The members of the Order of Skull & Bones, true to their firm belief in "constructive confusion," have intentionally allowed a series of conflicting mythologies to spring up about the origins and history of their secret fraternity. According to one version of the Order's founding, it was an outgrowth of an earlier British or Scottish freemasonic grouping first established at All Soul's College at Oxford University in the late 17th century. Another version of the history of Skull & Bones is that it grew out of the German "nationalistic" secret .societies of the early 19th century. Still a third explanation is that Skull & Bones is an uniquely American institution which adopted some of the rituals of European freemasonry, but molded these rituals and beliefs into a new form.

Regardless of these conflicting accounts, it can be stated with certainty that the Order was first established on the Yale campus in 1832 It was officially incorporated only in 1856 under the name Russell Trust Association. According to virtually all the available biographical data on its early members, the money required to sustain the secret order's campus affairs and its broader role in placing its members into key positions of influence upon their graduation from Yale, derived from the opium trade in the Far East. That trade was set up by the British East India Company and was flourishing by the time the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 ending the American War for Independence. The East India Company during this period was controlled by the Baring Brothers Bank (Toward the closing decades of the 17th century, the British House of Rothschild would supplant the Baring Brothers as the controlling financial interests in the China opium trade.

I don't know of any SS's at NC State but I have been to Gimghoul castle at UNC before. My grandfather was/is a member and was also an SAE. As far as the website goes, I don't know if the legend is true or not, but I know some of the other info is incorrect. It says that no group pictures exist, but I know they have some because I have seen them in the castle. I assume that the members names are not kept totally secret, but I don't know that they publish them anywhere. I don't really know what the function of Gimghoul is other than to have parties and things like the tailgate after a UNC game I went to with my grandfather. The castle is a pretty neat place. Nobody lives there though other than the man who takes care of it.

Re: Re: Secret Societies
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by exlurker
[B]Fascinating! What Roosevelt would that be? President Theodore Roosevelt was graduated from Harvard, where he was a member of the Porcellian Club. His cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who became President later, also was a Harvard graduate, although, since his branch of the family was less socially illustrious than Theodore's, he was NOT chosen for the Porcellian Club -- a fact which disappointed him greatly.

FDR was not tapped for the Porcellian but was in the Fly Club. I think the confusion about the Roosevelts might be that they were both DEKEs at Harvard, Teddy was a member of Alpha Chapter and Franklin was initiated into the sub rosa chapter that existed for several years after Alpha's charter was pulled. It is rumored, I am told, that the membership of S&B seems to be remarkably similar to the membership of the Phi chapter of DKE.

Carolina's Secret organizations
 

The most famous in Chapel Hill is Gimghoul, but there is also a female group called the Pi's who is composed of Greek girls and then a smaller and less exclusive male greek organization called The Lodge (not to be confused with Chi Psi's actual house name). They both have secret cocktail parties different from their respective Greek houses, along with other functions.

woah, blast from the past. i was senior in highschool when this thread was last post

You ought to research Pachacamac
 

The Society of Pachacamac
This group is for those who are interested in the history and study of a once active, then active sub-rosa, organization at the University of Kansas. Members are dedicated to preserving and enhancing the Greek system at KU and all institutions of higher learning.

http://media.linkedin.com/media/p/2/...a4/07b38e4.png

Some say they were banned by the University in 1992, but no one really knows the true story....

Michigamua
 

Michigamua at the University of Michigan......I heard about this one while visiting friends at the school. They've changed their name to the "Order of Angell", but have a controversial(racist to many) past. A while back I met one of the people part of a "Students of Color" coalition who occupied their tower and ultimately forced them to return many Native American relics they had in their position.

Does anyone have more info on them?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Angell

Cool and fascinating information!

There's also a female secret society called Styx and Ivy. They're pretty secretive but from my understanding the society isn't that old and not especially prestigious

There was once an Oddfellows lodge in my hometown that was very active and even had a Rebekah group as well. Apparently they used real human bones for their ceremony.

My best friend from high school's father is a Freemason and he took the Oddfellow's ceremonial bones when the lodge ended up going under...

I wonder where the heck they get these bones from! Makes you wonder...The Oddfellow's lodge in my town started in the early 1800s and ended around 1980-something.

For a second I though this thread was gonna be filled with conspiracy crap. Good thing its not :)

This is long past the original posting, but I have heard of this group...they pledge to "fight like hell for Michigan" and they have many illustrious members, such as Gerald Ford, Bo Schembechler, and many other well-known men (in Michigan circles) linked to the football program, such as recent #1 draft pick Jake Long and the current athletic director Dave Brandon. I remember hearing about them when I was a student, and looking at that tower part of the Union that is their "lair". When football stars Jake Long and Mike Hart graduated a few years ago, it was announced that they had been initiated as members. I'm not sure, but I think it's more of an alumni group and members join late in college, and you have to be invited based on your commitment to the university. Google it and you can read about the controversy.