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Gef! The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Mongoose by Josiffe
An exhaustive investigation of the case of Gef, a “talking mongoose” or “man-weasel,” who appeared to a family living on the Isle of Man.“I am the fifth dimension! I am the eighth wonder of the world!”During the mid-1930s, British and overseas newspapers were full of incredible stories about Gef, a “talking mongoose” or “man-weasel” who had allegedly appeared in the home of the Irvings, a farming family in a remote district of the Isle of Man. The creature was said to speak in several languages, to sing, to steal objects from nearby farms, and to eavesdrop on local people.Despite written reports, magazine articles and books, several photographs, fur samples and paw prints, voluminous correspondence, and signed eyewitness statements, there is still no consensus as to what was really happening to the Irving family.Was it a hoax? An extreme case of folie à plusieurs? A poltergeist? The possession of an animal by an evil spirit? Now you can read all the evidence and decide for yourself. Seven years' research and interviews, photographs (many previously unseen), interviews with surviving witnesses, visits to the site—all are presented in this book, the first examination of the case for seventy years.In the words of its mischievous, enigmatic subject, “If you knew what I know, you'd know a hell of a lot!"
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About the author
Christopher Josiffe
1 book4 followersChristopher Josiffe is a regular contributor to Fortean Times and has also been published in Faunus, Abraxas, and The Pomegranate. He has given lectures at the Ghost Club, the Society for Psychical Research, Senate House Library and the Fortean Times Unconvention.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 21, 2019
its certainly the best book i've ever read about a talking mongoose
July 31, 2021
Amazing book and very uniquely written. Don't be put off by your first glance of the cover or by the madcap attention grabbing title, this is a lot deeper and more thought through than you'd expect. Also, as I'm writing this, this book only has 64 ratings and 13 reviews! Which is a travesty for the amount of research put into this.
July 4, 2018
Mongooses all the way down! I was a little taken aback at the thickness of this single-minded volume but found it almost impossible to put down once I'd picked it up. The author approaches his subject as a Fortean -- not out to prove any hypothesis or rule on the supernatural possibilities of the narrative, but only to document the damned facts of the case. All of the possibilities, from deliberate fraud to fairies and familiars, are examined in turn and the reader is left to his or her own conclusions. As much as I enjoy a good ghost story, I found this one far more than a mere haunting. If I were absolutely forced to guess the cause of Gef's strange existence, I would say that the isolated family, under the influence of an obsessive patriarch, created a kind of family god and then conspired, probably unconsciously, to make others believe in him -- but many other opinions are equally supportable. A really terrific piece of popular history and the best kind of mystery -- one that will likely never be solved.
March 27, 2024
Anybody who is sort of inclined towards the Fortean outlook is used to stories with a powerful sense of mystery or uncanniness, so Gef the talking mongoose has a sort of special place in the heart of many because he absolutely bucks that trend. This is not some epic tale of a haunting, but the story of a gobby little creature that decided he liked to hang about a farm house in the middle of nowhere and hold cheeky conversations with the owners
Apart from early on in his life with the Irving family of the Isle of Man, when he was a bit of a shit and still finding his place in the world, Gef is essentially just a weird little guy who apparently was a shape changing, multi-lingual, song loving creature who looked a bit like a mongoose and was incredibly chatty. He comes across a bit like a spooky Sid James, with James Irving as his Hancock. A complex relationship of mockery and fondness and, frankly, one of the best arguments for Gef’s existence: it’s hard to imagine anyone inventing details as mundane as Gef’s occasional bouts of grandiloquence or his almost Pooterish exercises involving shoving a big chair about. The most similar mundane case of the weird is for me the Mince Pie Martians, where some tiny men pop by an old woman’s house, do a Bruce Forsyth impression, say nice things about her Christmas tree and then go home with mince pies to eat on their journey
