Phantoms and Monsters

The 'Dalby Spook' Case to Reopen
Don't Eat the Pink Snow
MUFON Director James Carrion Stepping Down
'Gigantic' Great White Shark Kills Swimmer in South Africa

Posted: 14 Jan 2010 12:13 PM PST

iomtoday - The case of a Manx mystery which made headlines around the world is to reopen more than 70 years after the first claimed sighting.

Speculation has surrounded the case of the Dalby Spook — a talking mongoose called Gef — since a 13-year-old girl is said to have first seen it in 1931.

Now, Christopher Josiffe, a cataloguer at London University's Senate Library, is carrying out new research into the case and he is appealing for Islanders to help uncover the truth.

'I have never been able to decide whether Gef was a hoax, or a genuine — if unexplained — phenomenon,' he said.

'Accordingly, I would be very interested if any of your readers knew the Irving family.

'For instance, did they seem to be publicity-seekers or did they ever charge admission for visitors to Doarlish Cashen?'

Much research has already been carried out since the Irving family, living in a cottage at Doarlish Cashen, heard strange sounds coming from behind panelling in the house.

It is claimed James and Margaret Irving's daughter, Voirrey, befriended a creature with yellow fur, bushy tail and flat snout, and which introduced himself as 'Gef, an extra clever mongoose from Delhi'.

Gef could sing as well as talk and, with Voirrey's tuition, his vocabulary grew rapidly. He roamed the area to relate gossip back to the Irvings.

He had many traits linked to poltergeists — an uneven temper, was prone to throwing objects at people and made exaggerated claims about his powers.

Reports of Gef ended when the Irvings left Doarish Cashen in 1935.

The next owner, a Mr Graham, said he snared and killed a strange-looking animal.

Legendary paranormal investigator Harry Price was one of a number of researchers who travelled to the Island in the 1930s to probe the strange affair.

As part of his investigation, he had three pawprints made by Gef in plasticine and an impression of his teeth marks evaluated by the Natural History Museum, but they were not matched to any animal.

Mr Price failed to come to any conclusion as to the truth or otherwise of the sightings.

Part of Mr Josiffe's job involves cataloguing books for the Harry Price Library of Magical Literature.

His interest in the case was aroused after looking at the books, letters, photos and other material contained in the library and its archives.

In fact, there is so much material that he has not managed to work his way through the whole collection yet.

He said: 'An interview with Voirrey Irving in the 1970s indicated that she still maintained Gef to have been genuine, but that he had not brought good luck to her family and she rather wished he had not come to stay with them.

'My impression, from reading the archived material, is that the Irvings did not benefit from the publicity; rather, that they were disturbed by gangs of sightseers who made their lives a misery.

'It has been suggested that the whole episode was an elaborate hoax perpetrated by the daughter, Voirrey — but I cannot imagine that she could have hoaxed her father and mother, both of whom seem perfectly sincere in their belief in Gef.

'James Irving, the father, sent Harry Price a diary consisting of Gef's activities over several years.'

He added: 'I am inclined to regard the case as a poltergeist manifestation, similar in some ways to, for instance the Enfield Poltergeist case in the 1970s — objects being hurled around, knocking and scratching sounds, a voice which begins by just making animal noises but quickly "learns" human speech.

'In both cases a teenage girl was the focus for the events.'

Mr Josiffe plans to gain enough information to give a lecture on the subject at Treadwells, a bookshop specialising in cultural history and esoteric belief, in London's Covent Garden.

He said: 'I realise that there will now be very few people still alive who are able to recall these events, given that they took place in the 1930s.

'Accordingly, it may well be that my only hope of any recollections will be from people recalling what their parents told them.'
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THE STORY OF 'GEF'

The strange saga of Gef the talking mongoose began in Autumn 1931 in an isolated farmstead on the Isle of Man called Doarlish Cashen (Cashen's Gap). The farm was home to 60-yr-old Jim Irving, his wife Margaret, and their 12-yr old daughter Voirrey.

Jim had been a commercial traveler before taking up farming in his retirement. The farm was not a success. Productivity was dropping, and the family struggled to make ends meet. They had no electricity, no phone and no radio. Their nearest neighbours lived over a mile away.

