Gef the Talking Mongoose: The ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ Mystery
“If you knew what I know, you’d know a hell of a lot!” boasted Gef the Talking Mongoose, the self-proclaimed ‘eighth wonder of the world’. This bizarre creature was claimed to have haunted a remote farm on the Isle of Man during the early 1930s. But despite his boastful claims, who, or what, was Gef truly? Was he a poltergeist, a cryptid, or merely a shared delusion born from loneliness and isolation?
Nearly a century later, the tale of Gef The Talking Mongoose The Eighth Wonder Of The World continues to fascinate and puzzle researchers. It remains a unique and strange account within the realm of Fortean phenomena.
The Remote Farm at Doarlish Cashen
The peculiar saga of Gef the talking mongoose began in the autumn of 1931. The setting was Doarlish Cashen (Manx for ‘Cashen’s Gap’), a secluded hilltop farmstead situated on the rugged Isle of Man. This isolated property was home to the Irving family: 60-year-old Jim, his wife Margaret, and their 12-year-old daughter Voirrey.
Isolated Doarlish Cashen farmstead on the Isle of Man, location of the Gef the talking mongoose mystery
Jim, a former travelling salesman who had taken up farming in retirement, found life at Doarlish Cashen challenging. The farm was struggling, and the family faced financial difficulties. Adding to their hardship was the lack of modern amenities – no electricity, no telephone, and no radio. Their nearest neighbours were over a mile away, amplifying the sense of isolation.
Mysterious Sounds in the Walls
One dreary September evening, the Irvings began hearing inexplicable noises emanating from behind the wooden panels that lined the farmhouse walls. These sounds included strange “blowing, spitting, and growling.” Initially, Jim suspected a rat was the culprit and tried unsuccessfully to drive it out. The peculiar noises persisted over the following days. Jim set traps and laid poison, but nothing worked. In a moment of desperation, he attempted to mimic a dog’s growl to scare the intruder away. To his astonishment, the creature growled back.
The elusive entity proved to be a remarkably talented mimic. It seemed to bond with Jim by repeating his imitations of various animals and birds. Soon, Jim only needed to name an animal, and the creature would respond with the appropriate sound. At other times, it made gurgling noises reminiscent of a baby learning to speak. And then, it began to talk.
Gef Introduces Himself
As an experiment, Voirrey asked the creature to repeat some nursery rhymes. It complied, speaking in a clear, albeit squeaky, voice. Before long, it was conversing freely with the family. It introduced itself as Gef (pronounced ‘Jeff’) and claimed to be “an extra-clever mongoose” born in Delhi, India, in 1852.
Interestingly, a neighbouring farmer had indeed imported some mongeese to the island two decades prior, hoping they would control the local rabbit population. Gef quickly integrated himself into the family’s life, holding regular conversations with Voirrey and her father. However, he appeared less friendly towards Voirrey’s mother, Margaret. He established a nesting spot in a boxed partition in Voirrey’s room, which the family affectionately dubbed “Gef’s sanctum.”
While Jim and Margaret both claimed to have caught glimpses of Gef, only Voirrey was permitted to look at him directly. She described him as being roughly the size of a small rat, with yellowish fur, a flat snout akin to a hedgehog’s, and a long, bushy tail.
Isolated Doarlish Cashen farmstead on the Isle of Man, location of the Gef the talking mongoose mystery
The Habits and Antics of Gef
Gef soon became a fixture in the Irving household. During the day, he claimed to roam the island, riding on the back axles of buses and cars, a detail that added to his mysterious nature. In the evenings, he would return home to share news and gossip he had purportedly gathered during his travels. Sometimes, he would even read items aloud from the local newspapers. When he grew tired of conversation, he would simply call out ‘Vanished!’ and disappear.
Isolated Doarlish Cashen farmstead on the Isle of Man, location of the Gef the talking mongoose mystery
Jim Irving documented Gef’s presence: “It announces its presence by calling either myself or my wife by our Christian names. It’s hearing powers are phenomenal. It is no use whispering. It detects the whisper 15-20 feet away, tells you that you are whispering, and repeats exactly what one has said.” Gef reportedly brought rabbits home for Margaret to cook, claiming he had strangled them with his forepaws. In return for his contributions and company, he was given treats such as biscuits, sweets, and chocolate. He also developed a fondness for bacon and sausages. The food would be left out for him on the crossbeams near the ceiling, from where he would sneak out to grab it when no one was watching.