It would frankly take a lot to make a boring story out of Gef, and thankfully we have no such issues here. Josiffe clearly has tremendous fondness for everyone involved in the story, and is determined to make sure that we the reader share that fondness. Everybody comes out of it well, aside from possibly that guy who shot the polecat, and Josiffe is at great pains to ensure that he treats this potentially silliest of stories with the proper emotional heft it deserves. He’s also very happy to weave about a sort of quick tour of analogous history and how Gef fits in: poltergeists, tulpas, fairies, Lovecraft and more get their cameos
It’s also a joy to read. A deeply enjoyable story about a world you can tell the author sort of wishes he could have visited. Certainly much of the appeal of Gef - and thank good Josiffe mentioned Basil Brush, because I was thinking a great deal about the similarities myself - is that we all kind of wish we could be haunted by a similar wisecracking weirdo. If Gef ever was real, I hope wherever and whatever he might be has at least had a look at this book and given it the seal of approval
Apart from early on in his life with the Irving family of the Isle of Man, when he was a bit of a shit and still finding his place in the world, Gef is essentially just a weird little guy who apparently was a shape changing, multi-lingual, song loving creature who looked a bit like a mongoose and was incredibly chatty. He comes across a bit like a spooky Sid James, with James Irving as his Hancock. A complex relationship of mockery and fondness and, frankly, one of the best arguments for Gef’s existence: it’s hard to imagine anyone inventing details as mundane as Gef’s occasional bouts of grandiloquence or his almost Pooterish exercises involving shoving a big chair about. The most similar mundane case of the weird is for me the Mince Pie Martians, where some tiny men pop by an old woman’s house, do a Bruce Forsyth impression, say nice things about her Christmas tree and then go home with mince pies to eat on their journey
It would frankly take a lot to make a boring story out of Gef, and thankfully we have no such issues here. Josiffe clearly has tremendous fondness for everyone involved in the story, and is determined to make sure that we the reader share that fondness. Everybody comes out of it well, aside from possibly that guy who shot the polecat, and Josiffe is at great pains to ensure that he treats this potentially silliest of stories with the proper emotional heft it deserves. He’s also very happy to weave about a sort of quick tour of analogous history and how Gef fits in: poltergeists, tulpas, fairies, Lovecraft and more get their cameos
It’s also a joy to read. A deeply enjoyable story about a world you can tell the author sort of wishes he could have visited. Certainly much of the appeal of Gef - and thank good Josiffe mentioned Basil Brush, because I was thinking a great deal about the similarities myself - is that we all kind of wish we could be haunted by a similar wisecracking weirdo. If Gef ever was real, I hope wherever and whatever he might be has at least had a look at this book and given it the seal of approval
February 14, 2018
I don’t think I’ve ever read anything so bizarre from start to finish as this amusing exposé of Gef, a so-called ‘talking mongoose’ that lived in the walls of a farmhouse on the Isle of Man during the 1930s. As a fan of cryptozoology, Gef has for many years been my personal favourite unexplained mystery.
Gef appeared randomly one day to the Irving family, (father James, mother Margaret, and teenage daughter Voirrey) at their isolated farmhouse Doarlish Cashen during the 1930s. It all began with scratching from inside the walls before evolving to strained vocal sounds and gargling to eventual spoken language in a pitch higher than a typical human voice. Gef’s initial vocal disturbances to the Irvings was nothing short of terrifying, but over time he became a relatively accepted member of the family despite living out of sight in the dark corners of their home. In fact, Gef often refused to appear or speak to anyone outside of the Irving family. The rest of the Irvings’ experiences with Gef consisted of continuous chatty conversation from a disembodied voice that ate their food, stole objects from other resident’s of the village, and occasionally threw small objects at James Irving. Other than a few questionable photographs, there isn’t any proof that Gef actually existed. But peculiarly, a number of people claimed to have heard and, in some cases, witnessed Gef’s physical form for themselves.
Before reading Josiffe’s book I knew of Gef from old paranormal forums I used to frequent and the occasional night long hunt through various websites and blogs to find any potentially new Gef information. There was something about this particular case that was just so odd and honestly, a bit creepy. I needed more information about Gef but I felt I had milked dry all of the resources the internet had available. During a random Gef search one day I stumbled upon Josiffe’s book and it was like finding out your favourite novel was being turned into a movie. I was thrilled to find out that there wasn’t only a book on my favourite talking mongoose, but also another individual with an unexplained fascination with him.
