Gef the talking mongoose???

Are any of our friends from across the pond familiar with the story of Gef?

www.theparanormalreport.com...

By J.M.Sinclair

In September of 1931 in a small farm house on the Isle of Man, the Irving family began hearing odd sounds coming from the attic of the home. Initially, they sounded like a wild animal moving around, but after a time the 'animal' began making sounds reportedly similar to those of a baby learning how to speak. It then began to mimic words spoken by the Irvings, much in the fashion of a parrot.

Within months, the creature, which the family apparently hadn't yet seen directly, began speaking increasingly fluent English, relating to the Irvings that it had been born in New Delhi, India on June 7, 1852. No explanation was given as to how the animal got to Britain. Other paranormal activity began happening around the house, such as objects flying across the room inexplicably. The voice of the creature began spying on the neighbors and reporting back to the Irvings, and shortly after the creature revealed itself to be a mongoose, or something similar and even allowed itself to be petted by Margaret Irving.

I remember that. Didn't someone say that the mongoose has similar shaped vocal chords to a human?

I remember reading about Gef in a book of 'Ghosts' that I had when I was a kid. He lived in a farmhouse from what I can remember, and was possibly shot by accident.

Here are a couple of pics, I can't remember where they are from though

This is the owner of the farmhouse pointing to the spot where Gef's claws poked through a crack in the wall:


This is apparently where Gef 'lived':


and I think this one shows where a mysterious creature was shot, after which Gef was never heard from again, leading to the conclusion that it was actually Gef that was killed. (I assume a carcass was never retrieved)


A weird story!

I've never heard of this! But sounds pretty interesting. Is there any more info out there? I would google but im lazy?

When I was reading the story that last paragraph starts with this;

Mongooses normally do not speak,

. Am I missing something, or has there been other talking mongooses.

Oh it actually was a Mongoose? lol, I must have been mixed up with another poltergeist story because for some reason I thought it was just a really weird name they gave to a poltergeist ^_^

Kind of a weird story, but since there was never any proof it was probably a hoax. Kind of a shame though, I wish I had a talking Mongoose

Wasn't this proven to be a hoax? Didn't the daughter come out and say that she made "gef" up because she was lonely?

I read this story in fifth grade (1988), We had a lot of racoons in the neighborhood so I was kept awake at night thinking those racoons were Gef coming to get me. Which didnt make any sense as he was peacful till he bit sombody. I completly forgot about it till now! Thanks for reminding me jbondo!

i saw story about Gef somewhere (i think it was one of athur c. clarke's books) and, as i can recall, they didn't mention the poltergeist activity, just talking & singing (!) mongoose that used to tell stories and sing folk songs to the Irving family.

don't think that it was proven a hoax, it was just a (good) theory that family invented him to pass the time.

also it didn't say anything about any creature being shot.

also, a stamp with Gef's drawing was issued.

If you look on Wikipedia (the internets most reliable source of info :@@, it does state that he was shot by the farmer who procured the land after the Irvings. It doesn't, though, state that it was proven to be a hoax - there's just very little evidence to back it up either way. The girl (obviously now an old woman) refuses interviews on the subject, which although could mean she doesn't like being pestered, does seem a little fishy to me.

Wikipedia

I remember reading this in a book about hauntings many years ago. This peculiar story always stuck in my mind.

It happened so long ago though I don't know if this will ever be revealed. I think it will just remain unsolved.

I've actually never heard of Gef, which is kind of surprising given the amount of information I've read about hauntings and cryptozoology and all sorts of things.
It sounds like The Exorcist meets Riki Tiki Tavi to me.

Wow! I'm amazed at how many are familiar with this as I have never heard of Gef either.

Thanks all!

www.harryprice.co.uk...

This has some other info in it. Pretty crazy.

I had a thread about Gef in the general paranormal section. Check it out.

Yep, Gef is one of those subjects that sorta fits in cryptozoology and sorta fits in ghost & poltergeist studies as well.

Speaking of ghost critters, does anyone have some sources on ghost animals in general?

Originally posted by Genus_Unknown
I remember reading about Gef in a book of 'Ghosts' that I had when I was a kid. He lived in a farmhouse from what I can remember, and was possibly shot by accident.

I've got that book. it is, overall, children's litrature and nothing more. The story intriuges me though.

There was supposedly a ghost dog somewhere in east TN. I had a book about TN's ghosts, and it was in there. Wiki or Google "Long Dog + ghost" and you might find it.

Originally posted by D.E.M.
Wasn't this proven to be a hoax? Didn't the daughter come out and say that she made "gef" up because she was lonely?

That's what I thought. The "mongoose" was a bit too familar with things that an English child would be familiar with. That and other signs pointed to the lonely little girl and her fun but imaginary playmate.

Gef the Mongoose will always have a special place in my heart. I read that story long ago, and find it fascinating even now. From what I can remember, the investigator, Harry Price, concluded that it may have been the daughter, Voirrey, throwing her voice to produce "Gef."

Logically, that sounds about right. For example, Voirrey apparently used to hunt for rabbits to supplement the family's food (they were poor). Gef used to also hunt rabbits for them, and line the carcasses for the family to find.

"Gef never had a personality or existence independent of Voirrey. He brought home rabbits, as did Voirrey. His favorite foods were also Voirrey's favourites. He shared her strong interests in mechanical things. Moreover, Gef was never heard unless Voirrey was out of the room or so placed that her mouth could not be watched. The voice itself was described by one observer who believed in Gef as 'like a girl's voice of 15 or 16 -- a striking penetrating voice.' In other words, just the sort of voice that Voirrey could easily assume. [..] ("The Mongoose That Talked & Lost For Words", by Melvin Harris *).

However, Gef apparently knew things that were unknown to the family. He would go out and spy on people in town, I presume, and report back what he heard. Gef may have been a mongoose, but he was a bit of a gossip gander as well. Moreover, Mrs. Irving reported seeing him face-to-face, along with the daughter. She even pet him once, and cut herself on his sharp teeth. Mr. Irving also reported glimpses of a creature here and there. Gef also used to throw items at them, and was even reported to light a match once. Plus, during times when Voirrey was not in the house, Gef would be there anyway, chatting away.

Furthermore, when interviewed decades later by Walter McGraw for FATE magazine, Voirrey denied any involvement, and seemed rather bitter about the whole experience, stating, "It was not a hoax... Gef was very detrimental to my life. We were snubbed. The other children used to call me ’the spook.’ We had to leave the Isle of Man, and I hope that no one where I work now ever knows the story. Gef has even kept me from getting married. How could I ever tell a man’s family about what happened? She continued by saying that Gef "made me meet people I didn't want to meet. Then they said I was 'mental' or a ventriloquist. Believe me, if I was that good I would jolly well be making money from it now!" **

Overall, it's rather hard to conclude just what the heck was actually happening in that tiny house on the Isle of Man.

* www.ghosts.org...
** www.paranormalnews.com...

It's only a matter of time before this becomes a Disney Movie... or something totally different some strange Tim Burton film. Fun read though, thanks