Famous Secret Societies List

Xavier Freeman
Updated June 15, 2019 53.4K views33 items
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Notable secret societies, private organizations, and exclusive clubs

List of Famous Secret Societies ranked by fame and notoriety. A secret society is an exclusive group or club that keeps many of its rituals, activities and membership secret from the general public. Secret societies are regularly based upon the membership's shared beliefs in politics, religion and society. Universities are home to some of the most famous confidential clubs.

Which is the most famous secret society? Yale University's undergraduate club Skull and Bones tops our list. Skull and Bones members have been known to steal keepsakes from other Yale societies and they are believed to be in possession of the skulls of Martin Van Buren, Geronimo and Pancho Villa. The Skull and Bones club are the topic of many conspiracy theories that associate them with the Illuminati and the C.I.A.

The Illuminati are also one of the best known secret societies. Though their existence and membership is top secret, the Illuminati are credited with masterminding world events and planting members in powerful positions to create the New World Order. George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Jay-Z are all suspected members of the Illuminati.

What do you think about secret societies? Are they secretly controlling world events? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
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  • Skull and Bones
    Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is the oldest senior class landed society at Yale. The society's alumni organization, the Russell Trust Association, owns the society's real estate and oversees the organization. The society is known informally as "Bones", and members are known as "Bonesmen".
  • Scroll and Key
    The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the second oldest Yale secret society and has many distinguished members. Each year, the society admits fifteen rising seniors to participate in its activities and carry on its traditions.
  • Rosicrucians

    Rosicrucians

  • Illuminati

    Illuminati

    Illuminati is a standalone card game made by Steve Jackson Games, inspired by the 1975 book, The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. The game has ominous secret societies competing with each other to control the world through sinister means, including legal, illegal, and even mystical. It was designed as a "tongue-in-cheek rather than serious" take on conspiracy theories. It contains groups named similarly to real world organizations, such as the Society for Creative Anachronism and the Semiconscious Liberation Army. It can be played by two to eight players. Depending on the number of players, a game can take between one and six hours.
  • Ku Klux Klan
  • Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

    Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn