Noltland Castle was built from 1560 by Gilbert Balfour on lands granted by Bishop Adam Bothwell, and burned in 1650 by Covenanters. It is now a ruin in state care.
The Boky Hound is a death omen of the black dog type. It is said to howl, and to patrol the staircase, when a Balfour is about to die. The usual explanation is that the dog was killed by an enraged Balfour who thought it had spilled his drink on purpose, when in fact the drink was poisoned and the dog was saving his life.
One popular source dates the killing to the 13th century and names Sir David Balfour. That cannot be right as the castle stands, since it was only built in the 1560s. The tale may have attached itself to the castle later or been retold with a wrong date. The Wikipedia article on the castle makes no mention of the hound. Treat it as a floating legend, thinly sourced.
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