A recurring theory is that the daughter Voirrey used ventriloquism to throw the high-pitched Gef voice around the house. : The Strange Tale of an Extra-special Talking Mongoose (courtesy Strange Attractor), Alleged photograph of Gef, showing him “in distinctly cat-like form” (May 1936) from Gef! Once when Margaret asked him about her husband’s long absence, Gef responded: “I don’t know. Yet as Colin Dickey wrote in his article on Gef! : The Strange Tale of an Extra-special Talking Mongoose (courtesy Strange Attractor), The visual history of Gef is particularly interesting. In this episode of The Talking Mongoose, Stuart Steen McFaull chats to Paul Jones about FC IOM. The one suspicion that lingers is that the “hoaxer” was Gef himself. Gef on Gef "I am an earthbound spirit." A sample of fur, which analysis concluded that it was dog hair, most likely from Mona, the family dog. I could kill you all, but I won’t” — and proclaim godlike talents — “I’ll split the atom! TTM Episode 15: Interview with Shelley Langan-Newton Amanda Cashmore speaks with Head of Environmental Health, Glenn Blacker. The story of one of the weirdest poltergeist cases on record continues to run and run. Photographs of the camera-shy Gef appear alternately cat and squirrel-like, always obscured, and his own attempt at a self-portrait is barely more than a scrawl. "I know who I am but I shan't tell you. Gef became part of the family and it reminds me very much of the Bell Witch, except it was a lot less hostile - although still at times unpleasant and demanding. I don’t like that Harry Price! : The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Talking Mongoose", Christopher Josiffe investigates a 1930s mystery on the Isle of Man. London: Orbis Publishing 1983, pp. Famed parapsychologists such as Harry Price learned about Gef and began an investigation. A wonder of the 1940s where an ordinary chicken survived for 18 months with no head after being cut off with an axe. Sometime after, the new owner shot a large mongoose-like animal which may have been the creature. Interesting history topics are just a click away. "I am not a spirit. Hairs thought to be from Gef turned out to belong to the family dog, and the few photographs Price was able to take were of poor quality, and one of them appeared to show a cat. Josiffe journeys to the ruins of the Isle of Man farmhouse, torn down in 1971, where it all began, and revisits the 1936 book on Gef — The Haunting of Cashen’s Gap — authored by Richard S. Lambert with paranormal investigator Harry Price. The farm’s new owner, a man called Leslie Graham, proclaimed that he had shot and killed a ‘funny looking animal’ in 1946. The strange saga of Gef the talking mongoose began in Autumn 1931 in an isolated hilltop farmstead on the Isle of Man known as Doarlish Cashen (Manx for 'Cashen's Gap'). Accept Read More, http://gefmongoose.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-story-of-gef.html, Lake Avernus Mythology, Oracles, and the Underworld, Indrid Cold: Grinning Man of 1960s American Folklore, Stingy Jack and the History of the Jack-o’-Lantern, Dark Legend of the Celle Neues Rathaus, Germany. Voirrey Irving was twelve and thirteen years old at the time of the notoriety. I am a freak. Maybe the legend of Gef the Talking Mongoose was a collective fantasy, the product of a basic human desire for other-wordly wonder and magic. Other accounts speculate that the precocious Voirrey told school chums of her chatty little pal, no doubt inspired by Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a short st… I am a little extra, extra clever mongoose." So what exactly was the Dalby Spook? Gef! : The Strange Tale of an Extra-special Talking Mongoose (courtesy Strange Attractor), Alleged photograph of Gef, showing him “in distinctly cat-like form” (December 1935) from Gef! One of the more popular theories is the idea that Gef was not a real talking mongoose at all, but rather a poltergeist taking the form of one. Price also remarked on so-called peep-holes along the skirting boards and walls. On an American farm, there was Mike the headless chicken. James Irving, age 58, Margaret, age 54, and their daughter Voirrey, age 13, collectively experienced the manifestation of Gef at their farmhouse on the Isle of Man. Claiming to be a mongoose from India that was born in 1852 in India, the voice called itself Gef and always claimed it was a flesh and blood creature. The Irvings left the farmhouse, and Gef, in 1937. : The Strange Tale of an Extra-special Talking Mongoose (courtesy Strange Attractor), “Gap in the concrete step from which Gef’s voice was heard,” from Gef! Researched extensively by legendary ghost hunter, Harry Price, Gef was thought to be a spirit that took shape in the form of a talking mongoose. “I am the ghost in the form of a weasel and I shall haunt you,” proclaimed Gef, a spectral creature that became part of the Irving family’s daily life in 1931. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. As James would later describe, what started as a “tap, tap, tap at night” within their walls developed into an ongoing conversation with this astute, and often snide, “man-weasel” who had decided to make their isolated home his own abode. Indeed, she was an early fixation of Gef’s. There's some indication the tale originated when 13 year-old Voirrey Irving, an accomplished rabbit hunter, began saying that dead rabbits she brought home were killed by her friend, a sentient mongoose, and before long she had her parents believing the tale and spreading it to their neighbors. Dalby Spook, or Gef, was allegedly a talking mongoose which became a sensation in the 1930s. Looks more like a llama!’,” from Gef! Josiffe concludes that when he started to research the case, he was “confident that a close reading of the primary sources,” combined with the recollections of the Isle of Man inhabitants, “would be sufficient to establish whether it had been a hoax, or a genuine paranormal phenomenon.” Instead, the deeper he looked, “the evidence became more conflicting, pointing on the one hand to fraud, and — at the same time — to something inexplicable.”, Examining Gef’s prints, from Gef! Gef (/ ˈ dʒ ɛ f / JEF), also referred to as the Talking Mongoose or the Dalby Spook, was the name given to an allegedly talking mongoose which was claimed to inhabit a farmhouse owned by the Irving family. In September 1931, the Irving family, consisting of James, Margaret and a 13-year-old daughter named Voirrey, claimed they heard persistent scratching, rustling, and vocal noises behind their farmhouse’s wooden wall panels that variously resembled a ferret, a dog or a baby. In this time of craziness when we’ve all been forced into our homes I wanted to get creative, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I wanted to have an excuse to shut the kitchen door on my adorable family, drink wine by myself and share my passion for all things tasty. Founded in 2009, Hyperallergic is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. It didn’t take Gef long to enamor himself to the Irvings, quickly becoming more than a pet. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. Voirrey Irving, the young daughter who many considered to be responsible for a potential hoax, was adamant that the slain animal was not Gef at all. Was it somehow real?! In the early 1930s however, an even more astonishing story of the Dalby Spook hit international headlines. The depth of the slit (4″) is shown by the other knife which Mr. Irving holds.,” from Gef! If Voirrey knew who or what Gef was, she took that knowledge to the grave in 2005 and left the world with one of the most bizarre and perplexing mysteries of any generation. Coming straight from the Mongoose’s mouth itself, the Dalby Spook was a name given to a mongoose that had managed to master the art of speech. “The Mongoose That Talked & Lost For Words” In Peter Brookesmith (ed) _Open Files_. A convenient excuse as in the build-up Price’s arrival, Gef let his feelings be known. Gef often helped around the house, turning off stoves accidentally left on, awaking over-sleepers, and that kind of thing. Gef! When her parents attempted to move her bed to their room, he let out a shrill shriek: “I’ll follow her, wherever you move her.” It would also account for her father’s incredible earnestness in all of his discussions of Gef. Become a member today », “Harry Price commissioned artist George Scott to draw a sketch of Gef, based on the Irvings’ descriptions of him. Gef the Talking Mongoose) can now be told. Although now a largely forgotten tale, the sensational Gef (pronounced Jeff), the ‘talking mongoose’ of the Isle of Man, or as he is sometimes known, the Dalby Spook, caused an international media stir during the 1930s.. Fur samples (revealed to be that of a dog), paw prints, and photographs of James Irving pointing to his “hands” emerging from a wall, or a concrete step where Gef’s voice was heard, only add to the eeriness of the tale, rather than dispelling its myths. Post Mortem Photography – Immortalizing the Dead. It has been superseded with stories of ghosts, UFOs, Bigfoot, and even dinosaur sightings. The Irving family themselves appear in these photographs, neatly dressed and apparently sane, posed in front of their remote home. there are 3,530,000 results). Attack on Lady Florence Dixie: “Saved by Her St. Bernard”. The corpse that he put on display was black and white and by all accounts was considerably larger than Gef. Gef, when queried on if he knew what death was, said: “Yes, a changeover.”, “‘How Gef showed his fingers’ — Irving is pointing towards a pair of white, hand-like objects that protrude from the gap between the wooden rafter and the sloping roof. Can you think of another "talking mongoose"? You guessed it, he was a talking mongoose who got up to all kinds of hijinks. While he’s frequently referred to as a “mongoose,” he was initially called the “Dalby Spook” (referring to his geographic location on the Isle of Man). At first, Gef made his presence known by random scratches, rustling, and general activity within the cavities of the farmhouse at Cashen’s Gap, close to Dalby on the Isle of Man. : The Strange Tale of an Extra-special Talking Mongoose (courtesy Strange Attractor). When Price concluded his investigation and left the island, Gef reappeared, claiming that he had taken a few days holiday. Seven years of research, trawling local newspapers, esoteric journals, interviewing locals, and with field trips to the Isle of Man, Liverpool, parapsychology archives in London and Cambridge, finally the wait is over and the definitive history of the Dalby Spook (a.k.a. He became a member of the family itself. Please consider supporting our journalism, and help keep our independent reporting free and accessible to all. Although he reported no conversations with Gef the talking mongoose, he did catch and kill an unusual small animal that, he told local press, ‘answers to all descriptions’ of Gef… It was not a successful farm; James “Jim” Irving, an educated man, had previously been a traveling salesman, and although the farm was his retirement project, it was proving insufficient to support his wife, Margaret, and their daughter, Voirrey. The animal eventually identified itself as Gef and was first discovered by the Irving family in September 1931. Gef happily feasted on biscuits, chocolate, and bananas. : The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Talking Mongoose (photo of the book for Hyperallergic). “Over the years my understanding