Gef’s Temperament
Much like traditional accounts of poltergeists, Gef displayed a short temper. On one occasion, he flew into a sudden rage because he felt Jim was too slow in opening the morning post, squeaking furiously, “Read it out, you fat-headed gnome!” Voirrey initially seemed quite frightened of Gef when the phenomena first began. One night, she even slept in her parents’ bedroom to avoid being alone with the strange noises. Upon overhearing the family discussing this, Gef snapped, “I’ll follow her wherever you put her.” According to Jim, attempting to barricade the bedroom door with chairs and boxes only seemed to infuriate Gef further:
“Soon we saw the top of the door bulging in as though some terrific force were thrusting against it. But the door held. Then Gef’s queer high voice said ‘I’m coming in!’ A few seconds later a heavy pot of ointment kept in the room crashed against the bedstead.”
Gef seemed to take pleasure in deliberately provoking Voirrey’s parents. One night, he created a disturbance by sighing and groaning loudly for half an hour non-stop, later confessing, “I did it for devilment!” On another occasion, Margaret was walking home when she found herself being pelted with stones. When she called out, “Is that you, Gef?” the impertinent mongoose taunted back, “Yes, Maggie the witch woman, the Zulu Woman, the Honolulu woman!” Gef also seemed to delight in throwing pebbles and sand up at the windows from outside, sometimes late into the night.
[internal_links]Fame and Investigation
The local Manx newspapers published a series of somewhat mocking articles about the ‘Dalby Spook’, as they nicknamed Gef. This notoriety led to Voirrey being mercilessly teased at school. Gef’s fame eventually spread to the mainland after Jim Irving managed to interest psychic researcher Harry Price in the case. Price was known for investigating various paranormal claims, though he was also a notable self-publicist.
However, even as Gef’s notoriety grew, his visits to the Irving family became less frequent. By the time Harry Price arrived to investigate the farmhouse in person, the remarkable mongoose was conspicuously absent. (Further details on Price’s investigation can be found in “Investigating Gef Pt 2”).
In 1936, Price published the findings of his investigation in a book titled The Haunting of Cashen’s Gap: A Modern “Miracle” Investigated, co-authored with journalist Richard Lambert. While Price stopped short of explicitly accusing the Irvings of a hoax, he did not validate their claims either, leaving the mystery unresolved.
The End of the Saga
Soon after Harry Price’s book was published, the Irving family left Cashen’s Gap and moved to the mainland. Gef reportedly did not follow them, nor did he introduce himself to the new farm owner, a Mr. Graham. Intriguingly, in 1947, Graham trapped and killed a strange-looking animal on the property that he felt was neither a ferret, a stoat, nor a weasel. “It answers to all descriptions,” the puzzled farmer reportedly told the local press, referencing the descriptions of Gef. Eventually, Graham also left Cashen’s Gap, and the farmhouse was subsequently demolished.
In 1970, a reporter from FATE magazine managed to track down Voirrey Irving to interview her about her unusual childhood experiences. She proved reluctant to discuss her former life with the talking mongoose. “Yes, there was a little animal who talked and did all those other things,” she admitted. “He said he was a mongoose and we should call him Gef… But I do wish he had let us alone.” Her final words left a lingering sense of the burden the “eighth wonder of the world” had placed upon her.
Conclusion
The strange case of Gef the talking mongoose, the creature who audaciously declared himself the ‘eighth wonder of the world’, remains one of the most peculiar and debated accounts in paranormal history. Was Gef a genuine talking animal, a rare cryptid, a mischievous poltergeist, or a psychological phenomenon shared by a family living in isolation? The evidence is contradictory, and a definitive explanation has never been reached. The story of the Irvings and their boastful, singing, sometimes-tempered mongoose continues to intrigue those interested in the unexplained, ensuring Gef’s place as a fascinating footnote in the annals of mysterious creatures and paranormal events.
