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ROOM WITH A BOO
Bizarre tale of ‘abusive’ ghost of talking mongoose which made family’s life hell and inspired new Simon Pegg flick
AN eerie, child-like singing voice floated around the stone-built house, miles from anywhere, as something scratched in the walls.
But the chilling nursery rhyme didn't come from homeowner Jim Irving, his wife Margaret or their young daughter Voirrey.
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Nor did the rocks that would occasionally go flying across the yard, the rustling in the walls or the vile insults hurled at the family and visitors.
Instead, it was claimed to be the work of a poltergeist or ghost called Gef, a mongoose that allegedly told the family he came from New Delhi.
Now, the bizarre tale is being told in a new blockbuster, Nandor Fodor & The Talking Mongoose, starring Simon Pegg.
Despite taking place in the 1980s, the case fascinates locals and paranormal investigators – who are still trying to discern the truth.
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“There are elements to the story around Gef that are quite sinister really, like when he threatened to kill the family,” paranormal investigator and Gef expert, Richard Case said.
“Gef, although it sounds ridiculous, also allegedly chased teenage Voirrey to her room and many other things.”
The expert on the supernatural has spent years looking at the case and examining the research of the people who went to the farmhouse, including Fodor.
Richard believes that Gef was a creation of the family, rather than a real spirit, despite generations claiming the house was haunted.
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The talking mongoose is also known as the Dalby Spook, and draws visitors to the island even now – with his case being listed on a tourist site for the Island.
The paranormal investigator joked that he was “surprised they don't sell Gef toys in shops” given how popular the myth is.
A local news site is even named Gef after the alleged poltergeist, showing how his influence is still strong today.
Gef makes his presence known
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The supernatural ongoings at Cashen's Gap farmhouse on the Isle of Man predated the Irvings' arrival in the 1920s.
Locals believed the farm was haunted after a funerary urn containing ashes was dug up nearby.
Work men during the First World War refused to sleep there due to the feeling of foreboding and strange noises could be heard when people walked past.
But the sinister haunting gained national coverage after the Irvings began speaking about their bizarre experiences of the mongoose wailing and allegedly announcing visitors to the farm.
It's claimed the supernatural creature told the family: “I am a freak. I have hands and I have feet and if you saw me you'd faint, you'd be petrified, mummified, turned into stone or a pillar of salt!”
They also claimed Gef told them he was “an extra clever mongoose”, “a ghost in the form of a mongoose” and an “earthbound spirit”. It resulted in several paranormal experts arriving to investigate, including Harry Irvine and Nandor Fodor, to establish if the family were making it up.
The new Simon Pegg film follows Fodor's visit to the Isle of Man and his attempts to see the illusive mongoose himself.
“People have remained fascinated by this case because there was no real reason why the family would be making these claims and no financial gain,” Richard said.
“The location of the farmhouse, being so isolated, really feeds into why this tale has taken hold.
“Irving and his family were outsiders, and the Isle of Man has always been deeply rooted in folklore, which Gef fed into.
“If they'd existed further in the past, it would have been a case for witch trials, as Gef has an almost familiar-type feel to him.”
Obession with teenage daughter
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In one incident allegedly involving the supernatural creature, a local family insulted the Irvings and the following night their poultry was savaged by the mongoose.
Gef also seemed to have an obsession with Voirrey, despite her being scared of the supernatural animal.
She was said to be so fearful that she started sleeping in the same room as her parents' because she felt unsafe.
The mongoose allegedly responded, saying: “I'll follow her wherever you put her.”
Another incident that the family claimed was when they tried to barricade their bedroom door to keep him out, Gef forced it open.
Ventriloquist theory
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Nandor never saw the supernatural creature and didn't even speak to him – despite the film suggesting he got a phone call from his mysterious quarry.
While the family insisted that the mongoose was very real, the eminent psychologist suspected mental health issues were at the root of the mystery.
Nandor thought that Jim Irving had a split personality which had created Gef as an alter ego but that the family truly believed Gef was a separate being and weren't being deliberately dishonest.
Another theory was that Jim's thirteen-year-old daughter Voirrey was a ventriloquist and had created the voice of the mongoose.
Talking about the case, Richard said: “Nandor noted that Jim was very protective of his young daughter and Gef could be his way of trying to protect her.
“Another big giveaway, to me, that this was all Jim was that the mongoose spoke a bit of Yiddish and Hebrew. These are both languages that Jim spoke.
“That makes me think that it was all centred around him.”
After Jim died in 1945 the occurrences seemed to come to an end. Margaret and Voirrey left the house shortly after his death, and it wasn't reoccupied until a year later.
“The farmer who took over the land from the Irvings claimed to have found a weasel-like creature and killed it,” Richard said.
“It led many people to think it was Gef that he had killed. Later on, the farmhouse was actually dismantled and taken down to the ground.
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“People question why that was done if it wasn't actually haunted. So the story is still very much alive.”
- Nandor Fodor & The Talking Mongoose streams on Prime Video from 8th November
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