The Thing in the Walls

One dull September evening, the family heard inexplicable "blowing, spitting and growling" sounds coming from behind the wooden paneling lining the farmhouse walls. Jim thought a rat was to blame, and tried in vain to drive it from its lair.

The strange noises persisted over the following days. Jim set traps and laid down poison, but all to no avail. In desperation, he even tried to flush the intruder out by growling like a dog. To his surprise, it growled right back at him!

The elusive creature proved to be a talented mimic. It ingratiated itself with Jim by dutifully repeating his imitations of various animals and birds. Soon, he had only to name an animal and it would promptly respond with the appropriate imitation. At other times it made a gurgling sound like a baby attempting to form its first words. Then it began to talk...

Gef Introduces Himself

By way of experiment, Voirrey asked the creature to repeat some nursery rhymes. It obliged in a clear, if very squeaky, voice. Soon it was speaking freely. It introduced itself as Gef (pronounced 'Jeff') and claimed to be "an extra clever mongoose" born in Delhi, India in 1852. (A neighbouring farmer had actually imported Mongeese to the island 20 years earlier, hoping to curb the local rabbit population.)

Gef was soon holding regular conversations with both Voirrey and her father. (He seemed rather less friendly towards Voirrey's mother, Margaret.) He began nesting in a boxed partition in Voirrey's room, which the family dubbed "Gef's sanctum".

Although Jim and Margaret both caught brief glimpses of Gef, only Voirrey was allowed to look at him directly. She described him as being the size of a small rat, with yellowish fur and a long bushy tail.

Gef's Habits

Gef soon became one of the family. During the day he would roam the island, riding on the back axles of buses and cars. In the evening he would return home to share the news and gossip he had picked up on his travels. Sometimes he would also read out items from the local newspapers.

Gef's Sanctum "It announces its presence by calling either myself or my wife by our Christian names," Jim Irving wrote. "It's hearing powers are phenomenal. It is no use whispering. It detects the whisper 15-20 feet away, tells you that you are whispering, and repeats exactly what one has said."

Gef would often bring rabbits home for Margaret to cook. In return, he was given tidbits such as biscuits, sweets and chocolate. He was also fond of bacon and sausages. The food would be left out for him on the crossbeams near the ceiling, and he would sneak out and snatch it when no-one was looking.

Like many a poltergeist (or adolescent girl) Gef had a rather short fuse. For example, he once suddenly flew into a rage when he thought Jim was taking too long opening the morning post. "Read it out, you fat-headed gnome!" he squeaked furiously.

He also seemed to enjoy deliberately provoking Voirrey's parents. One night, he made a nuisance of himself by sighing and groaning for 30 minutes without pause, before confessing, "I did it for devilment!"

On another occasion, Margaret found herself being pelted with stones as she walked home. "Is that you, Gef?" she called out. "Yes, Maggie the witch woman, the Zulu Woman, the Honolulu woman!" taunted the impertinent mongoose.

Gef's Fame

Voirrey and Jim Irving with Richard Lambert The Manx papers ran a series of gently mocking articles about the 'Dalby Spook' (as they dubbed Gef) which led to Voirrey being teased mercilessly at school. Gef's fame spread to the mainland after Jim Irving persuaded the psychic researcher (and inveterate self-publicist) Harry Price to take an interest in the case.

But even as Gef's notoriety grew, his visits to the Irvings became fewer and farther between. By the time Price showed up to investigate in person, the marvellous mongoose was conspicuous only by his absence (see Investigating Gef).

In 1936, Price published the results of his investigation in a book co-authored with journalist Richard Lambert entitled The Haunting of Cashen's Gap: A Modern "Miracle" Investigated. Although Price did not explicitly accuse the Irvings of perpetrating a hoax, neither did he validate their claims.

Farewell to Gef

Soon after Price's book was published, the Irvings left Cashen's Gap for the mainland. Gef did not follow them there, nor did he introduce himself to the new owner, a Mr Graham.

Intriguingly, in 1947 Graham trapped and killed a strange looking animal that seemed to be neither ferret, stoat nor weasel. "It answers to all descriptions," the puzzled farmer told the local press. Eventually, Graham too left Cashen's Gap, and the farmhouse was demolished.

In 1970, a reporter from FATE magazine managed to track Voirrey down for an interview. She proved reluctant to discuss her former life with Gef. "Yes, there was a little animal who talked and did all those other things," she admitted. "He said he was a mongoose and we should call him Gef... But I do wish he had let us alone."