Josiffe went above and beyond what I expected of this book. I had no idea how many 1930s interviews, letters, newspaper clippings and written reports existed surrounding the ‘Dalby spook’, and how many experts visited the Irvings to gather evidence in the hopes of proving the existence of Gef (including famed paranormal researcher Harry Price). Josiffe approached the Gef narrative by taking the reader through the entire journey from beginning to end without any bias or attempt at swaying the reader’s opinion in one direction or another. And I feel that this is what made the book enjoyable. The story of Gef is so fun and charming and at times quite scary. It needs to be told by someone who isn’t suspicious of the Gef phenomenon, but by someone who loves the Gef story. And I think Josiffe was perfect for this role.
It isn’t until the last few chapters that Josiffe gathers all of the various pieces of evidence in the Gef saga and asks the important question of what Gef was and whether he existed as a physical being, as some sort of poltergeist or familiar, or if he was completely fabricated by the Irving family. As easy as it may be to say it was all a work of compelling storytelling, it’s actually quite difficult to point a finger at a particular member of the family who could have had a logical motive. The author explores other instances of similar hauntings as well as folk tales from cultures with trickster-like spirits like Gef and various theories that have been proposed throughout the years in an attempt at explaining what exactly happened at the isolated Isle of Man farmhouse.
One thing can be agreed upon, both in the 1930s and today: something was going on at Doarlish Cashen. Whether it was a hoax, a ghost, or a real mongoose who had somehow developed the ability to speak Josiffe leaves it up to the reader to decide. If you are even slightly intrigued then I recommend diving into the bizarre world of Gef and swimming through the extensive evidence that Josiffe puts forth with clarity and neverending intrigue. I absolutely loved this book. I know it’s one that I will return to again and again. Thank you Josiffe for feeding my Gef obsession by giving this dusty old mystery a breath of fresh air and a whole lot of love.
Gef appeared randomly one day to the Irving family, (father James, mother Margaret, and teenage daughter Voirrey) at their isolated farmhouse Doarlish Cashen during the 1930s. It all began with scratching from inside the walls before evolving to strained vocal sounds and gargling to eventual spoken language in a pitch higher than a typical human voice. Gef’s initial vocal disturbances to the Irvings was nothing short of terrifying, but over time he became a relatively accepted member of the family despite living out of sight in the dark corners of their home. In fact, Gef often refused to appear or speak to anyone outside of the Irving family. The rest of the Irvings’ experiences with Gef consisted of continuous chatty conversation from a disembodied voice that ate their food, stole objects from other resident’s of the village, and occasionally threw small objects at James Irving. Other than a few questionable photographs, there isn’t any proof that Gef actually existed. But peculiarly, a number of people claimed to have heard and, in some cases, witnessed Gef’s physical form for themselves.
Before reading Josiffe’s book I knew of Gef from old paranormal forums I used to frequent and the occasional night long hunt through various websites and blogs to find any potentially new Gef information. There was something about this particular case that was just so odd and honestly, a bit creepy. I needed more information about Gef but I felt I had milked dry all of the resources the internet had available. During a random Gef search one day I stumbled upon Josiffe’s book and it was like finding out your favourite novel was being turned into a movie. I was thrilled to find out that there wasn’t only a book on my favourite talking mongoose, but also another individual with an unexplained fascination with him.
Josiffe went above and beyond what I expected of this book. I had no idea how many 1930s interviews, letters, newspaper clippings and written reports existed surrounding the ‘Dalby spook’, and how many experts visited the Irvings to gather evidence in the hopes of proving the existence of Gef (including famed paranormal researcher Harry Price). Josiffe approached the Gef narrative by taking the reader through the entire journey from beginning to end without any bias or attempt at swaying the reader’s opinion in one direction or another. And I feel that this is what made the book enjoyable. The story of Gef is so fun and charming and at times quite scary. It needs to be told by someone who isn’t suspicious of the Gef phenomenon, but by someone who loves the Gef story. And I think Josiffe was perfect for this role.
