did someone say hell?

Hell is found in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is not a place of torment, but is the common grave. Here is where the name "hell" or in Hebrew "sheol" can be found:

Psalms 139:8: " If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there."

Proverbs 9:18: " But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell."

Proverbs 15:24: "The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath."

Amos 9:2: " Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down."

Jonah 2:2: " And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice." (The belly of the fish that swallowed Jonah would have been his grave, had God not rescued him)

Do any of these Scriptures make hell seem like a place of torment? God is love and does not torture anyone.

When Adam and Eve sinned, they were told they would return to the ground from where they came.All who died afterwards and who now die, go to hell (the grave) and it is comforting to know that they are not being tortured. The Bible says the dead know nothing at all. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10)

You know, I am not exactly positive where it is first said in the Bible, but it does mention Hell several times. Now your question about mercy. There is a mercy supplied through God. As long as you are alive, He gives you the chance to repent, meaning to apologize for the sins you have commited and try to not repeat the malifactoral action. Once you have died, your soul has been permenantly set into either good or evil. If it is evil, you may not enter Heaven, the polar opposite of Hell. God does not allow sin into Heaven, therefore, you must be sent to Hell. Therefore, it is ideal and self-perserving to repent as soon as possible.

I do not believe there is any mention of hell in the Old Testament.

Inside Qur'an telling everything.