What Was Gef?

Nandor Fodor, distinguished parapsychologist and psychoanalyst, investigated the case. He came to the following final conclusions.

* Not a poltergeist: Gef performed bodily functions that poltergeists don't. He had three fingers and a thumb, so he could pick up items and, on one occasion, tug at Jim's pants. Fodor sent Gef a book about poltergeists before he went to Doarlish Cashen. Gef said he wasn't like poltergeists when Jim read the book to him.
* Not a Familiar: These acquire knowledge by "supernatural" means. Gef gained knowledge through the normal five senses.
* An animal? Gef drank, slept, ate, urinated and regurgitated. He talked in his sleep. He left tooth marks in food. He also caught colds. Fodor theorized that Gef was a mongoose or relative of that fauna family who learned to talk. Years before, a farmer imported mongooses to kill rabbits on his land. Fodor accepted what Gef said he was, an extra clever small mongoose.

Gef wasn't a cryptid, like Bigfoot. There are multiple sightings of more than one of these creatures and there is no record of a talking cryptid.

Sources:
www.iomtoday.co.im
www.thesupernaturalworld.com
dalbyspook.110mb.com

Don't Eat the Pink Snow

Posted: 14 Jan 2010 11:32 AM PST

phillyburbs - Less than eight hours before the arrival of 2010, Hilltown police began what was likely their strangest investigation of 2009.

On Revere Drive, just off of Chalfont Road, there was pink snow everywhere.

"It was on the roofs, the grass and the nearby woods," said Officer Matthew Reiss, who arrived at the scene around 4:30 p.m. "I had no idea what we were dealing with."

Reiss called the Federal Aviation Administration to see if the strange substance could have fallen from a plane.

"It was covering the entire length of the roofs of seven homes," said Reiss. "I picked up some the snow that was on the ground. It had no odor or oily texture."

As the police continued to probe the mystery of the pink snow, a resident came out and told Reiss that her son went on the Internet and believes he had found the culprit.

"She said that it was 'watermelon snow' that was from an algae, whose name I wouldn't try to pronounce," said Reiss.
Advertisement Click here to find out more!

The algae are chlamydomonas nivalis, or snow algae, that owe their red color to a bright red carotenoid pigment.

According to the National Geographic Web site, the snow algae, like all algae, are green at heart, the red comes from the secondary pigment.

Usually in a dormant stage in winter, at times they "wake up" germinate, and squirm up through the ice crystals toward the sunlight, coloring the snow.

Reiss said the pink snow was only on the sections of roof that faced the sun.

According to one source, watermelon snow has puzzled mountain climbers, explorers, and naturalists for thousands of years.

Well, on this New Year's Eve, at least for a short time, it had a Hilltown police officer and the residents of Revere Drive scratching their heads as well.

MUFON Director James Carrion Stepping Down

Posted: 14 Jan 2010 10:58 AM PST

Effective March 1st, 2010, I am relinquishing my position as MUFON International Director to take on a different position within the organization. The reasons for my relinquishing the position are many but the overlying issue is that I simply no longer have the time to dedicate to the job. As a member of the "sandwich generation": a single parent of a young child who must also deal with aging parents, my time has become very limited. In addition, I still actively manage a separate for-profit company which further limits my time. Finally, I am also doing time-consuming independent UFO research that focuses on the role of Government in the UFO field - a gold mind of information yet to be adequately explored.

It may come as a surprise to you, but my transitioning out of the International Director role has been two years in the making. In 2006, I committed to a three year term as the International Director until 2009, but when no suitable candidate was found, I agreed to stay on for one more year. In 2008, the MUFON Board of Directors approved the role of a MUFON Business Manager to separate the duties of leadership from those of running MUFON's nonprofit business operations. I gave the board notice in December 2009, but I offered to stay on until the 2010 Symposium in July so a suitable candidate could be found. Fortunately, a candidate search was not necessary as one of the existing MUFON Board members offered to become the new International Director and was unanimously voted into office. I will be occupying the role of MUFON Business Manager which will be far less demanding of my time.

I am proud to announce that the new MUFON International Director is my long term good friend and colleague, Clifford Clift. Clifford will be featured in the MUFON Journal so that the MUFON membership can become acquainted with him and his professional background. I am completely confident that Clifford is the best man for the job and I know that MUFON could not be in better hands.

