The Ballad of Flannan Isle

"The Ballad of Flannan Isle" was a poem by Wilfred Gibson.

It was mentioned and quoted by the Fourth Doctor while leaving Fang Rock:


 * ''Aye: 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 untouch'd meal,
 * And an overtoppled chair.
 * (TV: Horror of Fang Rock)

Behind the scenes
In the real world the poem is known simply as Flannan Isle and deals with a mysterious incident that occurred on the Flannan Isles in 1900, when three lighthouse-keepers disappeared without explanation. The parallelism with the incident of Fang Rock is clear.