8 Real Secret Societies

Secret societies inspire equal parts suspicion and envy. Are these shadowy organizations controlling the world behind closed doors, or whiling away the hours with playing cards and silly rituals?
In this episode of The List Show, host Erin McCarthy looks at the real, verifiable facts behind some secret (and not-so-secret) organizations, from the Illuminati to the Bohemian Club.
In case you forgot, The List Show is a trivia-tastic, fact-filled show for curious people. Subscribe here for new Mental Floss episodes every Wednesday: / @mentalfloss
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Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
Public Domain
Bohemian Grove (Binksternet)
Grove 1909 (Gabriel Moulin)
Russell (MarmadukePercy)
Skull & Bones (BoolaBoola2)
Scroll & Key (BetacommandBot)
Wolf's Head (BoolaBoola2)
Book & Snake (BetacommandBot)
Elizabethan Club (BoolaBoola2)
Weisthaupt (Rettinghaus)
John Robinson (Thomas Gun)
Barruel (William C. Minor)
Stonemasons (PKM)
Order of the Eastern Star (SarekOfVulcan)
CC 3.0
Owl Shrine (Aarkwilde)
CC 4.0
Aerial Grove (Brianhama)
Explorer's Club (Jonathan S Knowles)
Explorer's club interior (Rhododendrites)
Getty:
Skeleton in closet (Johner Images)
Graverobber (Hulton Archive)
Debate (Heritage Images)
Jefferson (Print Collector)
Oxford (Print Collector)
King Edward VIII (Hulton Archive)
Queen Mary (Culture Club)
Evelyn Waugh (Hulton Deutsch)
Cameron (Bruno Vincent)
Bottle smashing quote
(Topical Press Agency)
Boris Johnson (Neville Elder)
Mason initiation (Heritage Images)
Masons2 (Heritage Images)
Washington (Fine Art)
Mozart (Hulton Archive)
FDR (Library of Congress)
Houdini (Hulton Archive)
Churchill (Evening Standard)
Count Basie (Heritage Images)
Medgar Evers (Hulton Archive)
Crockett (Barney Burstein)
Aldrin (Heritage Images)
Oscar Wilde (W. and D. Downey)
Lindbergh (Library of Congress)
Marshall (Historical)
Masonic ritual (Hulton Archive)
Halloween decorations (Juan Silva)

Пікірлер: 125

  • @SentientMeatbag
    @SentientMeatbag Жыл бұрын

    I was hoping for a mention of the Bilderberg Group. It's a group of around 150 of the most powerful people in business and politics from Europe and North-America. The group meets annually for 2 to 4 days behind closed doors.

  • @clown134

    @clown134

    Жыл бұрын

    yeah but that's just the capitalist class expressing class consciousness and solidarity with themselves to collude with each other and secure their dictatorship over the working class

  • @clown134

    @clown134

    Жыл бұрын

    which is really what the working class should be doing, expressing class consciousness and solidarity and colluding with one another to fight back against dictatorship of the rich

  • @cherylcampbell9369

    @cherylcampbell9369

    Жыл бұрын

    You should check out Trine Day Publications, if you want a torrent of info on that subject.

  • @SureShotSav

    @SureShotSav

    2 ай бұрын

    It's not a secret society though. It's more like the WEF without the cameras and invited guests. The name Bilderberg is of the hotel they meet at i believe.

  • @btetschner
    @btetschner11 ай бұрын

    Excellent video, thank you so much for making it!

  • @jliller
    @jliller Жыл бұрын

    I remember when I was in college the fraternities and sororities would cover the windows of the rooms during their meetings, and lock the doors. That made me really despise them (more than I already did before going to college).

  • @aaronsweeney5428

    @aaronsweeney5428

    8 ай бұрын

    Why? Lol

  • @segawalker3302

    @segawalker3302

    3 ай бұрын

    I find it weird that you join friends and not make friends.

  • @Henry-pj3cb

    @Henry-pj3cb

    Ай бұрын

    Frater in Latin means brother, and Soror in Latin means sister. So what does "Fraternities" and "Sororities" mean?

  • @jliller

    @jliller

    Ай бұрын

    @@aaronsweeney5428 At best, fraternities and sororities can't possibly have any secrets worth keeping so trying to have secret meetings behind covered windows and closed doors is just evidence they're pretentious assholes trying to be edgy and cool. At worst, they were trying to hide asinine behavior like hazing that violated university rules and was or should be illegal.

  • @voxorox
    @voxorox Жыл бұрын

    1. We don't know; it's secret. 2. We don't know; it's secret. 3. We don't know; it's secret. 4. We don't know; it's secret. 5. We don't know; it's secret. 6. We don't know; it's secret. 7. We don't know; it's secret. 8. We don't know; it's secret.

