Throughout the centuries many mysterious groups have come and gone, but with each passing year their legends have grown. The legends have become engrained into monolithic conspiracy theories that have shown up in novels, movies, video games, and even appeared in the news. In the modern age though the internet has made information on the secret societies more aggregated on sites like YouTube and Wikipedia. It has also however spawned websites that see the world being ran under one government to the more fantastical who see it ran by the reptile men. Below are the top five secret societies who continue to capture the public’s imagination to this day.
Skull and Bones
The secret society of the Skull and Bones is a elite fraternity of sorts founded at Yale University in 1832 after a fight among the University’s debating societies. The names of it’s membership had begun to be kept secret in the 1970s but its membership claim names such as George H. W. Bush , his son George W. Bush, Senator John Kerry, and Frederick W. Smith, Founder of FedEx. With such powerful names in its roster theories have been claimed everywhere from the creation of the nuclear bomb to steering the direction of the world. The latter theory seems to be a growing trend among secret societies but the group has also been said to have been the breeding place for the founding of the CIA, the organization has since released documents denying the allegation.
Despite the normal over the top theories the Skull and Bones have also been fingered for less serious crimes. It is claimed that during the first World War the members of the society that were Army volunteers at Fort Sill stole the skull of Geronimo. Despite this claim and lawsuits against them the group has denied ever having possessed the skull or any other skulls that they are said to have.
The Knights Templar
First active in 1119 AD the Knights Templar are the oldest society on this list as well as have some of the longest-running conspiracies. They were originally founded to help protect the roads traveled by pilgrims from Europe to the Holy Land of Jerusalem; eventually the Knights Templar grew exponentially in popularity when the monk, Bernard of Clairvaux, wrote a treatise entitled “In Praise of the New Knighthood”. Once the treatise was put into public view the numbers of the order swelled to almost 20,000 while the donations began to pour in.
With such powerful backers of the church they have had their legend grow. The group is said to have been in possession of the Holy Grail as well as the Ark of the Covenant. These extravagant tales of forbidden treasure have have spawned movies such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade to modern video games like Assassin’s Creed.
With a past as rich and colorful as the Knights Templar their legends have branched into other societies such as the next widely known group.
The Freemasons
Founded sometime in the late 16th to early 17th century the Freemasons themselves have grown into a worldwide group with branches throughout the United Kingdom and the United States with memberships at more than six million. The organization itself is organized into Grand Lodges that oversee large regions or countries; from there the membership of cities are overseen by smaller Lodges which must be recognized by the Grand Lodge.
The Freemasons, despite their large open memberships, have been said to worship Satan, plotting to form a New World Order, or that they are or are helping humanoid reptiles. One theories that caught my eye when I wrote this article is that some believe the serial killer Jack the Ripper was a Freemason because of his ritualistic killings. On top of all that they are also said to be linked to the Skull and Bones, the KKK, the Knights Templar, the Illuminati, and the Zionist movement.
From the New World Order to Jack the Ripper the Freemasons have had plenty of time to accumulate the attention of conspiracy theorists everywhere. Our next group is a bit more recent in their founding but no less notorious.
The Bilderberg Group
The Bilderburg Group isn’t a society with a actual membership but it is an annual event by invitation only. The event was first held at the Hotel de Bilderberg near Arnhem in the Netherlands to promote a better cultural understanding between Western Europe and the United States. After the success of the first meeting the event has been held every year since with some of the most powerful people in the world. It’s attendees have included former US President Bill Clinton; Prime Minister Gordon Brown; Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke; and former chairman of Microsoft Bill Gates.
At first the event looks like nothing more than a melding of powerful minds, but what has bothered most is that no press are allowed. Combined with the hundreds of police in riot gear and helicopters patrolling sky the fires of the conspiracy theories. From controlling the direction on the economy, instilling a world government, and imposing capitalist rule the theories have snowballed ever since it’s founding.
The Illuminati
When people think secret society the first name that normally comes to mind is the Illuminati. They’ve been “connected” with the Freemasons, the Knights Templar, the Bilderberg Group, and even the Skull and Bones as a US branch of the society. The Illuminati have been said to be controlling the worlds governments and corporations in hopes of installing the New World Order. As normal as that theory seems to be among the conspiracy circles they are also said to be quickening the coming of the Anti-Christ, the same Freemason reptilians, and plotting with aliens.
Despite their infamous name the group was originally founded in 1776 as the Order of the Illuminati by a man named Adam Weishaupt with an initial membership totaling five. The groups number eventually reached to around 2,000 with branches over most of Europe. In 1785 due to a combination of the outlawing of secret societies by the Bavarian government, internal friction, and fear over leadership succession the group died out. To many theorists though it is said the society survived in secrecy to this day with members being claimed as the Rockefellers, the Warburgs, George Bush, the Kennedys, and the Rothschilds.
In the end it is known that secret societies and not so secret societies have existed throughout the centuries. They are claimed to be the elite and most powerful of society controlling the very fate of the world for better or worse to more drastic theories. It is up to you the reader though to decide in which direction you will go from here either way it can become a slipper slope to ignorance or enlightenment depending on which side of the fence you’re on.
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