It isn’t until the last few chapters that Josiffe gathers all of the various pieces of evidence in the Gef saga and asks the important question of what Gef was and whether he existed as a physical being, as some sort of poltergeist or familiar, or if he was completely fabricated by the Irving family. As easy as it may be to say it was all a work of compelling storytelling, it’s actually quite difficult to point a finger at a particular member of the family who could have had a logical motive. The author explores other instances of similar hauntings as well as folk tales from cultures with trickster-like spirits like Gef and various theories that have been proposed throughout the years in an attempt at explaining what exactly happened at the isolated Isle of Man farmhouse.
One thing can be agreed upon, both in the 1930s and today: something was going on at Doarlish Cashen. Whether it was a hoax, a ghost, or a real mongoose who had somehow developed the ability to speak Josiffe leaves it up to the reader to decide. If you are even slightly intrigued then I recommend diving into the bizarre world of Gef and swimming through the extensive evidence that Josiffe puts forth with clarity and neverending intrigue. I absolutely loved this book. I know it’s one that I will return to again and again. Thank you Josiffe for feeding my Gef obsession by giving this dusty old mystery a breath of fresh air and a whole lot of love.
December 22, 2020
More of this sort of thing!
July 18, 2017
The definitive account of a series of strange events which plagued a small village on a small island in the thirties and forties, this is a meticulously researched book that takes into account the various circumstances that could have led to the birth of Gef, a talking mongoose who in his own words was 'the fifth dimension, the eighth wonder of the world!'.
October 29, 2024
I can't imagine a book more up my alley than an obsessively researched, 400-page deep dive into the story of Gef the Mongoose, and it didn't disappoint. Christopher Josiffe totally gets it, covering the elements of fraud, parapsychology, regular old psychology, Valléean comparative mythology and folklore that all come together in the figure of Gef. There are multiple quotes from Gef that made me laugh out loud, I love him. Hopefully he's having a nice time in the Land of Mists...
April 5, 2020
Maybe from the cover art you’re thinking it’s a flimsy little self-printed thing but it is definitely not. This is a surprisingly big, comprehensive and well-told account of ol Gef. If you like the weird you will love it.
January 27, 2020
A truly bizarre retrospective of the scandal and furore around an alleged talking mongoose. Meanders a little but intriguing nevertheless
May 13, 2021
An almost academic study of a ‘ghost in the form of a weasel’.
October 29, 2024
Summary: The strange tale of an extra-special talking mongoose that inhabited a home on the Isle of Man in the 1930’s.
This book, a gift, is definitely outside the wheelhouse of what I usually review. Specifically, I’ve never been a fan of the paranormal. That is the best category I can come up with for this “strange tale.” James Irving had been a successful agent of the Dominion piano and organ company until the business collapsed in World War I. In 1916, he purchased a farm estate on the Isle of Man known as Dorlish Cashen. Eventually he and his wife Margaret moved to the isolated location to take up farming. Their older children were already living apart from them. A daughter, Voirrey, was born in 1918. They tried to fit in but were perceived as aloof outsiders. And they barely subsisted as farmers.
In late 1931, when Voirrey was 13, they started noticing taps and thumps around the house. A creature appeared to be living in the walls, especially in proximity to Voirrey’s room. After several weeks of interacting with James in a variety of screeches, it began speaking. At first, the creature wasn’t pleasant. It seemed to be drawn to Voirrey but also watched Margaret disrobe. It spit through gaps in boards. And it urinated. A scary nuisance. This continued for about ten years until the creature disappeared.
Word spread as James talked with locals, some who thought the site had always been a bit strange. Then a number of experts in the paranormal visited. Believed originally to be some form of a “man-weasel” most concluded from glimpses that the creature was a mongoose with unusual powers, including clairvoyance.
