The World's Strangest Mongoose
In this article, Connor explores the story of a strange cryptid mongoose named Gef.
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THE WORLD'S STRANGEST MONGOOSE
By Connor Upshaw
On the British Isle of Man, a decades-old mystery remains unsolved to this day. It is the story of the Irvings, a family protected by a powerful spirit in the form of a mongoose. The tale of Gef remains one of the strangest unsolved mysteries in the cryptid world. Gef’s backstory, personality and the mystery behind the eighth wonder himself are all fascinating, warranting discussion on whether there is any truth to this ridiculous tale.
The story starts on the Isle of Man, a large island in the British isles, in the year 1931. The Irvings lived in a secluded farmhouse on the coast of the island. The family consisted of Jim and Margaret Irving, their daughter Voirrey, and a dog named Mona. They lived a seemingly normal, inconspicuous life until a certain creature arrived. The Irvings started hearing noises in their walls; at first, they thought it was rats, but the sounds only grew stranger and louder. Jim attempted to set traps for the supposed rats. When this failed, he growled at the wall to frighten the creature. The wall growled back. Then, the creature started singing children’s rhymes. As the Irvings’ fear increased, the mystery animal eventually introduced itself as Gef, a talking mongoose. According to the Irvings, it made some wild claims, such as that it would “split the atom! I am the fifth dimension! I am the eighth wonder of the world!” and that he was “born near Delhi, India, on June 7, 1852.” This made him 83 years old, well beyond the lifespan of any mongoose. Gef and the family entered a contract of sorts, according to a BBC article. He would protect the family and help around the house, in exchange for their tolerance of him.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
The story of Gef spread quickly, rapidly becoming the biggest story on the Isle of Man. Paranormal investigators and reporters from across the globe traveled to Doarlish Cashen, the Irvings’ home, to find out if there was any truth to the tale. Many reported either seeing or hearing the mongoose, and that the Irvings seemed perfectly sane and reputable people. One reporter stated that he had “heard today a voice which I should never have imagined could come from a human throat; that the people who claim it was the voice of the strange weasel seem sane, honest, and responsible folk,” from a Skeptic Review article. As time passed, the Irvings and Gef reached an amicable peace. The mongoose continued to make wild claims and to help around the home, though this would not last. Unfortunately for the Irvings, their “earthbound spirit” would not remain benevolent for long.
Image from Public Domain Commons
Since Gef had arrived at the Irving household, there had been an ominous cloud hanging over the family. He made his dangerous nature clear when he said, “If you saw me you’d faint, you’d be petrified, mummified, turned into stone or a pillar of salt,” from The Dabbler newspaper. The Irvings’ daughter, Vouyrey, was terrified of Gef, sleeping in her parents’ room to avoid him watching her in the darkness. Ominously, the mongoose threatened he would “follow her wherever you put her,” according to an article from The Sun. Despite the unknown dangers the mongoose brought into their lives, the Irvings stayed in the house until Jim died of now unknown causes in 1945. The house was finally purchased by Leslie Graham, who reportedly killed a rodent in 1947 which “appeared to be neither ferret, stoat, nor weasel.” The house was demolished a few years later.
The mystery of this strange creature has continued to intrigue the British people for some 80 years, with many still wondering what really happened in the Irvings’ home. Was it really a ghostly mongoose, or just a ventriloquist hoax? One theory is that it was Voirrey, using her puppeteering skills to fake the whole haunting. It is likely that we will never learn the real truth. The Irving daughter Voirrey continued to claim Gef’s existence until her death in 2005, according to The Sun newspaper, saying that she wished “he had left us alone.” When she died, she took the truth of Gef the Mongoose with her.
After so many years have passed, there is still a plethora of information on the story of Gef and the Irvings, much of it conflicting. This article only goes over a small portion of all that is available, as there are dozens of quotes and recorded conversations. Novelist Christopher Josiffe wrote a book on the strange occurrences at Doarlish Cashen in 2017, which goes very in-depth on the events that supposedly occurred. There are also the first-hand accounts of many ghost hunters and reporters, including the famous psychic Harry Price. It is a fascinating rabbit-hole to dig into for those interested in cryptids or just a good mystery.
Image from iStock
The mysterious events that occurred in the Irvings’ home remain an intriguing tale to this day. The story of Gef the mongoose is as fascinating as it is strange, with so many pieces to the puzzle that many different conclusions can be drawn on what really happened. We will likely never know the full truth on whether this mysterious mongoose was real or simply a figment of overactive imagination. Regardless, next time there are noises in the walls, watch out: something ancient and sinister may be watching.
Sources:
Sources:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8485649/gef-the-talking-mongoose/
bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/vh35kXxrrqPRYn1mMJJb17/the-curious-case-of-the-talking-mongoose
https://www.weirdhistorian.com/things-said-about-the-talking-mongoose-of-the-isle-of-man/
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