Not Yeti Friday - Gef

Here's a fantastical creature for you...  Have you heard of Gef?  He's amazing. 

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One day Gif showed up at a farmhouse on the Isle of Man in 1931. He was a sort of spirit that took the form of a small mammal similar to a weasel. He'd do odd, usually helpful things for the family.  Then he learned how to talk and revealed himself to be a bit of a trickster.  The family called him Jack. He said he preferred to be called "Jeff", only he insisted it be spelled G-E-F.  Yes, he specified the spelling. 

He was actually one seriously eerie weasel.  When asked what he was, he said:

"I am the ghost in the form of a weasel, and I will haunt you with weird noises and clanking chains."

Later, he would elaborate: "I am a little extra, extra clever mongoose."

Much later, he would clarify: "I am an earth-bound spirit."

My theory is he didn't quite know what he was. I think he was searching for his identity here on our plane of existence.   I hope he was able to find himself during his stay. 

The stories about him are a delight...

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One day, James the father (who Gef teasingly called "Jimo" as well as a "fat-headed gnome") saw a cat and he gave chase to it, but it got away.  Later, Gef creepily explained to James that it was in fact him who he saw.

So Gef could turn into a cat, apparently.  You know, if he felt like it.

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Besides being like a cat-morphing Bugs Bunny-type, what else did Gef do?

• Enjoyed singing along to the family's gramophone.
• Used his telekinetic powers for mischief.
• Would spy on bus depot workers for no reason.  He would just sit and watch them and eavesdrop for hours on end. Finally, one of the workers said, "this animal, or whatever it is, knows a darn sight too much" and set up an electric trap for him.  But Gef was never caught.  I can't help but wonder - what was Gef staring at them for?  Just to mess with 'em, I think.

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Other favorite quotes:

"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."

"I'll split the atom! I am the fifth dimension!  I am the eighth wonder of the world!"


"I could kill you all, but I won't."


"If you knew what I know, you'd know a hell of a lot!"


"Well, Jim, what about some grubbo?"


"Nuts! Put a sock in it! Chew coke!"


"Put the bloody gramophone on!"

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Gef, if you're still out there, keep on keepin' on. We miss you.