This book is a recent effort to tell the story of all the efforts to figure out what was going on. What kind of creature was this? How could it speak? Was some kind of spiritual presence involved or was this an elaborate hoax (although one without benefit to the Irvings)? The book reproduces news clippings from the time as well as photographs of the family, the farm, and indistinct photos of the creature. Efforts to photograph, collect paw prints, and hair samples were inconclusive at best. Yet phenomena experienced by the family and some of the visitors (Gef did not perform on demand) suggest there really was some form of strange presence.
Josiffe considers various theories about the creature’s relationship to each of the family members. Voirrey, as an adolescent girl seemed at first to be a focus of attention. Later, James, and to a lesser extent, Margaret were the object of the creature’s attentions. Some wondered about Margaret’s powers of clairvoyance. Others speculated that James obsession with the creature reflected a response to the business failures of an intelligent man.
The author devotes several chapters to the kinds of spirit creature it might be–ghost, poltergeist, familiar, elemental spirit, fair, brownie, tulpa, etc. In the end, there is not enough evidence for any conclusive finding.
What was striking to me, reading as a Christian, was that there is no mention of consulting with an exorcist, those whose ministry is to evict spirits inhabiting either a person or place. Clearly, a being communicating through an animal is a reminder of the serpent in the garden as is the capacity for supernatural knowledge. The unhealthy effect on each of the family members long term suggest a negative if not malevolent presence. Yet there was no concerted effort to cleanse the house of its presence but rather an acceptance of its presence and a kind of status quo. Sadly, there seems to have been no pastoral presence exercising spiritual discernment, only psychic researchers who thought it an interesting phenomenon.
The book is and will be of interest to those drawn to the paranormal and to folklore. The author took great pains to document the story, including interviews and site visits (the house is no longer standing). I believe in the existence of a spirit world, and the need to discern spirits. But I cannot commend excessive focus upon them, and hence my lukewarm response to this book.
This book, a gift, is definitely outside the wheelhouse of what I usually review. Specifically, I’ve never been a fan of the paranormal. That is the best category I can come up with for this “strange tale.” James Irving had been a successful agent of the Dominion piano and organ company until the business collapsed in World War I. In 1916, he purchased a farm estate on the Isle of Man known as Dorlish Cashen. Eventually he and his wife Margaret moved to the isolated location to take up farming. Their older children were already living apart from them. A daughter, Voirrey, was born in 1918. They tried to fit in but were perceived as aloof outsiders. And they barely subsisted as farmers.
In late 1931, when Voirrey was 13, they started noticing taps and thumps around the house. A creature appeared to be living in the walls, especially in proximity to Voirrey’s room. After several weeks of interacting with James in a variety of screeches, it began speaking. At first, the creature wasn’t pleasant. It seemed to be drawn to Voirrey but also watched Margaret disrobe. It spit through gaps in boards. And it urinated. A scary nuisance. This continued for about ten years until the creature disappeared.
Word spread as James talked with locals, some who thought the site had always been a bit strange. Then a number of experts in the paranormal visited. Believed originally to be some form of a “man-weasel” most concluded from glimpses that the creature was a mongoose with unusual powers, including clairvoyance.
This book is a recent effort to tell the story of all the efforts to figure out what was going on. What kind of creature was this? How could it speak? Was some kind of spiritual presence involved or was this an elaborate hoax (although one without benefit to the Irvings)? The book reproduces news clippings from the time as well as photographs of the family, the farm, and indistinct photos of the creature. Efforts to photograph, collect paw prints, and hair samples were inconclusive at best. Yet phenomena experienced by the family and some of the visitors (Gef did not perform on demand) suggest there really was some form of strange presence.
Josiffe considers various theories about the creature’s relationship to each of the family members. Voirrey, as an adolescent girl seemed at first to be a focus of attention. Later, James, and to a lesser extent, Margaret were the object of the creature’s attentions. Some wondered about Margaret’s powers of clairvoyance. Others speculated that James obsession with the creature reflected a response to the business failures of an intelligent man.