  • @crystaljones1935

    @crystaljones1935

    Жыл бұрын

    Ah... excellent. The amnestics are working.

  • @teemusid
    @teemusid Жыл бұрын

    As the great philosopher Julius(Groucho) Marx once said, "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member. "

  • @kevinogracia1615

    @kevinogracia1615

    Жыл бұрын

    I was going to reply the same... Woody used it, too.

  • @teemusid

    @teemusid

    Жыл бұрын

    @Kevino Gracia I clicked on the comments without looking at the number of comments posted. I intended to give a thumbs up to the first person that used the quote, but I got in early for once.

  • @kevinogracia1615

    @kevinogracia1615

    Жыл бұрын

    @@teemusid Hello... I must be going...

  • @p-0h0h_HolyPriestKingforJESUS

    @p-0h0h_HolyPriestKingforJESUS

    10 ай бұрын

    Everyone's a member of something either Satan directly or indirectly or Jesus

  • @floydian4ever

    @floydian4ever

    3 ай бұрын

    🐑 🐑 🐑

  • @therongjr
    @therongjr Жыл бұрын

    Why would anyone want to be in a secret society? I'm perfectly happy to spend my time in peace and quiet by myself: an exclusive club on only one!

  • @arcticablue

    @arcticablue

    5 ай бұрын

    I hear that!

  • @lp-xl9ld
    @lp-xl9ld Жыл бұрын

    Umberto Eco's novel FOUCALT'S PENDULUM centers on the idea of secret societies going to extremes...it's one of my favorite books of all time

  • @btetschner
    @btetschner11 ай бұрын

    I went to Doane University, which was established the same year as The Bohemian Club! The newspaper is actually called The Owl there.

  • @marvintpandroid2213
    @marvintpandroid2213 Жыл бұрын

    Don't forget the stone cutters.

  • @indigokids88
    @indigokids88Ай бұрын

    Love research and history and all that stuff 😊

  • @claudiaxander
    @claudiaxander Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for removing 9 and 10 as per our agreement/threat/cash gift/college place/insider share tip/bunker code.

  • @cherylcampbell9369

    @cherylcampbell9369

    Жыл бұрын

    what does that mean?

  • @claudiaxander

    @claudiaxander

    Жыл бұрын

    @@cherylcampbell9369 Please disregard previous comment, move along now, nothing to see here, Have faith that any questioning will only illicit unnecessary anxiety due to reasons I can neither confirm nor deny.

  • @Freddles279
    @Freddles279 Жыл бұрын

    My favorite secret society?? Club 33 in Disneyland. LOL

  • @btetschner

    @btetschner

    11 ай бұрын

    Good one!

  • @eriglaser
    @eriglaser Жыл бұрын

    I was in The Order of the Golden Dawn for a while. It was okay as secret societies go but the head of the order went egomaniac on us as is the unfortunate norm for these things

  • @cherylcampbell9369

    @cherylcampbell9369

    Жыл бұрын

    All leaders do.

  • @bobbytalkingblues
    @bobbytalkingblues3 ай бұрын

    thanks for the insightful video. Could you please discuss the Round Table Group secret society established by Cecil John Rhodes in South Africa

  • @LG-fu4ki
    @LG-fu4ki Жыл бұрын

    What about Fight Clu-- ohhh that's right.

  • @Hoshimaru57
    @Hoshimaru57 Жыл бұрын

    My wife is actually a member of Eastern Star. And her father is a high ranked Mason. There are also a few other female Masonic organizations including Rainbow Girls, Amaranth, and the Queens of the Nile. There’s also a female chapter of the Shriners according to her.

  • @user-mr8ye6fl7z

    @user-mr8ye6fl7z

    11 ай бұрын

    THEN YO WIFE STEALS PEOPLE'S $$$ & LIVES

  • @TheSeer33

    @TheSeer33

    11 ай бұрын

    Iam a mason, but I’ve never heard of female shrinners

  • @ChristopherEkpo-br2ue

    @ChristopherEkpo-br2ue

    10 ай бұрын

    Good morning sir, please how can I become a member of this society

  • @sve5271

    @sve5271

    8 ай бұрын

    @@TheSeer33​​⁠​⁠there’s a lot of female Shriner orders. The LOSNA is the largest appendant shriner body, and individual shrines can have their own female auxiliaries. They obviously aren’t members of the shrine, but have formed similar themed bodies for female relatives of Shriners.

  • @sve5271

    @sve5271

    8 ай бұрын

    I’m a jobs daughter and rainbow girl. I plan to join OES and Amaranth

  • @btetschner
    @btetschner11 ай бұрын

    I would frequent Mental Floss....but I do so much for these KZread channels that I would need more than videos that cover some things....and sometimes too casually! It's not very impressive when I can add things to the videos on the spot! If only Mental Floss gave more...

