So Supernatural - THE UNKNOWN: Gef the Talking Mongoose

Episode Date: September 1, 2021

In 1931, the Irving family started hearing the pitter patter of a rodent living behind their walls. Three months later, that animal starts to talk. He tells them he’s a mongoose and his name is Gef. 

The Isle of Man is steeped in what we might call folklore and superstition. Ask the locals, though, and they'll tell you that the ghosts and monsters that roam the island are more than just myth. There's the Begain, an ogre that supposedly tore the roof off of St. Trinian's church. Mothadoo, a black dog that's haunted Peel Castle for centuries. There are evil fairies that locals still put wooden crosses on their doors to ward away. But the island's most infamous creature wasn't passed down through folklore. He first appeared in 1931, and countless locals saw and spoke to him firsthand. He was a talking mongoose, and his name was Jeff. This is Supernatural. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers.

This week, I'm going to tell you about a talking mongoose named Jeff. In the fall of 1931, he suddenly appeared at a farmstead on the Isle of Man, and he terrorized the residents for seven years. And as ridiculous as it sounds, after years of investigation, no one was ever able to prove whether Jeff was real or a hoax. I have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. In 1916, James and Margaret Irving moved into this charming 130-year-old farmstead on the Isle of Man. The farmstead is called Doorlish Cashion, and it's not super luxurious, but the views are gorgeous. It sits on top of a hill high above sea level, surrounded by 70 acres of land.

The Irvings are sheep farmers, and they quickly settle into a routine. Wake up bright and early, tend to the animals, eat dinner, go to bed and get a good night of rest. Two years after they move in, they have a baby girl named Bori. For the next 13 years, life on the farm is relatively normal and quiet. Until September of 1931. One night, the Irvings hear some strange sounds coming from behind the wall. At first, it's nothing too alarming. You know, some rapping, the pitter-patter of little feet roaming about, a few high-pitched hisses and snarls. They figure it's just a mouse or something, no big deal. But it's inside the wall that separates the two bedrooms. And after a few

sleepless nights, the noise gets old. James sets out a rat trap and tries to catch the animal, but it never takes the bait. The noises just keep going on and on and on, night after night. At one point, James gets so irritated he grabs his gun and loads a single round. If he sees this rodent, he's ready to go. But the creature never shows its face. That is, until the following month, when the Irvings finally see their furry little houseguest for the very first time. It looks kind of like a ferret or a weasel. It's about nine inches long, yellow, with black specks on its bushy tail. But it's thin and it moves fast, so it scurries back into the wall space before James can trap it.

Another month goes by and the creature still won't leave the Irvings alone. Every night, in the middle of the night, the tapping and hissing continues. By November, James is at his wit's end. He puts some rat poisoning on a piece of bread and leaves it on top of the staircase, hoping the rodent will eat it, die, and that would be the end of it. Later that night, the Irvings hear the piercing screams of an animal in pain, and the screaming goes on for a good 20 minutes. It's just so awful to listen to. But eventually, it stops, and the Irvings assume it must be dead. Vori leaves her bedroom to check but when she gets to the top of the stairs there's no animal in sight and the bread is left untouched. Which

means this animal must have known the bread was poisoned and he must have been screaming in mock pain just to mess with the Irvings. So whatever this thing is, it's super intelligent and it apparently has a sense of humor. From there, things only get weirder. By December, instead of the regular hissing sounds of a rodent on the prowl, the Irvings start to hear a human-like voice coming from behind the wall. According to James, the voice is really high, like two octaves above a normal human voice. And it's a bit muddled, like, kind of like a baby learning to speak. But it's definitely saying words, in English, mimicking the words and phrases the Irvings say around the house. Which is unbelievable, I know. The Irvings