The author devotes several chapters to the kinds of spirit creature it might be–ghost, poltergeist, familiar, elemental spirit, fair, brownie, tulpa, etc. In the end, there is not enough evidence for any conclusive finding.
What was striking to me, reading as a Christian, was that there is no mention of consulting with an exorcist, those whose ministry is to evict spirits inhabiting either a person or place. Clearly, a being communicating through an animal is a reminder of the serpent in the garden as is the capacity for supernatural knowledge. The unhealthy effect on each of the family members long term suggest a negative if not malevolent presence. Yet there was no concerted effort to cleanse the house of its presence but rather an acceptance of its presence and a kind of status quo. Sadly, there seems to have been no pastoral presence exercising spiritual discernment, only psychic researchers who thought it an interesting phenomenon.
The book is and will be of interest to those drawn to the paranormal and to folklore. The author took great pains to document the story, including interviews and site visits (the house is no longer standing). I believe in the existence of a spirit world, and the need to discern spirits. But I cannot commend excessive focus upon them, and hence my lukewarm response to this book.
August 14, 2024
I was recommended this book by a friend and I'm glad he suggested it! It's certainly an unusual tale. A talking (and wise ass) mongoose is certainly not your typical cryptid or monster. There's nothing paranormal about Gef - or is there?
One of the things I liked about this book is that it almost read like a history book and not just a romp through quirky scenarios or speculative events. Christopher Josiffe chronicles the Irving family's life and lengthy time at Cashen's Gap on the Isle of Man, so we can witness the evolution of the Irvings, their relationship to their community, and everyone's experience (or lack there of) with Gef. Josiffe also spends a good deal of time relating the perspectives of several investigators and visitors to the homestead in search of what was behind the loquacious mongoose. And in doing so, we also get a bit of history of folklore and the spiritualism movement from the late 19th century/early 20th century.
Around the middle of the book, and then towards the last half, there's a bit of circling back around, so some chapters started to sound repetitious, but overall that didn't really get in the way much. Even though the events occurred a little bit than less than 100 years ago, the isolated location on the island gave the tale an antiquated and even exotic feel, blurry and questionable old photographs and all.
"Gef is the shaded area in the centre of a Venn diagram consisting of all these possibilities. The elusive Gef is only to be found in the gaps."
One of the things I liked about this book is that it almost read like a history book and not just a romp through quirky scenarios or speculative events. Christopher Josiffe chronicles the Irving family's life and lengthy time at Cashen's Gap on the Isle of Man, so we can witness the evolution of the Irvings, their relationship to their community, and everyone's experience (or lack there of) with Gef. Josiffe also spends a good deal of time relating the perspectives of several investigators and visitors to the homestead in search of what was behind the loquacious mongoose. And in doing so, we also get a bit of history of folklore and the spiritualism movement from the late 19th century/early 20th century.
Around the middle of the book, and then towards the last half, there's a bit of circling back around, so some chapters started to sound repetitious, but overall that didn't really get in the way much. Even though the events occurred a little bit than less than 100 years ago, the isolated location on the island gave the tale an antiquated and even exotic feel, blurry and questionable old photographs and all.
"Gef is the shaded area in the centre of a Venn diagram consisting of all these possibilities. The elusive Gef is only to be found in the gaps."
May 22, 2025
Who doesn’t love Gef?
I discovered Gef on a folklore podcast, and from that I knew I needed to learn more. And then I found this book and I know more than I ever feel I needed to know about the case of Gef.
This is a dense book. Dense with so much information. You can tell the author (Josiffe) loved the subject, and he clearly put a lot of research into this book. At times I felt it was too much information though, personally I was less interested in the exploration of what Gef could be (poltergeist, familiar, earth bound spirit etc) and more intrigued by the impact Gef had on the family and the findings of various investigations that took place over the years. Gef certainly had a sense of humour and did his best to make any investigations into him as frustrating as possible for the investigators.
I like that this book gives you all the information but then lets you decide what you think about the case. I did skip some pages though. Towards the end I was reaching a Gef-saturation point and wanting to get it finished.
