Do you know why people spit on ‘The Heart of Midlothian’ in Edinburgh?

It might sound strange but it’s a fact that can’t be denied or ignored! We all know that spitting on roads is a bad habit and a number of places fine people for doing so. However, in Royal Mile (a succession of streets) in Edinburgh, spitting is no less than a ritual and is quite a common sight.

Here, people don’t spit in the street but at a particular spot! To the west of St. Giles Kirk, there is a heart-shaped mosaic set on the ground called The Heart of Midlothian, where people spit.
Why such a ritual?

Well, this is the exact spot where (15th - 19th century) the notorious Old Tolbooth prison once stood. This was the place, where badmen were punished, public hangings took place, and the people of Edinburgh would gather around and spit. After the building got destroyed in 1817, the heart-shaped granite was left as a reminder of the horrific act.
It was also a place of torture, where terrible ways were used to inflict pain on the prisoners. A lot of unsaid things used to happen inside the closed walls of this scary prison. The spitting inside the heart started as an act of contempt for this frightening sight.

Relation with Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Heart of Midlothian

The renowned Scottish novelist, Sir Walter Scott, wrote a novel called The Heart of Midlothian, which was all about the Old Tolbooth prison. The book was originally published in the year 1818 and is still considered Scott’s finest work.