REVISITING: Skull and Bones

Back in 1832, a secret society was born on the Yale campus called Skull and Bones. Over the centuries, this fraternal order was said to have a hand in everything from the Manhattan Project to sparking WWII. And since major political players and successful businessmen have been bred from this organization – even today people wonder, how much global influence does the Skull and Bones actually have?

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:27Yvette Gentile?

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• 0:33Yvette Gentile?

  One of the things we love about this show is that we get to fall down the long rabbit hole every single week with you guys. Whether that's exploring another haunted house, unraveling the stories of someone's close encounter, or following the mystery of a centuries-old conspiracy theory. We live for it all. Because this world is not what it seems. There is so much out there, ancient, hidden, deliberately buried, that we have yet to uncover. And some of the most thrilling mysteries, they're not locked away in some distant place. They're much closer than you think.

• 1:17Rasha Pecoraro?

  So close, in fact, they might be hiding inside the most powerful institutions in America. Yvette knows that one of my all-time favorite movies is National Treasure, but also love National Treasure: Book of Secrets, number two. And I will not apologize for that. Nicolas Cage fan, right here. There is nothing I love more than a call to adventure, and you add in the chance to unlock ancient American secrets and history? I'm all in. Which is why I cannot stop thinking about one case that reads like a real-life version of that story. The Skull and Bones.

• 1:59Rasha Pecoraro?

  The secret society out of Yale University has been the subject of films, documentaries, and obsessive Reddit threads. If you haven't seen the 2000s cult classic, The Skulls, starring Joshua Jackson, you need to add it to the list immediately. But the real story is so much stranger.

• 2:20Yvette Gentile?

  This society has existed since the 1800s, and some of the most powerful people in American history have passed through its doors. I'm talking presidents, senators, CEOs, intelligence officers, and legend has it, membership doesn't end at graduation. They have your back for life. Because they may be the ones holding the nation's oldest and darkest secrets. Secrets that have been shaping this country in ways you wouldn't believe. I'm Yvette Gentile.

• 2:58Rasha Pecoraro?

  And I'm her sister, Rasha Peccarero. And today, we're revisiting Skull and Bones.

• 3:39Yvette Gentile?

  Y'all know I love a good conspiracy theory, which is why today's topic is right up my alley. We're discussing one of the most infamous and secretive student societies at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. It's called Skull and Bones. Now, Rasha, have you ever wanted to be a part of any type of, I don't know, secret society?

• 4:02Rasha Pecoraro?

  Unless you include Hogwarts?

• 4:05Yvette Gentile?

  How did I know you were gonna say that?

• 4:07Rasha Pecoraro?

  No. And of course, I would be placed in Gryffindor. And I was even sorted into Gryffindor at the Warner Brothers studio a lot, but we'll save that story for another day. If there is one thing that I know about secret societies, it's that they usually come with a pretty sinister reputation. I mean, you don't hear that phrase and think, nice charitable organizations or neighborhood book clubs. But we can't dive into the Skull and Bones without talking about an even more famous secret society, the big kahuna of them all, the Freemasons.

• 4:44Yvette Gentile?

  And I'm sure some of you have heard about the Masons before. They're that centuries-old, super-secret group that's allegedly plotting to take over the world. But for those of you who aren't in the know, Freemasonry was founded in 1717. Throughout history, there have been a lot of rumors of spooky rituals, even magic going on during their meetings. They also require their members to subscribe to bespoke religious beliefs, including a supreme being. Or, as they call it, grand architect of the universe. Which has definitely sparked some wild conspiracy theories over the years. High-profile murders, satanic sacrifices, new world orders.

• 5:29Yvette Gentile?

  If you want to hear more about it, just check out Ashley's episode she did on the Illuminati. We'll link it in the show notes. Because you guys, that one is crazy. She talks about Jay-Z, she talks about Beyoncé, she talks about a lot of people.

• 5:45Rasha Pecoraro?

  Apparently, the Freemasons are still going strong even today. And I am a huge fan of the movie National Treasure with Nicolas Cage. And it definitely glorifies the Freemasons in that movie series and even in the show. And so it's always been mystical to me, but to hear more about what the Freemasons really were and are is fascinating. These days, they're said to have millions of members with chapters all over the world. But back in 1828, the Freemasons were facing a difficult period in their history. And a lot of it had to do with a man named William Morgan.

• 6:28Rasha Pecoraro?

  William is a bricklayer from upstate New York and a veteran of the War of 1812. He's not politically important or influential, but he is well-liked in his small town. Oh, and he's also a Freemason. When he first joined, William was all in on being part of this cool spooky society. But since then, he's learned about the secrets and inner workings of the group. And now, he's totally disgusted. William thinks the organization is way too powerful and that they're using that power for evil. So he basically wants to take them down a peg, maybe force them to act more responsibly. So he ends up coming up with a plan.

• 7:11Rasha Pecoraro?

  Expose all of the skeletons in the Masons' closet. And what's the best way to get that info out in the 1800s? Apparently, it's by publishing a tell-all book. Now, anyone who reads it will know about every sketchy thing the Masons have done. Not only could it embarrass major leaders, who are also members, but it might even change the balance of world power as William knows it. So William puts his heart and soul into the book. And right when he goes to deliver his manuscript, something suspicious happens. His publisher's office mysteriously catches fire. The police say it's arson, but they don't say by who.

• 7:55Rasha Pecoraro?

  Meanwhile, Morgan is arrested on fabricated charges for stealing a shirt and tie. And while he's in jail, a group of mysterious people ransack his entire house. Apparently, they were looking for more copies of the manuscript. Clearly, someone was interested in getting rid of all the copies. And if that wasn't suspicious enough, the day after the fire, he gets arrested again on a phony charge of stealing $2. A mysterious person pays his bail, and Morgan ends up getting out of jail. But then, he vanishes without a trace. William is never seen again, alive or dead.

• 8:38Rasha Pecoraro?

  Naturally, this has everyone talking. Rumors are going around that the Masons might actually have been responsible for murdering William.

• 8:48Yvette Gentile?

  So in the late 1820s and early 1830s, a lot of Americans are feeling very suspicious of the Masons and secret societies in general. In fact, there is a lot of uproar about how these organizations are wildly undemocratic. The thinking is, if all people are created equal, then shouldn't all people have the same resources and opportunities? If a small number of hand-selected elites are meeting in secret and doing each other favors, well, that's pretty much the opposite of what the United States is supposed to stand for. So by 1832, a lot of people are coming to the conclusion

• 9:31Yvette Gentile?

  that good patriotic Americans should be opposed to secret societies.

• 9:38Rasha Pecoraro?

  So after that, there's a big movement away from exclusive groups in the United States. Important officials make public statements distancing themselves from Masons and similar organizations. And one Yale student named William Russell absolutely hates this movement.

• 9:56Yvette Gentile?

  Well, this William comes from a very wealthy family, which made its fortune selling dangerous and highly addictive opium. And as it turns out, William doesn't think it's a problem that certain societies are unfair and undemocratic. He thinks the world should be unfair. Because in his mind, some people are just naturally superior to others. And of course, they should have more access to wealth, professional networks, insider information, and all the other things that the rich and powerful have a leg up on. So while the rest of the world is moving away from elite, secret societies, he decides he's going to create his own

• 10:39Yvette Gentile?

  right there on the Yale campus.

• 10:42Rasha Pecoraro?

  He recruits four other students, including a guy named Alfonso Taft. And they name their secret society after the Greek goddess of eloquence, Eulogia. So the organization is called the Eulogian Club.

• 10:57Yvette Gentile?

  But here's the thing. There is no Eulogia in the Greek pantheon. William and his friends, they just made her up. They invented a whole mythology around her as well. As for why they didn't just draw on real Greek mythology, well, I mean, y'all, that's a whole nother mystery. But it may be just another sign of how elitist William was. Think about it. He's building a society around fake mythology and tricking non-members into thinking that it's real, that they just don't have access to that sort of knowledge. I mean, you talk about manipulative and messed up, but it also makes William

• 11:39Yvette Gentile?

  the perfect guy to start a secret society.

• 11:43Rasha Pecoraro?