immediately assume whatever this thing is, it must be supernatural. And like I said earlier, the Isle of Man has a long-held belief in the supernatural, so this is definitely weird, but the Irvings are willing to accept it. Plus, as beautiful as Dorlish Cashin is, it's a bit isolated. During the cold, brutal winters, the Irvings rarely have guests, and life on the farm can be a little miserable. Strange as it is, this is pretty much the most exciting thing that's happened to the Irvings in months, if not years. So instead of running away from this talking weasel, James speaks back. Not only that, over the next few months, he starts to teach it new words and new phrases, which the animal just repeats back to him like a parrot. Then he teaches it some nursery rhymes and songs, until eventually the creature gets a handle on

the English language and starts to have full-on conversations with the Irvings. At some point, the creature tells them he's a mongoose and he wishes to be called Jeff. This, of course, has got to be a lot to process. Mongooses aren't even native to the Isle of Man, so that raises more questions than it answers. But by this point, the Irbings are so used to having Jeff around, they just kind of roll with it. He seems harmless, like a talking house pet. But soon enough, what started out as fun turns downright creepy. Within a few months of his arrival, Jeff becomes obsessed with the 13-year-old Vori. He basically becomes her shadow.

He follows her around the house, all over the farm. He even trails her to school. And this would be fine if Jeff stayed calm and collected. For a kid, having a talking animal by your side is actually kind of cool, you know, but there are times when Jeff's behavior seems kind of threatening. Some nights he watches James and Margaret while they're in bed trying to sleep. Other times, in the middle of the night, he'll get his hands on a spoon from the kitchen and just start clanking it. Which, imagine waking up to that. It's gotta be horrifying, especially for Rory, who's only 13 and is basically being stalked by this creature. Eventually, James and Margaret are worried enough that they decide to move Rory's bed into their own room.

That way they can keep Jeff away from her if anything really sinister happens. But while they're in the process of moving, Jeff loses it. He starts pounding on the bedroom door and through the walls they hear him scream, I'll follow her wherever you move her. Now I know what you're thinking. It is time for the Irvings to pack up and leave for good. At least that's what I would have done. But moving isn't an option. The family sunk all their money into this house and without the farm they have no source of income. So even if they wanted to leave, they couldn't. And since Jeff is so quick and nimble, the chances of capturing him are slim. So there's

really nothing the Irvings can do. So this harassment continues for months. Jeff continues to follow Vori all around town. He starts to watch Margaret while she undresses. And if the Irvings do anything to make Jeff mad, he gets violent and throws stones at them. Whatever this creature really is, whether he's mortal or supernatural, he's real enough to be a serious threat to the Irvings. And he's not going anywhere. One night, Jeff tells the Irvings, quote, I am the ghost in the form of a weasel, and I shall haunt you. Coming up, the Irvings make peace with their unwanted visitor. Now back to the story. By the start of 1932, the Irvings are at their wits end. Jeff, the talking mongoose, has upended their

lives with his piercing screams and threats of violence. Naturally, all of this is hard to keep to themselves. James is particularly chatty and the gossip about the talking mongoose quickly travels all over the Isle of Man. And the townspeople don't just have to take James' word for it. Several locals cross paths with the mongoose themselves. One day, a teenager named Will Cubbin sees a small yellow-haired animal roaming around in front of his house, which might not sound like a big deal, but there aren't a ton of weasels on the Isle of Man. And as far as anyone knows, there's only one mongoose, so chances are this was Jeff. Then there's a post office worker named John Moore, who goes to

Dorlish Cashin on the job. Since this is a small and welcoming town, the Irvings invite him inside. And when they're all in the kitchen, Moore starts to hear these intense thumping noises behind the wall. And then he hears Jeff speak. Or more specifically, he hears Jeff scream, put the bloody gramophone on. Now, Moore is totally shocked by this. He hears these words loud and clear, and he knows that none of the Irvings could have been the one to say it because they were right there in his sightline. Needless to say, these incidents are all the townspeople can talk about. And soon, the stories cross the Irish Sea and reach England, where they're picked up by the famed paranormal expert, Harry Price. As the founder of the National Laboratory of Psychical Research,

Price spends most of his time traveling the country, investigating supernatural events. And while he adamantly believes in the supernatural world, he also knows that plenty of paranormal occurrences are actually hoaxes. Naturally, Price is intrigued by the stories about Jeff the Talking Mongoose, but he's a really busy guy and this seems too bizarre to believe. So instead of going to the Isle of Man himself, he sends one of his employees, Captain Harold Dennis. On the evening of February 26, 1932,

Dennis arrives at Dorlish Cashion. The Irvings are welcoming hosts. Margaret is super hospitable. 13-year-old Vori is well-mannered. And James gives Dennis a full play-by-play of all the weird things Jeff has done. And the story has taken some interesting turns. By this point, Jeff has calmed down a lot. It seems like the rocky period has passed and Jeff and the Irvings have learned to get along, like quasi-roommates who are all just trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Jeff even starts hunting rabbits for the family to cook, and in return, the Irvings offer Jeff some of their own food. And now that they're on friendly terms again, Jeff has revealed more about who he really is. As Jeff tells it, he was born in India in 1852. A few decades ago, he made the trek to Egypt, stowed away on a boat, and eventually landed on the Isle of Man. This story isn't entirely impossible, because cargo ships are notorious for bringing pesky little creatures onto the island, but if the timeline is to be believed, it means Jeff is 80 years old, which is way longer than the average lifespan for a mongoose.

But despite that little detail, James no longer believes that Jeff is a ghost, or even necessarily supernatural. In fact, he thinks Jeff is just a regular mongoose who somehow lived for 80 years and learned to talk. Which, I mean, if a parrot can learn to talk, why not a mongoose, you know? I think that's his thinking. And to prove that Jeff is a living, breathing creature, James shows Dennis all the holes and crevices in the house where Jeff likes to hide. If he really were a supernatural being, he probably wouldn't need a physical place to take shelter in. James is so sincere about all of this that Dennis really wants to believe him. There's no reason for the Irvings to lie. They're just normal people living on a quiet farm. They're not trying to make any money off of this. But after spending a few hours in

the house, nothing supernatural takes place. Dennis doesn't see Jeff or hear him say anything or even move about the house. So just before midnight, Dennis packs his belongings and heads for the door, a little disappointed. But as soon as he and James walk outside, Dennis hears a high-pitched voice inside the house ask, who is that man? Yeah, Jeff finally speaks. Dennis hurries back inside, but by then, Jeff is already gone. After waiting a good 15 minutes or so in the sitting room, nothing else happens. So Dennis is thinking if Jeff is the real deal, it's pretty clear he doesn't want to be bothered. On the other hand, this plants a seed in Dennis's mind that Jeff could be a hoax. Margaret and Bori were still inside the house when Jeff

supposedly spoke. They could have been the ones faking his voice. So Dennis comes back early the next morning, determined to get to the bottom of this. But once again, Jeff won't make an appearance. Dennis sits around all day hearing and seeing nothing until around 5.30 in the evening. Dennis, James, and Rory are enjoying a cup of tea when suddenly a needle goes flying through the air and hits the teapot. No one actually sees Jeff throw it, but they do see the needle fly out from somewhere behind the wood paneling. James and Rory are sitting right there and Margaret is out and about in town, so there's no one else in the house who could have thrown it. It had to be Jeff. Dennis decides to stay a bit longer, but a few more hours pass and nothing remarkable happens. When Margaret gets home and learns that Jeff is still MIA, she's super annoyed.

After tormenting the family for so long, she thinks it's about time for Jeff to show his face to someone who actually wants to listen to him. So Margaret and Rory trudge upstairs to where Jeff usually likes to hide and try and talk some sense into him. Meanwhile, Dennis is downstairs, straining to listen to the conversation. And he hears Jeff arguing back. Dennis clearly hears Jeff say that he doesn't want to talk to an unbeliever. Dennis figures this is his only chance. He bolts up the stairs, hoping to catch Jeff in the act, but on his way up, he trips and falls. The noise scares Jeff away, and any hope Dennis had of

meeting him is gone. Dennis is forced to return to England with nothing but a few perplexing stories, but these experiences have left such a mark on him that three years later in May of 1935, he returns to the Isle of Man. This time, he meets James in town. The two share a meal, take a stroll along the beach. At some point, Dennis picks a daisy and attaches it to his jacket, and then they slowly make their way to Dorlish Cashion. When they get there, Margaret is waiting for them. According to her, Jeff had been following them around town. He got back before they did and he told Margaret about everything the two men had done and said. She knows what James had for lunch and she knows that Dennis had picked a flower along the way. Creepy, I know,

but Dennis realizes this probably means Jeff is still in the house somewhere. He spends the next few hours in the sitting room with James and Margaret, waiting for something interesting to happen. In the meantime, Borey goes outside to do some chores. And with all three Irvings accounted for, Dennis finally hears the mongoose speak. From behind the wall, Jeff says something that sounds like, plus fours, Oxford bags. Which is totally random, I know, but at this point, it doesn't matter what Jeff said, Dennis is just amazed to have heard him speak at all. And this time, he knows for certain it couldn't have been either James, Margaret, or Vori. When Dennis gets back to England, he tells Harry Price, Jeff might actually be the real deal. But he may have spoken too soon.

Not long after Dennis gets home, the Irvings mail him a piece of Jeff's fur as proof of his existence. Dennis and Price send it off to a pathologist at the London Zoo who compares it to fur from other animals and concludes, there's no way it came from a mongoose. In fact, he thinks the fur was probably taken from a long-haired dog. At this point, Price finally decides to visit the Isle of Man himself and get to the bottom of this. But instead of going alone, he invites along his good friend Richard Lambert. Lambert is a historian, writer, and radio broadcaster, a pretty intelligent and respected guy who could easily spot a fraud. That July, the two men make the trip to the Isle

of Man and, just as usual, Jeff refuses to show his face. According to James, by this point, Jeff is venturing out of the house on his own more often. He likes to ride around the island by clinging onto the back axles of cars and buses. His appearances at Dorlish Cashin are becoming few and far between. Sometimes they don't see or hear from him for weeks at a time. Price and Lambert spend a few days with the Irvings, but Jeff never shows up. And the two investigators just can't wrap their heads around what's going on. Like, if this is all a hoax, there's no apparent motive. The Irvings don't seem like the type who'd lie for fame or money, and if anything, Jeff had made their lives even harder. A lot of the locals are weirded out by the Irbinks.

Bori's classmates are particularly cruel, and they often tease her about living in the spook house. As a result, the 17-year-old doesn't have many friends apart from her parents. And Mona, their long-haired sheepdog. In fact, Price notices that Bori seems to have a strong connection with Mona. They're pretty much inseparable. And apparently, one of their favorite things to do together is to go rabbit hunting. Something that Jeff, the talking mongoose, also has a knack for. You can probably guess what Price is thinking. Somehow, Vori is behind all of this.

But even if she wanted to admit to it, it's almost impossible for her to get a word in. James is taking over all the conversations. It's obvious to Price that, for some reason, James doesn't want the others to speak. So he and Lambert hatch a plan to get Vori alone. At first, they invite her to join them on a tour of the island, but James invites himself along too. Thinking bigger, Price invites Vori on a solo trip to London, with a female companion accompanying her the whole time, of course. But once again, James gets in the way and refuses to let her go. In the end, the men leave the Isle of Man with no more evidence than they arrived with.

Price is ready to write the case off as unsolvable. And yet, he can't shake the feeling that there's one person who can unlock the truth. It all comes down to Vori. Coming up, Price sends an undercover agent. Now back to the story. After years of failed investigations, Harry Price is convinced that 17-year-old Vori knows more about Jeff than she's letting on. And he's not alone. In early 1936, Price gets a letter from a publicist named Nora Nichols, who'd gone to the Isle of Man to do some research of her own. She chats with the locals and finds out that a lot of people really believe in Jeff. In fact, some of them are so scared of the mongoose that they won't even go near Dorlish Cashin. But of course, there are also

those that don't believe in Jeff at all. They suspect that Vori made up the whole story out of boredom. Growing up on that farmstead all alone, it makes sense that she would invent Jeff as an imaginary friend or a practical joke. And some of Vori's classmates even say they'd seen her throw her voice like a ventriloquist. There's another rumor that back in the early days after Jeff's arrival, three of Vori's classmates swallowed their fears and made the trek up to Doorlish Cashion. They stood outside the first floor window hoping to catch a glimpse of the talking mongoose. Instead, they saw Vori and Margaret making noises with a tin box. It seemed suspicious, maybe even as if they were practicing for some kind of performance. And when Vori and Margaret looked out the window and saw the girls watching,

their demeanors completely changed, almost as if they were hiding something. Price keeps poking around a bit. And in 1938, he meets with this businessman named Charles Morrison, who's been friends with the Irvings for years. Charles swears that he's heard Jeff talk on two separate occasions. And his son Arthur says he stayed over at the Irvings' house a few years ago, and he didn't just hear Jeff's voice. He actually saw the mongoose's beady eyes under his bed. Charles and Arthur both insist that Margaret and Rory could not be responsible for making these noises. When it happened, they'd been too far away or out of the house entirely.

So, we're back to square one. And unfortunately, investigating further becomes impossible because around this same time, Jeff finally decides to move on from the Irvings. His visits had been sporadic for years and by 1938, he finally just leaves one day and never returns. In the end, Price was never able to decide whether Jeff was real or not. As easy as it is to believe that Jeff is a hoax, there are just so many witnesses who swear otherwise. And even if Margaret or Vori were responsible for Jeff's noises, there's so much else that just doesn't add up. Like the objects Jeff apparently threw across the room or the details he learned from his trips around town.

Sure, Vori could have been breaking into people's houses on her own, memorizing the details of their decor and then feeding her father made-up stories about Jeff's supposed adventures. But why? What possible motive would a teenage girl have for any of this? There is one possible theory that catches on around town. There's no real evidence for it, but this is what some of the locals believe. After years of living on the isolated farmstead, both Margaret and Rory wanted out. They longed for the hustle and bustle of a city and a life that didn't revolve around farm work. But James wasn't on the same page. He'd set his roots down here and he was either unwilling or financially unable to leave. So Margaret and Vori invented Jeff to scare James

into leaving. Vori, who allegedly had a gift for ventriloquism, threw her voice to make it sound like a talking animal was living in the walls. She secretly followed people around the island, eavesdropping on their conversations, sneaking into their homes. But of course, it didn't work. James grew to love the talking mongoose, and Margaret and Vori were stuck trying to keep up the act for years. You'd think that if this is even remotely true, James would have realized at some point. But maybe subconsciously he did. I mean, remember how he didn't seem to want Margaret or Vori to talk to Price? And there's one fact that really makes this theory seem plausible. Around the same time Jeff disappeared, James became seriously ill. Now, it could just be a coincidence, or he could have been distracted

enough by his illness that Margaret and Rory no longer felt they needed to keep up the ruse. But what's interesting is, even after James dies in 1945, Margaret and Rory never confessed that they made Jeff up. In fact, for the rest of her life, Margaret continues to insist that Jeff is the real thing. Rory, on the other hand, rarely speaks about the incident at all. After being tormented by Jeff and her neighbors for her entire adolescence, she just wants to put the whole thing behind her and live a normal life. It isn't until 1970 that she finally tells her story publicly, and it hasn't changed at all in three decades. In an interview with Fate magazine, she says, quote, yes, there was a little animal who talked and did all those other things. He said he was a mongoose and he said we should call him Jeff. But I do wish he had left us alone.

Thanks for listening. I'll be back next week with another episode. For more information on Jeff, I found Jeff, the strange tale of an extra special talking mongoose by Christopher Joseph, especially helpful to my research. To hear more stories hosted by me, check out Crime Junkie and all AudioChuck originals.