Domestic terrorist and ghostly advisor mongoose named Gef (14 photos)

This story, which happened in the 30s, still periodically pops up in the press, forcing esotericists to argue with skeptics regarding its veracity and reality.





No one has put a final point in the dispute, since the truth, as usual, is somewhere nearby, but elusive.



The same house

Doarlish Cashion, the farmhouse where Jeff (or Gef) lived, was in many ways a classic haunted house. It was an ancient manor house on a deserted islet located 725 feet above sea level in the cold gray waters between England and Ireland.

In 1917, married couple James and Margaret Irving moved to Doarlish Cashen, where they were soon joined by their young daughter, Wuarri. After several years of peace, Gef suddenly appeared.

One fateful evening in September 1931, after a burst of strange tapping sounds, a creature let out a series of growls from the attic above. The Irving family went to investigate. The growling soon became a "gurgling noise," as James Irving later recalled in a 1937 interview, similar to that of a child learning to speak.





Drawing of Gef from that time

Enchanted, Irving taught the creature English, speaking words out loud for Gef to repeat like a parrot. Gef was grateful. In a letter written by Irving in 1934, he recalls Gef saying: “For many years I understood everything that was said to me. I tried to speak, but I couldn’t until you taught me.”

Gef appeared to people a few days after he first appeared in the house. Vuarri described the creature as the size of a small rat, with yellow fur and a large bushy tail.

The animal said it was a mongoose named Gef, which was born in New Delhi, India, and was hunted before escaping to the Isle of Man.

He told the family that he was an "earthbound spirit" and a "mongoose ghost." More chillingly, however, he warned that he was “very, very smart, but not always kind.”



Voirrie Irving in 1936

Initially, Gef took on the role of a pet who also did housework. The Irvings said that Gef guarded their house, informed them of the arrival of guests, and warned people about the unextinguished fire.

However, the warnings about the creature’s cruelty were also true. Gef often lost his temper with the Irvings, calling Jim a "fat-headed dwarf" and even threatening to kill them all.

Vuarri was afraid of Gef and slept in her parents' bed so as not to be alone with him in the dark. However, the mongoose did not like this and said to Jim: “I will follow her wherever you send her.”

One night, when the family tried to barricade the bedroom door with chairs and boxes to prevent him from entering, Gef forced the door to bend until it swung open.

Strange voices and public interest



A report in the local newspaper alerted members of the public to strange events, and soon paranormal investigators and national and international reporters arrived at the estate to see the mysterious mongoose.

Although he usually only appeared in front of the Irvings, a couple of reporters claimed to have seen Gef.

Other visitors said they heard strange voices echoing from the walls. Many paranormal investigators said it was likely poltergeist activity associated with the Voirri teenager.



Paranormal investigators are very interested in the case

However, skeptics accused Voirri of ventriloquism, saying strange noises and voices seemed to come from where she was standing.

And the footprints, stains on the wall and hair samples claimed by the family as evidence of Gef's existence were identified as canine and belonged to the Irvings' shepherd dog, and they were accused of deception.

One psychologist who stayed with the Irvings for a week said he did not believe the family's lies, attributing it to Jim's split personality.

Another theory was that the family developed mental health problems due to circumstances. Once rich andLiving in Wavertree, Liverpool, they moved to Doorlish Cashion after Jim's piano business failed.

There was no electricity or telephone in the house, and the family, who did not fit in with the local society and had only a gramophone for entertainment, was extremely isolated.

“Gef, go away!”



Harry Price

In July 1935, renowned paranormal investigator Harry Price traveled to Doarlish Cashion and later published a book.

He avoided saying he believed the story and had never encountered Gef personally, but also admitted that he could find no motive for the family to lie about the events.

“I agree that the whole family is involved, but there is still a question of motive. This is certainly not to attract people to the estate, because they do everything possible to keep them away... the motive goes much deeper than mere advertising,” he wrote at the time.



Imprints of Geth's teeth and paws (allegedly)

When Jim died in 1945, Margaret and Wuarri left their home and moved to the mainland, selling the farm to a man named Leslie Graham.

Oddly enough, in 1947, Leslie captured and killed an animal that appeared to be "neither a ferret, nor an ermine, nor a weasel" and that matched Gef's descriptions. A few years later he too left the island and the farmhouse was demolished.



Possible photograph of Gef by Vuarri Irving

As an adult, Vuarri insisted that the family's story was true. In 1970, a journalist from FATE magazine tracked her down and interviewed her about her unusual experience:

Yes, there was a little animal that talked and did all these things and more. He said he was a mongoose and we should name him Gef... But I really wanted him to leave us alone.



Possible photograph of Gef by Vuarri Irving

She died in 2005 and took the real secret of Gath with her to the grave, leaving this strange story an eternal mystery.



Possible photograph of Gef by Vuarri Irving



The long-standing investigations were continued in Adam Segal's film Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose, which was released in 2023. The role of parapsychologist Fodor was played by British actor and comedian Simon Pegg, and writer Neil Gaiman became the voice of Gef.



Still from the film "Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose"

Despite all the fanciful stories associated with Gath, no concrete evidence of the mongoose's origins or its source has ever been found.



Did the Irvings suffer from collective delusion? Was Gef a manifestation of James Irving's unconscious mind? Was it all a hoax? No one knows. But the mysterious story of the talking mongoose Gef continued now on the big screen.