  • @tyronegreen6165
    @tyronegreen616510 ай бұрын

    Thank you

  • @Apophis324
    @Apophis324 Жыл бұрын

    Doesn't Disney have their own maybe-not-secret-but-definitely-quite-exclusive club somewhere?

  • @pichara8358
    @pichara83586 ай бұрын

    Francis Burton Harrison is member of skull and bones

  • @empoleonmaster6709
    @empoleonmaster6709 Жыл бұрын

    You forgot to mention the recent development about the Bohemian Grove, on a famous anarchy server in minecraft someone that allegedly was there last year went and recreated what he went through there on the server, complete with hidden staff members and events going on in it etc. Fit MC has an entire video on it, and it's really interesting.

  • @elizabethtonovic4678
    @elizabethtonovic4678 Жыл бұрын

    This Millennial appreciated the Joshua Jackson reference!

  • @pvtpain66k
    @pvtpain66k Жыл бұрын

    WE DO! WE DO!

  • @VayaConCarne
    @VayaConCarne Жыл бұрын

    Considering that one of the four stated duties of Odd Fellowship is to bury the dead, it is offensive to accuse members of grave robbing without some kind of evidence. Odd Fellows provided for widows and orphans before Social Security was a thing. It just seems a grossly unnecessary slander.

  • @jliller

    @jliller

    Жыл бұрын

    If you paid for, and therefore own, the grave and you're the one who later removes the bones from it is it really robbery?

  • @Heru2088
    @Heru208828 күн бұрын

    Thank you, 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💎⭐️👑🌟

  • @Composite7248
    @Composite7248 Жыл бұрын

    You forgot about the Stonecuters.

  • @FanTube0001

    @FanTube0001

    2 ай бұрын

    What they do?

  • @koppadasao
    @koppadasao Жыл бұрын

    Yeah, what about the secret society of the holy turtle?

  • @btetschner
    @btetschner11 ай бұрын

    That Explorers Club sounds like it has high standards, wow!

  • @j-10k64
    @j-10k644 ай бұрын

    Secret societies just seem weird, like where they actually guild’s at one point in time and just never disbanded

  • @TheRealSpiderMew
    @TheRealSpiderMew Жыл бұрын

    Posh? No, Cult like? Yes

  • @cherylcampbell9369
    @cherylcampbell9369 Жыл бұрын

    The Theosophical Society is interesting, but nebulous. Madame H.P. Blavatsky was something else.

  • @cantorcarl
    @cantorcarl Жыл бұрын

    E Clampus Vitas: a drinking club with a history problem.

  • @20thcenturytunes
    @20thcenturytunes Жыл бұрын

    Knight's of Pythias and The Order of Moose - then the Mystical Huron Mountain Club

  • @lifeexperiencetv1019

    @lifeexperiencetv1019

    7 ай бұрын

    Please do you have a contact of them? I want to join 🙏

  • @taylord1337
    @taylord1337 Жыл бұрын

    The recent Behind the Bastards episode is relevent

  • @typograf62
    @typograf62 Жыл бұрын

    You forgot The Timetravellers Club.

  • @crystaljones1935

    @crystaljones1935

    Жыл бұрын

    Hi there. You forgot the First Law of Timetravellers Club: much like Fight Club, you DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE TIMETRAVELLERS CLUB. Louder for those in the back: YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE TIMETRAVELLERS CLUB. Y'all want to deal with the scary boys in black tactical gear, keep talking.

  • @cherylcampbell9369

    @cherylcampbell9369

    Жыл бұрын

    shhhhhhh!!

  • @user-we2vb4vs2g
    @user-we2vb4vs2g Жыл бұрын

    9:28 Favorite S.S!!? Excuse my language, that sounded a bit off-beat..

  • @Ssomeeoonee
    @Ssomeeoonee8 ай бұрын

    Not so secret anymore, huh?

  • @graphosxp
    @graphosxp Жыл бұрын

    On the elliptical machine of a public gym I was watching season one of "Lodge 49" (TV Series) when the pandemic hit. the gym closed and I never returned to the series. was COVID a Masonic conspiracy to get me not to watch the show?😳

  • @cherylcampbell9369

    @cherylcampbell9369

    Жыл бұрын

    That was a fun series, cancelled probably due to covid shutdown. It is on hulu, in its entirety.

  • @Velata
    @Velata Жыл бұрын

    I wonder if the Rosicrucians were on your list! Guess not.

  • @cherylcampbell9369

    @cherylcampbell9369

    Жыл бұрын

    oh yes.

  • @AchillesofAchilles
    @AchillesofAchilles9 ай бұрын

    Wash my eyes now

  • @jaeboogie2786
    @jaeboogie2786 Жыл бұрын

    I'm going to make my own secret society I don't want to be a Mason anyways. Who wants to join my new secret society? Our name will be The Free Welders.