  And he goes all out. William and his partners even designed their own logo for the group. It looks a little bit like a pirate flag and features a skull and a pair of crossbones over the number 322. The Skull and Crossbones logo becomes so iconic around campus that eventually, the Eulogian Club gets nicknamed Skull and Bones. So William and his members embrace it and start calling themselves Bonesmen. And that number, 322, has its own significance. That was the year when ancient Greece stopped being a democracy and instead became a country where the rich and the powerful

• 12:27Rasha Pecoraro?

  exploited the poor and underprivileged.

• 12:30Yvette Gentile?

  So William is on a mission to create this secret society that's all about being unfair and opposing equality. Again, he's flying directly in the face of a lot of Americans, who at this time, want society to move away from these organizations and toward progress. William even comes up with a nickname for the Yale students who don't make the cut. Bonesmen call the non-members barbarians, AKA primitive, less intelligent savage people. It's obviously clear that elitism is baked into everything the Bonesmen do, down to their traditions and rituals.

• 13:13Yvette Gentile?

  They only accept around 15 new members. And out of the entire Yale student body, which these days has about 6,700 undergrads alone. And I don't know exactly how many students there were in 1832, but it was probably something like a few hundred or so, meaning the group was still exceptionally exclusive, since they started with just five people.

• 13:39Rasha Pecoraro?

  So the new recruits are always juniors. They're accepted right at the end of the spring semester, and they only get to participate for one year before they graduate. And this probably comes as no surprise, but for the vast majority of Skull and Bones' history, those roughly 15 Bonesmen are always white, and they're always men.

• 14:01Yvette Gentile?

  Right, so guess what? If you were a woman or a person of color, it didn't matter how good your grades were or what kind of accomplishments you racked up. Skull and Bones, they didn't want you.

• 14:14Rasha Pecoraro?

  But to be fair, neither did Yale at the time. They hadn't even begun admitting black students until the year 1870, and women weren't admitted until 1969.

• 14:26Yvette Gentile?

  So I think it's safe to say that the society was primarily choosing people based on who they were related to. A bunch of new members came from rich, powerful families. And now, I don't know if the higher-ups at Yale have any opinions about this, but if they did, they likely kept it to themselves. William's father ended up making a huge monetary donation to the school, of course, with strings attached. This money should not only support Skull and Bones and its work, but it should also pay for the construction of their headquarters, to which the school officials were like, "Thank you, sir. Where do we sign the check?" And when they finally built that headquarters, it was at the center of Yale's campus.

• 15:11Yvette Gentile?

  And do you know what they called it? The tomb. And the building looks like just one of those stone mausoleums you see in graveyards, which was probably exactly what they were going for. Something like dark, sinister, creepy.

• 15:29Rasha Pecoraro?

  And it still looks exactly the same today. But even though it's on Yale's campus, it's completely closed off to the public. There are two big padlocks on the front doors. You'll only find four windows on the entire building, and they're way too small for anyone to see through or to even let in any natural light. The inside of the tomb is supposedly filled to the brim with coffins, and all of the clocks in there are set to run five minutes fast. And this is meant to represent the idea that the tomb is literally operating in the future. It's decorated with antique furniture and, according to some rumors, a bloody knife in a display case.

• 16:14Rasha Pecoraro?

  It's said that the knife was once used to kill a former Bonesman who threatened to betray the society. And those are just the details we know about.

• 16:25Yvette Gentile?

  And guess what? Skull and Bones is still around today. And there's so much we still haven't learned about their inner workings, but we do know about the big moves they've made in public. Because a ton of former Bonesmen have gone on to become important businessmen and politicians, playing some pretty key roles in our global history. And the scary part is, they might be controlling the world for their own benefit.

• 16:58Speaker 00

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• 17:29Speaker 03

  Hi, I'm Ashley Flowers.

• 17:31Speaker 04

  And I'm Britt. And if you're on the edge of your seat listening to this show, Crime Junkie needs to be your next listen.

• 17:37Speaker 03

  Every Monday, I dive into a new true crime case that our reporting team has been on the ground looking into. From lesser-known disappearances to the most chilling cases hitting the headlines. And I'm going to walk you through it the way I tell my best friend, because, well, that's what I'm doing.

• 17:52Speaker 04

  Yeah, that's me. And I'm right there with you as we listen together, react to every wild detail, and of course, I ask all the questions.

