Secret Societies

From candlelit basements to elite forest retreats, this episode of Messy Minded dives deep into the strange, spooky, and occasionally sinister world of secret societies. Jess explores the mystics, the misfits, and the megalomaniacs who’ve operated behind closed doors for centuries — including the Rosicrucians, Bohemian Grove, the dream-walking Benandanti, and Skull and Bones. Along the way, we’ll meet scandal-prone Enlightenment bros, orgy-hosting nobles, fascist Masonic puppeteers, and a goat named Lucien.

Not every secret society is harmless — and one is downright terrifying. But between the robes, rituals, and wildly conflicting origin stories, this episode asks: What makes a secret society thrive and endure?

With historical facts, bad Latin, and questionable handshakes — this is one initiation you won’t regret.

List of sources:

Janet Oppenheim, The Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850–1914

David V. Barrett, Secret Societies: From the Illuminati to the Freemasons

Smithsonian Magazine – “What Are Secret Societies, Really?”

BBC – “A brief history of secret societies”

History.com articles on Freemasons, Skull and Bones, and the Knights Templar

Helen Nicholson, The Knights Templar: A New History

Dan Jones, The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God’s Holy Warriors

National Geographic – Who Were the Templars?

History Extra – “Why did the Templars fall?”

Christopher Hodapp, Freemasons For Dummies

PBS – Secrets of the Freemasons documentary

The Grand Lodge of England’s official site

Atlas Obscura – “Inside the Grand Lodge of Masons”

Evelyn Lord, The Hell-Fire Clubs: Sex, Satanism and Secret Societies

British Heritage – “The Infamous Hellfire Club of England”

Alexandra Robbins, Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power

Yale Alumni Magazine archives

NPR – “Skull and Bones: A Secret Society That’s Not So Secret”

Carlo Ginzburg, The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the 16th and 17th Centuries

JSTOR articles on dream cults and early modern witch trials

Mythology.net – “The Benandanti: Good Witches of the Night”

David Yallop, In God's Name: An Investigation Into the Murder of Pope John Paul I

BBC News – “Italy’s shadow government”

Financial Times retrospective on Italian political scandals

Talbot Mundy, The Nine Unknown

Ancient Origins – “The Nine Unknown: India's Most Powerful Secret Society”

Alex Shoumatoff, Inside Bohemian Grove, Vanity Fair

BBC – “What really happens at Bohemian Grove”

Wikileaks – Bohemian Grove 2008 guest list

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