I feel this is a book for people who are already aware of Gef and want to learn more. To pick this book up with no prior interest in the topic seems strange to me. It’s such an intense exploration of the topic I feel you have a to be a bit niche in your interests to enjoy this book.
I discovered Gef on a folklore podcast, and from that I knew I needed to learn more. And then I found this book and I know more than I ever feel I needed to know about the case of Gef.
This is a dense book. Dense with so much information. You can tell the author (Josiffe) loved the subject, and he clearly put a lot of research into this book. At times I felt it was too much information though, personally I was less interested in the exploration of what Gef could be (poltergeist, familiar, earth bound spirit etc) and more intrigued by the impact Gef had on the family and the findings of various investigations that took place over the years. Gef certainly had a sense of humour and did his best to make any investigations into him as frustrating as possible for the investigators.
I like that this book gives you all the information but then lets you decide what you think about the case. I did skip some pages though. Towards the end I was reaching a Gef-saturation point and wanting to get it finished.
I feel this is a book for people who are already aware of Gef and want to learn more. To pick this book up with no prior interest in the topic seems strange to me. It’s such an intense exploration of the topic I feel you have a to be a bit niche in your interests to enjoy this book.
February 9, 2019
I am very enamored with and curious about all things paranormal. I had not yet heard of the Gef phenomenon before reading this book, so was quite excited to dig into this. The book is very well researched, which is both a blessing and a curse (sometimes the evidence presented can get rather dry, but overall Josiffe did a good job making this an interesting read). By the end of the book, I wanted to know even more about the family, about Gef, and about related phenomena mentioned in the book because I was so enthralled. One of my favorite sections of the book was the section comparing Gef to other paranormal phenomena; some of the descriptions were so frightening that I felt my heart rate quickening. I also really enjoyed the folklore section. Great read, and great job by Josiffe.
June 4, 2018
This was an absolutely brilliant book! It’s a study of the strange case of a haunting at a remote farmhouse in 1930s Isle of Man. The author is an academic in folklore studies so he has no paranormal axe to grind and is primarily interested how culture affected the case and vice versa. The book is a mine of information and so well written and amply illustrated it’s a pleasure to read. The author grasps how Gef continues to fascinate even now and discusses all the possible options; hoax, poltergeist, delusion,familiar. Enjoyable and thought provoking.
May 17, 2018
I wouldn't call it high literature, but it was a fun read. Gef himself was enormously delightful. This book is a very comprehensive look at this phenomenon from the late 1930's on the Isle of Man. In the end, it proved to be as much about the Mongoose as the people who experienced him. A great quick read (even though the book is 300 + pages!) with all the info you could want...except of course a good pic of Gef.
July 23, 2024
I've had this on my list since it was published, and I finally bought a copy when we were in the IoM in May.
Surely the most exhaustive investigation into the mystery of Gef, well written, fascinating. If you have any interest in this particular series of events, in the Isle of Man between the wars, in anything Fortean, or in social attitudes to psychical research etc. I heartily recommend it to you.
Surely the most exhaustive investigation into the mystery of Gef, well written, fascinating. If you have any interest in this particular series of events, in the Isle of Man between the wars, in anything Fortean, or in social attitudes to psychical research etc. I heartily recommend it to you.
August 27, 2022
I thought this would be an examination of how a clear hoax gained believers. Instead, what I read was an author who seems to believe that a maybe physical, maybe ghostly, 90-yr-old talking mongoose from India lived in the UK. I would have been much more interested in a book about the psychology of the believers and the people who perpetrated the hoax than I was by this story as it is.
January 13, 2023
If you care for the Gef mystery, this is essential reading. Short of The Haunting of Cashen's Gap (and surely the book I am revising based on the both), there is nothing better. (If you do *not* enjoy the Gef phenomena before reading this book, you definitely will not by the end of it and are better served reading something else.)
Josiffe exhaustively researched the case with primary documents to which mere mortals (surely mortal on the wrong side of the pond) do not have ready access. Per the exhaustion, he does repeat himself and his evidence as well as going off on long tangents that faintly touch the mystery, if they do at all.
