, a full meal, untouched, the log book, filled in until the 13th of December and notes for the 14th and 15th on a slate, and two oilskins missing.

They then searched the bedroom, but, not surprisingly, found nothing. They checked outside again, but, of course, did not find them. They went back to the ship and told the captain the news. The Hesperus set sail, once again, back to Oban, and reported the terrible news.

Eventually, three other volunteers and two seamen were left on the island to keep the light flashing. But what happened to Ducat, Marshall and MacArthur will always be a mystery.

The tale was immortalised by Wilfred Gibson in 1901:

Extract:

Ay, though we hunted high and low, And hunted everywhere, Of the three men’s fate we found no trace, of any kind in any place: But a door ajar, and an untouched meal, and an overtoppled chair.

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