The Rerrick Parish Poltergeist

In 1695, the Mackie family’s farmhouse at Ringcroft of Stocking in southwestern Scotland became the site of one of the best-documented poltergeist cases of the pre-modern era. The phenomena were so dramatic and persistent that they were investigated by ministers and documented in official records, providing an unusually detailed account of a seventeenth-century haunting.

The Setting

Andrew Mackie was a respectable farmer living in the parish of Rerrick, near Kirkcudbright in Scotland. He lived with his wife and children in a stone farmhouse that had never previously shown any signs of unusual activity.

In February 1695, the family began experiencing phenomena that would continue for months and draw the attention of the entire region.

The Beginning

The disturbances began with stone-throwing. Stones pelted the farmhouse from no apparent source, sometimes falling gently as if dropped from the ceiling, other times flying with great force. The stones continued night after night, seemingly inexhaustible.

Family members were struck and bruised. Windows were broken. No matter how carefully the family searched, they could not find the source of the stones. Guards were posted, but the throwing continued even when every approach to the house was watched.

Escalation

The phenomena soon expanded beyond stone-throwing. The family’s possessions were disturbed—clothing was found tied in knots, objects were moved or hidden, and livestock were released from their enclosures.

Fires began breaking out spontaneously throughout the house. The family would extinguish one fire only to have another break out elsewhere. Their clothes caught fire on their bodies. Their bedding ignited while they lay in it.

Physical attacks became more severe. Family members were dragged from beds, beaten by invisible hands, and thrown across rooms. The children were particularly targeted.

Investigation

The severity of the phenomena drew official attention. Multiple ministers visited the farm to investigate and attempt spiritual intervention. Alexander Telfair, the local minister, documented the case extensively and his account survives as a primary source.

The ministers witnessed phenomena firsthand. They saw stones fall from the ceiling in rooms they had searched thoroughly. They heard voices speaking from thin air. They felt the presence of something malevolent.

Attempts at prayer and exorcism provided temporary relief but did not end the phenomena. The entity seemed to mock religious efforts, throwing stones at ministers during prayers and destroying religious texts.

The Voice

As the case progressed, the entity began to speak. A voice emerged, whispering initially and then growing louder. It claimed to be a demon sent to torment the Mackie family for sins they had committed.

The voice engaged in theological debate with the ministers, demonstrating knowledge of scripture while twisting its meaning. It prophesied future events, some of which allegedly came true. It threatened worse torments to come.

Resolution

After several months of phenomena, the activity gradually decreased. The entity announced its departure after a final surge of violence. The voice declared that it had been sent away by higher powers and would not return.

The Mackie family’s ordeal ended as mysteriously as it had begun. The farmhouse returned to normalcy, and no further phenomena were reported.

Documentation

The Rerrick case was unusually well-documented for its era. Minister Alexander Telfair published an account titled “A True Relation of an Apparition, Expressions and Actings of a Spirit which Infested the House of Andrew Mackie.” This pamphlet circulated widely and was cited by later researchers as an example of a well-witnessed poltergeist outbreak.

Multiple independent witnesses—ministers, neighbors, and local officials—corroborated the account. Their testimonies were recorded and preserved.

Legacy

The Rerrick Parish poltergeist became a foundational case in Scottish supernatural lore. It demonstrated the pattern that later researchers would recognize as typical of poltergeist activity: the gradual onset, escalation, peak intensity, and eventual resolution.

The case shows that poltergeist phenomena have been consistently reported across cultures and centuries, with similar characteristics appearing whether in seventeenth-century Scotland or twentieth-century London.