Paranormal case file · Location 60
PoltergeistHaunted BuildingCurated Haunted LocationKnown Haunted Location
Curated Haunted Location
Mansfield Street - The Patrick Poltergeist
Mansfield Street, Glasgow, Glasgow City, Scotland, G11 5QP, United Kingdom
The haunting
The Partick Poltergeist is one of Glasgow’s best-known reported residential hauntings. Between 1959 and 1961, a family living at 23 Mansfield Street, Partick, allegedly experienced unexplained noises, sudden coldness, objects moving by themselves and a frightening figure appearing near a child’s bed. The case became known for its disturbing activity inside an ordinary family home — turning a familiar domestic space into the setting for an unsettling paranormal mystery. The original property has since been demolished.
Reported / claimed activity
The family reportedly experienced a series of strange disturbances over approximately two years. ◆ Unexplained noises: Scratching and other strange sounds were heard around the house, with no obvious source. ◆ Sudden coldness: Rooms reportedly felt persistently cold, adding to the family's sense that something was wrong. ◆ Moving objects: One of the most memorable incidents involved a piece of coal apparently rising out of a bucket before dropping back inside. ◆ Invisible contact: Reports describe family members being pushed or touched by something they could not see. ◆ A frightening presence: The family reportedly encountered a tall, ghostly man standing over the children's bed.
◆ What was seen or heard? ◆ The tall man: A shadowy male figure was reportedly seen standing over the children's bed, creating a particularly disturbing element to the haunting. ◆ The dancing coal: The reported movement of coal from a bucket became one of the case's most memorable details, as it seemed to move without anyone touching it. ◆ Scratching and strange noises: Sounds around the property reportedly grew increasingly unsettling, leaving the family struggling to feel comfortable in their own home. ◆ A growing sense of fear: The family’s experiences attracted attention from outside the house, with curious people gathering nearby to learn what was happening.
Background and folklore, separate from member eyewitness experiences.
Historical background
◆ 1. Before the street was built Partick has a much older history than the Victorian streets we see today. ◆ 1136: The area's recorded history reaches back to a grant of land by King David I to the Church of St Kentigern. ◆ Medieval period: Partick was a small settlement associated with mills, agriculture and the River Kelvin. It was very different from the industrial neighbourhood it would become. ◆ 2. The industrial boom — 1800s ◆ In the 1840s, the opening of Tod & MacGregor's Meadowside Shipyard helped transform Partick from a village into an industrial centre. ◆ Workers arrived from across Scotland and Ireland, and the growing population needed homes, roads, lighting, drainage and other public services. ◆ Partick became an independent burgh in 1852, and residential streets and tenement housing expanded as the community grew. ◆ 3. Mansfield Street in the early 1900s We have documentary evidence that Mansfield Street was established by this period. ◆ Glasgow's 1913–14 valuation rolls include a dedicated record for Mansfield Street, preserved through Glasgow City Archives and made accessible by The Glasgow Story website. ◆ These records can be particularly useful for tracing the people who lived on a street, property owners and the changing use of buildings. ◆ 4. The 1959–1961 haunting This is when Mansfield Street entered Glasgow's paranormal history. ◆ In August 1961, the Glasgow Evening Times published an account of the Hanlon family's experiences at number 23. ◆ The article described two years of reported strange noises, persistent coldness, moving coal and a frightening apparition. ◆ The story was later reproduced in the Partick Times in its Winter 2015 edition. It is one of the most useful historical sources for documenting the case. ◆ 5. Demolition and redevelopment Mansfield Street's story also reflects the wider changes that swept through Glasgow. ◆ During the 1960s and 1970s, many older tenements across Partick were demolished as roads, housing and infrastructure were redeveloped. ◆ The original building at 23 Mansfield Street no longer exists, according to the local newspaper archive that reproduced the haunting report.
References & research
Sources & background
These sources document the location, story or claimed activity. They do not prove paranormal activity.
- Patrick TimesNews article · Patrick Times
Mysterious Mansfield Street: Haunting of Hanlon Family” · December 2015 edition, reproducing a Glasgow Evening Times article dated 7 August 1961.
- Poltergeist ArchiveHistoric record · Poltergeist Archive
Partick, Glasgow (1961)” · Historical newspaper account collection.
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