Introduction
Secret societies. To some, the name conjures up an image of a shadowy and
elite cabal meeting behind smoke-filled rooms, discussing tactics of world
domination and manipulation straight out of the most far-fetched espionage
thriller. To others, the image of secluded men (and occasionally women!)
banding together in exotic garb to perform colorful ceremonies and impart
hidden knowledge and fancy but incomprehensible titles upon one another
springs to mind. And to others, a fanciful and convoluted figment of the
imagination sprung from only the most paranoid and incredulous
minds
is
evoked by the title.
But just how far-fetched and fanciful is the prospect of a secret society?
Could it be that there walks among us, in any given echelon of the population,
groups given to exercise inordinate amounts of power and influence over the rest
of us? Could these exotic members-only clubs really
pose such an immediate
threat to our well-being that our very way of life is endangered? At what point
does the merely colorful, mysterious
or deluded result in murder, mysterious
deaths, unanswered disappearances, crime, extortion, control and in some cases,
complete and unmitigated power?
The rationale and history behind secret societies
have been amply covered
in general works on the subject—some purely speculative, others works of wild
conjecture, and even some which have been meticulously researched and
documented. Yet few adequately demonstrate the effects of these groups on
society at large. And with very good reason. A secret society, by its very
definition, is a group that possesses secrets; either conducive to its internal
doctrine or structure, wielded as a threat or even a reward to maintain control
over its members, or resulting from clandestine activities that would present a
clear and present harm to the world as a whole were they ever to be revealed.
Yet this definition covers a whole range of groups and practices, from the
relatively mild and harmless hazing practiced by thousands of college fraternities
worldwide to organized crime cartels and even low-level street gangs. What is it
about the secret society of popular legend and lore that continues to hold such
appeal—and such danger—to countless individuals in their daily lives that
differentiates these shadowy entities from their more visible counterparts?
More information—and subsequently, more deliberate
misinformation
—has
been published in recent years than any time else.
With the advent of the
internet as a dominant means of communication, the costs and risks of revealing
the tactics and methodology of formerly “arcane” organizations has diminished
greatly. At any given time, the dedicated investigator can click on an infinite
number of sites revealing a mind-bogglingly complex chain of associations that,
more often than not, serve to confuse and bewilder all but the most steadfast of
investigators.
Some have been adequately revealed as hoaxes—the 19th
Century fraud
instigated by Leo Taxil regarding the elusive “Order of the Palladium” springs to
mind. Others are altogether figments of urban legend that have resulted in a
series of bizarre coincidences and tortuous links—the supposed “Four Pi
Movement” alluded to by Maury Terry in his bestselling book