Mad Maudlin

Mad Maudlin haunts both London Above, though all the police know to look out for her. They say she is a doxie carrying a terrible form of clap that must be contained, before it spreads to the city. They consider her some deranged Typhoid Mary of prostitutes, although the reality is much stranger: her kiss alone can make men mad, and the number of men who occupy the shriek-filled halls of Bedlam Hospital due to her affections is terrifying to contemplate.

In truth, everyone knows that Mad Maudlin ("Maud," for short) is looking for the one whose kiss made her mad - Tom O'Bedlam, the first inmate of the terrible Bedlam hospital. Every so often, she mistakes some poor fool for her dear Tom and stalks him mercilessly, not understanding why he won't come and love her, until she corners him and kisses him...and realizes the truth. In days, the man is stark raving mad - one of her "Bedlam Boys," whose madnesses are as myriad and different as they, save for one commonality: slavish devotion to their dear Miss Maud.

Once she realizes her mistake, however, she has little use for the madmen she makes, though she does tolerate them hanging about. Usually, once they've spent some time away from her, they come to their senses, although they are never quite the same again.

Mad Maudlin spends most of her UnderLondon time in the Infernum, known for its fiery gin houses and the mists that she claims eases the burning in her mind. She is something of a legend in both Londons, however, for her Bedlam Boys all sing a song about her, occasionally adding verses as they experience new things while following her adoringly.