It has been my pleasure to serve MUFON as the International Director these last three years and I know that going forward, MUFON will still be on the cutting edge of UFO investigation.

If you would like to congratulate Cliff or introduce yourself to him, please direct all correspondence to cclift@what-wire.com.

If you want to keep up with my independent research, stay tuned to my personal blog at followthemagicthread.blogspot.com where I will continue my fight for the truth and exposing those who have no intention of revealing the truth.

'Gigantic' Great White Shark Kills Swimmer in South Africa

Posted: 14 Jan 2010 10:03 AM PST

Here's one for those who watched the newest episode of 'MonsterQuest' Wednesday evening!

guardian - Witnesses have described their horror at seeing a tourist being eaten by a "gigantic" shark in South Africa's most popular holiday destination.

Lloyd Skinner was pulled under the surf and dragged out to sea by the shark, believed to be a great white, off Fish Hoek beach in Cape Town. His diving goggles and a dark patch of blood were all that remained in the water.

"Holy shit. We just saw a gigantic shark eat what looked like a person in front of our house," witness Gregg Coppen posted on Twitter. "That shark was huge. Like dinosaur huge."

The shocking attack yesterday afternoon came after an increase in recent shark sightings and led to calls for an electronic warning system to alert swimmers.

Skinner, 37, a Zimbabwean who lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was standing chest-deep 100 metres from the shore and adjusting his goggles when the shark struck. It was seen approaching him twice before he disappeared in a flurry of thrashing. Cape Town's disaster management services had issued a warning hours earlier that sharks had been spotted in the water, but the shark flag was not flying.

Witnesses described the terrifying scene. The shark was "longer than a minibus", Coppen told the Cape Times newspaper.

He said: "It was this giant shadow heading to something colourful. Then it sort of came out the water and took this colourful lump and went off with it. You could see its whole jaw wrap around the thing which turned out to be a person."

British visitor Phyllis McCartain told the same paper: "We saw the shark come back twice. It had the man's body in its mouth, and his arm was in the air. Then the sea was full of blood."

Kyle Johnston said: "We were swimming only about 15 metres away from the guy. We were at about chest depth and he was a little deeper. We looked at the walkway and saw people waving towels at us, then we looked further out to sea and saw what looked like blood, and a man's leg come up."

His friend Dane Leo added: "I was floating and I thought the people waving at us were joking, but then I looked back and saw a fin and blood."

Kathy Geldenhuys was sitting on a nearby bench. She recalled: "My husband had just pointed out how far the man was swimming from the other people. He asked what would happen if he was attacked by a shark, because he was so far away. The words were hardly cold when the shark attacked that man. The shark attacked twice; it turned and attacked the man again; I just saw the blood on the water."

Geldenhuys added: "Only when it was attacking did I see the fin, but then I could see the whole body under the water. It was a very big shark ... It came from below and grabbed the man. Part of his body was gone."

Skinner was reportedly on holiday in Cape Town for the month to attend the wedding of his partner's daughter. His partner was at the beach with him.

Four rescue boats and a helicopter searched in vain for Skinner yesterday and resumed the hunt today. Ian Klopper, a spokesman for the National Sea Rescue Institute, said: "You can rule out any chance of finding him alive. Whether we find body parts, it's very unlikely. We think the shark took everything."

Shark scientist Alison Kock said it was probably a great white, the most commonly spotted shark in the area. "More than 70% of recorded great white attacks on humans result in just the shark biting and then leaving," she said. "There is that 30% where the shark behaves like it did in this case, where it came back and killed the person." Kock added there had been an increase in shark sightings in recent weeks.

After a deadly attack at Fish Hoek six years ago, shark spotters were posted on mountain slopes to look for sharks close to popular swimming spots. The spotters use radios to order that a loud alarm be sounded so people can move to safety.

This attack has reportedly prompted discussions about introducing an electronic detection system. Klopper said he was unaware of details, but past speculation has included sonar buoys able to identify sharks and transmit a warning signal. Critics say this would be impractical.

Beaches along Cape Town's False Bay coastline were closed today, but several bathers ignored the warning flags and ventured into shallow waters. Lifeguards asked them to get out and the shark alarm sounded several times.

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