Every society creates its own misfits ; the Freaks of the Pit are the very demonstration of this principle. The British empire is based on monarchy ; your birth determines your social rank whereas one's very life shall depend on whether they were born wealthy or in squalid poverty. Beggars, criminals and whores have always crowded the streets of London at dusk.
   The industrial development of the city has increased social inequities, turning upside down habits and age-old traditions, condemning thousands of individuals to dire poverty. The pollution from factories, the experiments of scientists, the manipulations of the Ether by necromancers : all of these eventually affected the lower classes, creeping into their very flesh.
   As early as 1842,  the first mutants appeared in the city’s parish registers. As only the poorest people were concerned, nothing was done about it, in spite of the alarm cries of a few philanthropic societies. Little by little the number of monsters grew until their ashamed families could not hide them anymore. At first these freaks encountered a real success as they were shown in wandering circuses. But the events of 1873 put an end to this and deprived the freaks of the only place they had managed to find in society.
   During the “Night of Monsters”, every single member of the Big Barnum Bazaar was hanged by a heinous crowd who were no longer able to bear the sight of these creatures polluting their everyday life, unwitting prophets of a squalid future. It is generally acknowledged that the Pit, as an organisation, was founded two years after this massacre, after two years of fear and relentless hunt. Rejected by the surface world, the mutants created their own monarchy in underground London, the very Monarchy of Crime, usually known as the Pit. Down there is a violent society, full of spite and resentment whose members are prevented from killing one another simply because mutual help is their only chance to survival. Wandering in the lowly, seedy areas of London is risky ; venturing into underground London, however, is a hazardous journey, for one's soul as well as for their body.
   The Pit has now become a powerful organisation. The Freaks’ greatest wish is to be recognised for what they are. They were pitied for too long, so they are now eager to be feared. They loathe the members of the Club, self-righteous gentlemen and smooth-faced Ladies. Their contacts with the Fairy People are ambiguous. Fairies may sometimes look horrible but it is acknowledged that they are cruel by nature with mutants.
   The seeds of vengeance are growing in the very heart of the Pit. They have recently flourished into a bud of powder and steel, that came very close to claiming no less than Queen Victoria’s life. When people have nothing left to lose, they will dare anything. Very few Freaks advocate fraternity with the people of upper London, and the recent attack will not improve this situation. Anyway, each night more bombs are made in the Pit’s workshops.