Kingsport 1844: The Cauldron
- At September 10, 2021
- By Great Quail
- In Call of Cthulhu
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The Cauldron
Prostitution testifies to the amoral power struggle of sex, which religion has never been able to stop. Prostitutes, pornographers, and their patrons are marauders in the forest of archaic night.
—Camille Paglia, “Sexual Personae”
The area of Harborside known as “the Cauldron” lies in a sloped pocket bounded by Silver Street to the west, King Street to the south, Doubloon Street to the east, and Bluff Road to the north. An area of notorious ill-repute, the Cauldron is riddled with numerous “flash panneys,” or dens of iniquity: gambling houses, dance halls, cock-pits, brothels, tattoo parlors, and pawnshops serving as smuggler’s fronts. The Cauldron gets its name from an article published in the Arkham Bulletin in 1821, in which a young Graham Blaine referred to the region as a “veritable witch’s cauldron of mephitic vapours, exhaled from the rotten mouths of its iniquitous denizens; a collection of scoundrels, blackguards, and harlots, devotées one and all to the avaricious credo of Mammon; each endeavoring to outpace his neighbor in the public display of the Seven Deadly Sins; with additional plaudits awarded to the wretch who finds Eight or Nine more.”
Cock Lane
The area between Barton Street and Pay Street boasts a labyrinthine rookery of alleys and hovels collectively known as “Cock Lane.” Shielded by the warehouses along Silver Street and King Street, and overhung by the nearly-touching gables of the opposing buildings, Cock Lane has a gloomy appearance even during the daytime. Although its name originated from the numerous cock-pits found along Pay Street during the early part of the century, the appellation has found an ironic twist as the belligerent roosters have been displaced by soiled doves. Cock Lane is now home to an abundance of brothels, from the lowest bawd houses and “pushing schools” to tawdry “panel houses” where customers are robbed through secret doors. Illuminated by lurid red lanterns, the narrow streets are thronged with “bats” gliding through the perpetual dusk: frail sisters and fallen women, many dressed in ragged attire or stripped to their unmentionables. Open doorways beckon travelers to squalid “cribs” or cheap bordellos, and the air rings with the lecherous taunts of sailors and the saucy rejoinders of jaded prostitutes leaning naked from second-floor windows.
| The Oldest Profession In 1844 prostitution was a booming business, especially in cities and port towns. While it was certainly frowned upon, prostitution was not yet the subject of moral outrage it would become during the late Victorian era. One of the only avenues of financial advancement available to lower-class women, prostitution was largely a female-run business, with madams in charge of brothels and streetwalkers typically self-employed. Male “pimps” and “cadets” might offer protection at bawdy houses, and some girls had a favorite “flash man,” but the modern pimp didn’t enter the picture until later that century.The average nineteenth-century prostitute was in her early twenties; however, the age of consent was widely considered to be twelve. This was made even more awful by the persistent belief that a virgin’s maidenhood was a cure for syphilis! Child prostitution was a tragic reality of the era, as were child laborers and twelve-year old midshipmen torn apart by cannonballs. Many prostitutes entered the trade after becoming destitute, whether through abandonment, divorce, or widowhood. Some simply desired to earn a higher income than they would as a seamstress or domestic, while others offered “inclination” or “idleness” as their reason. Some were tricked or seduced into the trade, a few were abducted or raped. Lower-class prostitutes might be “forgiven” and reabsorbed back into society, whereas upscale “fallen women” constituted a distinct social class of their own, welcome at the theater, perhaps, but never polite society. Prostitution was strictly segregated; there were white brothels and black brothels. Although a white patron might visit a black prostitute—euphemistically called a “mulatto” no matter her heritage—black patrons were barred from white brothels, lest they subject the frail sisters to “racial pollution.” As America advanced across the continent, this system of segregation expanded to include separate brothels for Mexican prostitutes and Chinese prostitutes, although there were always exceptions along the lawless frontier. White Leviathan grapples with many historical atrocities, and players are likely to find nineteenth-century sexual politics and notions of consent not merely offensive, but barbarous. Individual gaming groups may differ in their comfort levels with this material, and the Keeper should balance the demands of historical authenticity with the expectations and sensitivities of modern players. While the Diving Bell (Encounter 5) wallows in criminality, depravity, and squalor; the Starry Busk (Encounter 6) presents an idealized nineteenth-century brothel, employing consenting adults and operated by a generous madam of independent means. Naturally, Keepers are free to make alterations or indulge in anachronisms; but the Cauldron is a messy place, full of complex interactions involving gender, social class, and harsh economic realities. |
Crime in the Cauldron
Needless to say, petty crime is rampant in the Cauldron, and its warrens are inhabited by all varieties of pickpockets, thieves, and card sharps. Anyone wandering into the Cauldron looking out of place is subject to immediate victimization: a failed Sleight of Hand roll usually results in a lightened pocket. Lately, a troupe of “amusers” have been frequenting Silver Street, hanging around the boxing rings and remaining cock-pits. These gentlemen work in pairs, one tossing snuff into the eyes of their mark and running away, the other picking his pockets as they pretend to help the blinded victim. Another local scam involves the Blue Lantern, a notorious assignation house at the end of Bargain Alley. Featuring curtainless windows and rooms illuminated by cobalt-blue lamps, its women and their customers are on public display. Lascivious gawkers may be rudely interrupted by the sudden appearance of sap-wielding thugs, politely demanding a 10¢ fee “for watching the show.” If a voyeur is literally caught with his pants down, the charge may be significantly increased—unless the mark agrees to head inside for a “proper dollar fuck.”
Kingsport’s constables tend to ignore the Cauldron, and only materialize when summoned to investigate incidents of outright murder. Naturally, most deaths go unreported, the bodies never seen again. Only a few weeks ago a Maori sailor named Bembo Burn was fatally stabbed by a whorehouse cadet after he failed to pay his debts. (A harpooneer on the Quiddity, Bembo’s death created the vacancy for Quakaloo to fill, and provided Silas Grimble with his largest “patch.” See Encounter 27 for details.) Despite this seedy reputation, visitors who “hang tough” and keep a weather eye on their purse strings are generally left alone—after all, crime only pays when there’s a buyer.
II. Cauldron Locations & Encounters
5. The Diving Bell
6. The Starry Busk
White Leviathan, Chapter 1—Kingsport 1844
[Back to Encounter 4, St. Erasmus’ Home | White Leviathan TOC | Forward to Encounter 5, The Diving Bell]
Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 2 October 2021
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
White Leviathan PDF: [TBD]