I know a few from the team, (including myself) are a little more than Intrigued by the story of an alleged mongoose. A very famous mongoose, called Gef.
H.A’s Aimee posted about another great book on this subject a couple of months back.
I received this one recently and have been chipping away at it.
This one is titled ‘’Gef! -The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Talking Mongoose’’, By Christopher Josiffe.
A detailed and mighty 416 pages, it’s an in-depth and extensive read.
One morning in the early 1930s, James Irving, living in a small village nestled on the Isle of Man, was getting ready to open his daily newspaper when a high-pitched disembodied voice called out impatiently, “Read it out, you fat-headed gnome!”
The first sign of his existence was a scratching sound wall which they, sensibly, thought might be rats in the wall. But soon it began to demonstrate different qualities, making weird sounds before mimicking sounds made by James Irvine. Over time Mr Irvine taught him to speak using the repetition of nursery rhymes.
He introduced himself as Gef, a mongoose from New Delhi, India, who was born in 1852. All three family members caught glimpses of the ever elusive Gef but the only person to ever see him fully was Voirrey who described him as the size of a small rat with yellowish fur and a large bushy tail.
Over the course of the 1930s, Gef the Talking Mongoose became something of a media phenomenon. He appeared in numerous tabloid newspaper stories and was investigated by paranormal researchers, including the pioneering Harry Price.
Was it a hoax? An elaborate prank? A poltergeist? The possession of an animal by an evil spirit? This book compiles seven years’ research accompanied by photographs, interviews with surviving witnesses and a lot more. Totally recommended. – Mark
