Name: The Tolbooth

Alias / Known As: The Tower; The Belly of Judgment; Irvine’s Silent Witness

Built: Original tower granted in 1386; rebuilt and expanded circa 1616–1629

Location: High Street, Irvine, Ayrshire

Affiliations: Municipal jail, courtroom, and execution site

Summary:

The Tolbooth stands where mercy falters. Erected first in the 14th century and rebuilt in the early 1600s, its stones have absorbed centuries of confession, punishment, and silence. It houses cells below, a courtroom above, and a bell tower meant to mark justice. But the bell has not rung in decades—until recently. Since Elspeth Ault arrived in Irvine, townsfolk claim to hear its mournful toll again, echoing through the mist with no hand on the rope. Within these walls, time does not pass—it waits.

Notable Traits:

— Houses prisoners, trials, and the scaffold platform

— Cold, damp, thick with residual suffering

— Bell is known to toll without cause, especially in fog

— Said to remember names no longer spoken aloud

Status: Still standing; still listening