  • @margaretotieno1307

    @margaretotieno1307

    6 ай бұрын

    I want to join plz

  • @bhasty1
    @bhasty1 Жыл бұрын

    I really like this girl. She's a great presenter. Some TV network should offer her a job.

  • @cherylcampbell9369

    @cherylcampbell9369

    Жыл бұрын

    she would have no control over her content, for one thing.

  • @ctcboater
    @ctcboater Жыл бұрын

    My father was a Mason. My only experience with the group was a Christmas party attended by their children when I was about 8. My father died suddenly when I was 10 so I had no further contact with the organization.

  • @cantorcarl

    @cantorcarl

    Жыл бұрын

    We’re still around. If you’re interested, find a Lodge and ask questions. We’re always looking for good men.

  • @cherylcampbell9369

    @cherylcampbell9369

    Жыл бұрын

    Well! They are supposed to "help the widow's son"

  • @AbiGail-ok7fc
    @AbiGail-ok7fc Жыл бұрын

    That's a lot of information for supposedly "secret" societies. If its existence is known to the general public, is it still secret?

  • @jliller

    @jliller

    Жыл бұрын

    The rituals are secret, and the meetings are closed to non-members.

  • @blackcasanova7

    @blackcasanova7

    3 ай бұрын

    The secret stuff is the spiritual one. That's what you won't hear about it.

  • @thebadasseryfactory
    @thebadasseryfactory Жыл бұрын

    not really secret if we know about them

  • @danieljosephchiasson
    @danieljosephchiasson2 ай бұрын

    I know the third secret of Fatima: secret societies

  • @route2070
    @route2070 Жыл бұрын

    Are the Free Masions and Masons the same things (maybe with less rights)?

  • @BrianBattles

    @BrianBattles

    Жыл бұрын

    I'm a Mason. It's the same thing.

  • @FanTube0001

    @FanTube0001

    2 ай бұрын

    And what they do?

  • @ediziorobertomanthayjunior4875
    @ediziorobertomanthayjunior48753 ай бұрын

    😍🖖

  • @paulruderstaller5062
    @paulruderstaller50625 ай бұрын

    Protocols of The Elders Of Zion.

  • @teecee1567

    @teecee1567

    2 ай бұрын

    @paulruderstaller5062 Which was proven to be a hoax.

  • @jonathanconnor8190
    @jonathanconnor8190 Жыл бұрын

    The Explorers’ club has a whale’s what?

  • @cherylcampbell9369

    @cherylcampbell9369

    Жыл бұрын

    opposite of blow hole.

  • @ANGELTUNE-bt6fx
    @ANGELTUNE-bt6fx6 ай бұрын

    A lot of this started in Egypt and it was then copied.

  • @KevinWolf-dr7vm
    @KevinWolf-dr7vm6 ай бұрын

    God bless Freemasons

  • @FanTube0001

    @FanTube0001

    2 ай бұрын

    And they do?

  • @The.L3g3nds.Of.Africa
    @The.L3g3nds.Of.Africa2 күн бұрын

    Seek Jesus Christ who loves and cares for you. It's not God's will that anyone perish but all repent to receive eternal life. Jesus Christ died to give humanity a way into His eternal kingdom. It's not God's will that anyone perish but all repent to receive eternal life. Please repent, turn away from sin completely, and follow after Jesus Christ. We must be holy for God is Holy, and without holiness, no man shall see Him. Many people die suddenly and unexpectedly. They reach the wrong end destination. They are in eternal regret, but it's too late. Many people have been receiving rapture dreams and visions of the return of Jesus Christ. God keeps His word. Everything written in the book of revelation will be fulfilled. These are the End Times.

  • @capacola262743
    @capacola262743 Жыл бұрын

    sarah rue called. she wants her face, body and nerdy persona back.

  • @grimdoozy3741

    @grimdoozy3741

    Жыл бұрын

    Hey Paul, The curse department called. They said they added an extra poo curse to my tab of poo curses on you. When SO many toilets in your life get clogged remember my name (Grimmy D, baby). It's gonna seem unfathomable too. You'll be in a hotel room where the toilet has really great flushing abilities, but your loads of poo are gonna clog it bc of the curse. Did you barely eat that day? Doesn't matter. 2x poo curse on you

  • @capacola262743
    @capacola262743 Жыл бұрын

    you need a full make-over.

  • @grimdoozy3741

    @grimdoozy3741

    Жыл бұрын

    Hey Paul, I hope you step in poo an inordinate amount of times for the rest of your life. Actually, I decided to put a curse on you just now. So when you're stepping in poo all over the place, remember my name (Grimmy D, baby). You're gonna step in poo in your basement. You're gonna step in poo at the post office. Youre gonna be heading to the grocery store, get out of your car, and step in poo in the parking lot. Nothing you can do to reverse it either. Sorry