I have not got my magic phones on.”. Allison C. Meier is a former staff writer for Hyperallergic. Dennis. Indeed, she was an early fixation of Gef’s. I am the eighth wonder of the world!” Gef himself was unsure of his form, or powers, sometimes claiming to have magical abilities, or clairvoyance, which required some form of invisible technology. It didn’t take Gef long to enamor himself to the Irvings, quickly becoming more than a pet. A wonder of the 1940s where an ordinary chicken survived for 18 months with no head after being cut off with an axe. 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'). 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!" 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. 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. Gef! 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 … Nowadays this story falls between the cracks of historical significance, much like reports of Rat-Kings, the Alpine Tatzelwurm, and the native American Thunderbird. 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. 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.. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. When this activity became more pronounced and developed into coherent speech, the 1930s British tabloid press went into overdrive and turned Gef into something of a media sensation. 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. 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. It has been superseded with stories of ghosts, UFOs, Bigfoot, and even dinosaur sightings. He’s the man who puts the kybosh on the spirits! 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. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA Notice, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. That in itself is quite the testament to willpower and determination to survive anything. 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 am a ghost in the form of a weasel, and I shall haunt you with weird noises and clanking chains." In the early 1930s however, an even more astonishing story of the Dalby Spook hit international headlines. On an American farm, there was Mike the headless chicken. : The Strange Tale of an Extra-special Talking Mongoose (courtesy Strange Attractor), “The slit in the matchboarding through which Gef threw a packing-case needle at Capt. Gef! HARRIS, Melvin. Gef often helped around the house, turning off stoves accidentally left on, awaking over-sleepers, and that kind of thing. London: Orbis Publishing 1983, pp. During his investigation, Price took care to avoid supporting or condemning the Irvings reports, trusting that facts would speak for themselves. 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. Gef remained behind or at least didn’t go with them. The depth of the slit (4″) is shown by the other knife which Mr. Irving holds.,” from Gef! for the Los Angeles Review of Books, “Looking for a motive beyond profit and fame suggests a family in turmoil, a crisis that manifested itself in a mischievous and protective supernatural creature.” Whatever occurred, Voirrey, who died in 2005, never confessed a role in the creation of Gef. The Irvings' farm was located at Cashen's Gap near the hamlet of Dalby on the Isle of Man.The story was given extensive coverage by the tabloid press in Britain in the early 1930s. You guessed it, he was a talking mongoose who got up to all kinds of hijinks. I am a freak. 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. The one suspicion that lingers is that the “hoaxer” was Gef himself. Image credit: Canstockphoto. Cover of Gef! The corpse that he put on display was black and white and by all accounts was considerably larger than Gef. Price also remarked on so-called peep-holes along the skirting boards and walls. 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