However, what are you going to do? Not enjoy the work he is done? Be a doubter? Absolutely not.
Josiffe exhaustively researched the case with primary documents to which mere mortals (surely mortal on the wrong side of the pond) do not have ready access. Per the exhaustion, he does repeat himself and his evidence as well as going off on long tangents that faintly touch the mystery, if they do at all.
However, what are you going to do? Not enjoy the work he is done? Be a doubter? Absolutely not.
April 15, 2023
An almost absurdly long book about a topic that's very clearly a load of nonsense, but there's something weirdly compelling about it. We'll never understand the family's motivation, or indeed of the others who also claimed to have heard or seen Gef, but it's still well worth reading this curious book.
February 14, 2018
Lucid, thorough and deeply unsettling account of one of Britain's strangest hauntings.
October 11, 2022
Fascinating look at the infamous haunting. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...
November 17, 2022
Thoroughly researched and put together.
May 29, 2024
Strange story , could be true...Very detailed information included.
November 29, 2024
A maze of a book that takes a little bit to get started before it becomes a strange tale of local folklore ... Or a haunting ... Or a hoax ... Or ...
May 11, 2025
my name gef
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January 8, 2025
⤅ Non-fiction Book of the Month: August 2024
As a longtime true crime buff, it's always been clear to me that there are some mysteries which only death will solve - namely, my own. From the Beaumont children to JonBenet Ramsey and everything in between, my plan has always been to, once I'm in Heaven (God willing) ask Him for the truth. If you had told me even a week ago that I would number the mystery of a talking weasel among those worthy of asking God about, I would have had you committed.
And yet I am planning to do that, and I did willingly read a 400-page book speculating on the existence of this creature. I absolutely can't do justice to this story. Even the Wikipedia page barely scratches the surface. (PLEASE read the Wikipedia page). It's a testament to how insane this story is, and how finely balanced its multiple components, that Josiffe was able to write a 400-page nonfiction work on Gef's story with surprisingly little filler and an astounding amount of detail. The amount of research that went into this story is apparent, but his readable prose style makes light work of it.
My own view is that the entire thing was either a hoax perpetrated by all three members of the family (though I can't explain how they were able to know things like the description of Ballamoar), or alternatively, a jinn. (I am Muslim, after all). But even the jinn story doesn't 100% fit...
The weakest parts of the book are when Josiffe delves into stories of other hauntings, either debunked (Enfield) or just low on detail (Bell Witch). The story as actually relates to Gef is told fluently and compellingly. I would LOVE to know what was happening in that isolated little farmhouse in the 1930s!
As a longtime true crime buff, it's always been clear to me that there are some mysteries which only death will solve - namely, my own. From the Beaumont children to JonBenet Ramsey and everything in between, my plan has always been to, once I'm in Heaven (God willing) ask Him for the truth. If you had told me even a week ago that I would number the mystery of a talking weasel among those worthy of asking God about, I would have had you committed.
And yet I am planning to do that, and I did willingly read a 400-page book speculating on the existence of this creature. I absolutely can't do justice to this story. Even the Wikipedia page barely scratches the surface. (PLEASE read the Wikipedia page). It's a testament to how insane this story is, and how finely balanced its multiple components, that Josiffe was able to write a 400-page nonfiction work on Gef's story with surprisingly little filler and an astounding amount of detail. The amount of research that went into this story is apparent, but his readable prose style makes light work of it.
My own view is that the entire thing was either a hoax perpetrated by all three members of the family (though I can't explain how they were able to know things like the description of Ballamoar), or alternatively, a jinn. (I am Muslim, after all). But even the jinn story doesn't 100% fit...
The weakest parts of the book are when Josiffe delves into stories of other hauntings, either debunked (Enfield) or just low on detail (Bell Witch). The story as actually relates to Gef is told fluently and compellingly. I would LOVE to know what was happening in that isolated little farmhouse in the 1930s!
November 12, 2021
A bit too credulous about shapeshifting stories, but every single page was entertaining.
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