No matter what their supposed purpose, there’s something inherently sinister about a secret society. Though most are formed with relatively realistic political and religious goals in mind, their focus on mystery and secrecy has made them the target of countless criticisms and conspiracy theories involving everything from aliens and the occult to world domination. Of course, the reality is usually much more innocuous, but that doesn’t mean that the groups don’t have some fascinatingly weird practices, or that they haven’t had an impact on world events.

 

- Do you believe in any of the conspiracy theories surrounding secret societies?

-What is your favourite secret society?

 

Top Ten Secret Societies:

 

10. Ordo Templi Orientis

Famous Members

Aleister Crowley

 

9. The Bilderberg Group

Famous Members

No members, but attendees have included Ben Bernanke, the royal families of Spain and the Netherlands, World Bank officials, and representatives from major corporations

 

8. Hashshashin– The Order of Assassins

 

7. The Black Hand

Famous Members

Gavrilo Princip (rumored)

 

6. The Knights of the Golden Circle

Famous Members

John Wilkes Booth, Jesse James, Franklin Pierce (all rumored)

 

5. The Thule Society

Famous Members

Rudolf Hess, Arthur Rosenberg, Adolf Hitler (rumored)

 

4. The Sons of Liberty

Famous Members

Paul Revere, John and Samuel Adams, John Hancock

 

3. Skull and Bones

Famous Members

George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, John Kerry

 

2. The Illuminati

Famous Members

Goethe, Ferdinand of Brunswick, many others rumored

 

1. The Freemasons

Famous Members

Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, James Buchanan, Bob Dole, Henry Ford, Ben Franklin

 

Illuminaughty.

the Illuminati stuff is so interesting

 

 

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8. Hashshashin– The Order of Assassins

No famous members? :sad:

No famous members? :sad:

 

nope, couldn't find any :(

I don't believe Sons of Liberty were a secret society, were they? It was open to any male who wanted to raise opposition against the British. Plus they helped unite the 13 colonies.

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-secret-societies.php

I don't believe Sons of Liberty were a secret society, were they? It was open to any male who wanted to raise opposition against the British. Plus they helped unite the 13 colonies.

 

Famous Members

Paul Revere, John and Samuel Adams, John Hancock

 

The Sons of Liberty is the name for a loosely organized group of dissidents that existed in America prior to the Revolutionary War. The group did not exist as a secret society in the traditional sense; rather, it was made up of smaller factions of patriots from across the colonies that united in support of a common goal. When they did meet, it was usually in Boston around an elm tree that has since become known as the Liberty Tree. It was here that the group would formulate their resistance, which included the dissemination of pamphlets and even some sabotage and terrorist activity. This behavior led to the British branding the Sons of Liberty as seditious, and they were often referred to pejoratively as “The Sons of Violence.” The group is most notable today for sowing the seeds of revolution among the colonists with their protest of the Stamp Act, and for coining the now famous phrase “no taxation without representation.”

 

Secret Practices

The Sons of Liberty in Boston were the most famous arm of the group, but there were factions spread out all across the 13 colonies. One group in Rhode Island looted and burned the British trade ship Gaspee in protest of unfair trade practices, while others were known to tar and feather British loyalists. Still, the most famous event engineered by the Sons remains the Boston Tea Party in 1773, when members of the group dressed as Indians and dumped shiploads of overtaxed tea into Boston Harbor.

Yeah, I know all of that. I still don't see them in the same way as the others though.

Yeah, I know all of that. I still don't see them in the same way as the others though.

 

I didn't make the list so I don't really know why they are on there.

Self interest doesn't impress me, and this is what these societies are.

Favours for favours. I'd hate to be stuck in one.

Which is the one where to join you have to masturbate in a coffin?

Which is the one where to join you have to masturbate in a coffin?

 

They stole my party trick :shame:

Self interest doesn't impress me, and this is what these societies are.

Favours for favours. I'd hate to be stuck in one.

 

I know, it's just a bunch of old rich white men who have way too much time on their hands :rolleyes:

I hear loads of stuff about the illuminati killing Michael Jackson, because im an MJ fan. I categorize it under "bullshit" along with most of the other conspiracy theories. Oddly, I actually find the idea of secret groups and cults quite fascinating.