Encounter Atlas
In 1931 the Irving family, who farmed at Cashen's Gap near Dalby on the Isle of Man, said a small animal living behind the wooden panelling of their house had begun talking to them. It called itself Gef, said it was a mongoose born in India in 1852, and chatted, sang, swore and reported local gossip. The Irvings' teenage daughter Voirrey described it as rat-sized and yellowish with a bushy tail.
The story became a sensation in the British press. Ghost hunter Harry Price and journalist Richard Lambert visited in 1935 and wrote a book about it. Hair samples said to be Gef's turned out to be from the family's sheepdog, and an expert said prints in plasticine were not a mongoose's.
Most investigators concluded it was a hoax, perhaps using ventriloquism. The family left in 1945. Voirrey, who died in 2005, always said she did not invent Gef.
What witnesses report
- A voice speaking from inside walls
- A small yellowish animal glimpsed briefly
- Scratching and rustling in panelling
Famous cases
- 1931Irving family report a talking animal in their walls
Dalby, Isle of Man - 1935Harry Price and Richard Lambert investigate
Dalby, Isle of Man
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