of the Irving family’s experiences almost a century ago has taken many twists and turns, shifting in shape and form almost as many times as Gef himself, so I present here the facts of the case and leave you to draw your own conclusions as to who, or what that clever little mongoose really was,” Josiffe writes in a foreword. HARRIS, Melvin. He did evaluate the family and considered them to be honest and decent people. I do not know, but I do know that I have heard today a voice which I should never have imagined could issue from a human throat: that the people who claim it was the voice of the strange weasel seem sane, honest, and responsible folk and not likely to indulge in a difficult, long drawn-out, and unprofitable practical joke to make themselves the talk of the world; and that others have had the same experience as myself. Tragedy on the S.S. Ourang Medan – Fact or Legend. Richard welcomes a TV producer and author to discuss one of the strangest cases in paranormal history: A talking mongoose that terrorized a family living on an isolated farm on the Isle of … According to reports, Gef did much more than talk. If the Irvings were sane and unable to profit, or uninterested in profiting, off of Gef, then, such logic runs, a talking mongoose is suddenly the most reasonable answer. Tagged #unsolved mysteries #curious stories #thinking #sideways #thinking sideways. This does sound all fine and dandy, but there was a darker, more sinister side to the animal. He could be violent — “You don’t know what damage or harm I could do if I were roused. Allison C. Meier is a former staff writer for Hyperallergic. The farm was home to 60-yr-old Jim Irving, his wife Margaret, and their 12-yr old daughter Voirrey. He would often boast or brag that he was the 8th wonder of the world; he was an extra clever mongoose; perhaps most chilling of all. He refused to show himself to the family, and was often at times quite ill-mannered. In "Gef! I have hands and I have feet, and if you saw me you’d faint, you’d be petrified, mummified, turned into stone or a pillar of salt! Though he is largely forgotten, a small but obsessive band of researchers refuses to let Gef go.The Story of Gef by Clifford Malcolm Willett"If you knew what I know, you'd know a hell of a lot!" are images and accounts from Josiffe’s years-long obsession with this singing, stealing, multilingual talking mongoose (who was said to speak phrases in English, French, German, Yiddish, Spanish, Flemish, and Hebrew). 19-27. Indeed there are many cases of poltergeists taking animal forms, so perhaps Gef was some spirit, ghost, demon, or other supernatural entity. Although he never got to see or hear Gef for himself, Price was able to collect evidence that could corroborate the Irvings’ version of events. : The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Talking Mongoose, A Mysterious 17th-Century Artist Who Saw Visions in Firewood's Rings, Irving Harper, a Mid-Century Designer Whose Playful Paper Art Deserves A Look, A Brief Guide on How to Get Your Creative Work Seen, Funded, and Supported, A Prison Abolitionist Ceramics Studio Is Helping Change People’s Lives, Arts Leaders Call for Senior Executives to Resign at Americans for the Arts, A Surrealist Yves Tanguy Painting Was Tossed in Trash at a German Airport, University of Florida Offers a Funded MFA Degree in Its Cutting-edge Studio Art Program, German Film Office and Arsenal Berlin Present “Comes the Revolution: The Berlinale Forum at 50”, UC Davis’s MFA in Design Program Welcomes Prospective Students to a Virtual Open House, Tulsa Artist Fellowship Provides Extraordinary Support, Washington University in St. Louis Offers Competitive Funding for Inclusive MFA Programs, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. On an American farm, there was Mike the headless chicken. What at first appears like an obvious hoax becomes something more complex, as Gef’s presence as a spirit, ghost, hallucination, possessed animal, indication of family hysteria, or a young daughter’s ploy for attention are all methodically examined. Gef the Talking Mongoose A family on the Isle of Man, in 1931, found that they had a rather strange house guest who called himself Gef. "If I were a spirit, I could not kill rabbits." Subject: Gef, the Talking Mongoose. : The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Talking Mongoose (courtesy Strange Attractor). Nowadays this story falls between the cracks of historical significance, much like reports of Rat-Kings, the Alpine Tatzelwurm, and the native American Thunderbird. Dennis. Surely, Gef was a “hoax” of some kind, if only of “War of the Worlds” variety. : The Strange Tale of an Extra-special Talking Mongoose (courtesy Strange Attractor), Photograph from Gef! There's an intriguing comment by one 'Gypsy Bowels' who claims to have visited Doarlish Cashen as a young child in the mid 40's. He was a talking mongoose who lived on the Island of Man. Support Hyperallergic’s independent arts journalism. Georgia Guidestones: Who Paid for It and Why? Imagine if Gef was discovered today, he would be all over the internet for days, weeks, or even months to come. It might seem like quite a lot of pages to devote to one early 20th-century mystery, but Josiffe contextualizes Gef within a paranormal moment in Great Britain (emerging alongside such cryptids as the less verbose Loch Ness Monster, who drew international notice in 1933), as well as the enduring engagement with Spiritualism. Remote home house guest who called himself Gef, more sinister side to the animal identified! All refer to Gef ( and yeh neatly dressed and apparently sane, posed in front their! The Worlds ” variety allison C. Meier is a puzzle of the 1940s an! 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