• 18:00Speaker 03

  And I'm going to have the answers, because we have case files. We're talking to detectives and family members, and we're going to stay focused on the facts.

• 18:07Speaker 04

  So if you're not already listening to Crime Junkie, what are you waiting for? There are over 300 episodes available right now.

• 18:14Speaker 03

  And you can listen to new episodes of Crime Junkie every Monday, wherever you get your podcasts.

• 18:25Rasha Pecoraro?

  Skull and Bones fue fundado en 1832. Pero es difícil decir de qué se refieren, porque no es como si hubieran declarado una misión o principios públicos. Desde el principio, han estado bastante insistentes en asegurar que el grupo es muy exclusivo, el opuesto a una democracia que es pro igualdad. Y no es mucho antes que sus esfuerzos elitistas empiecen a desaparecer. Después de haber graduado, los antiguos bonesmen empezaron a obtener posiciones políticas importantes. Algunos de ellos incluso se convirtieron en juez de la Corte Suprema o Federal. Otros continuaron a dirigir grandes negocios y bancos.

• 19:05Rasha Pecoraro?

  Y esos empresarios y políticos comenzaron, no solo cooperando, sino esquemando juntos, haciendo grandes planes con un impacto global.

• 19:15Yvette Gentile?

  ¿Recuerdan a Alfonso Taft, uno de los cinco miembros fundadores de Skull and Bones? Bueno, él siguió a convertirse en secretario de guerra para el presidente Grant en 1876. Pero Alfonso no fue el único Taft que hizo grande después de ser parte de Skull and Bones. Su hijo William también se inscribió en Yale, y recibió una invitación automática a Skull and Bones, porque, hola, bueno, nepotismo. Y como muchos otros bonesmen, William continuó a ser realmente exitoso en la política después de haber graduado. Comenzó a ganar elecciones, mantener oficinas importantes, y luego, en 1908, William Howard Taft gana la batalla por la Casa Blanca.

• 19:59Yvette Gentile?

  Literalmente se electa como el presidente 27º de Estados Unidos. Su victoria política es un gran asunto, porque según las rumorías, los amigos y conexiones que se hacen como bonesmen no desaparecen una vez que se gradúan. Los miembros de Skull and Bones se supone que siempre se deben ser leales unos a otros hasta la muerte. Los alumnos son básicamente obligados a hacer favor a los demás o apoyar las políticas y negocios de los demás. Pueden conectar a sus compañeros bonesmen con trabajos o introducirlos en las personas en sus redes profesionales. De hecho, los antiguos miembros se reúnen todos los años en un cabecito remoto en el estado de Nueva York, solo para mantener esos vínculos fuertes.

• 20:43Yvette Gentile?

  Así que, en otras palabras, una vez que se unen los bones, nunca se van.

• 20:50Rasha Pecoraro?

  Así que ahora tienes a un antigo bonesman en una de las posiciones más poderosas de la tierra. Y dado que es un tipo de secreto abierto, la gente comienza a preguntarse si su membresía va a afectar su presidencia. Quiero decir, después de todo, tiene que elegir un cabecito de nueve personas. Y no lo sabrían, dos de sus elecciones son compañeros bonesmen. Eso envía un mensaje bastante claro, que el presidente Taft está dejando a Skull and Bones tener una voz muy fuerte y incluso una voz más grande en su propio gobierno. Algunos estadounidenses temen que a lo largo del camino se sentirá tentado a pasar un ley que es malo para la mayoría de los ciudadanos solo porque podría beneficiar a un compañero bonesman. O que podría apoyar políticas que lastiman a los pobres

• 21:34Rasha Pecoraro?

  pero beneficien a las familias ricas y poderosas que pertenecen a Skull and Bones. Mientras que el presidente Taft no destruye la democracia, afortunadamente, hay algunos bonesmen futuros que amenazan con ello.

• 21:47Yvette Gentile?

  Se dice que en los años 1930, un bonesman rico ayudó a almacenar dinero para el financiero de un político alemán recién llegado, Adolf Hitler. A supuesto, y esto es un muy grande "a supuesto", el dinero le ayudó a ser elegido a al menos una de sus posiciones. Ahora, de nuevo, no puedo confirmar o negar esto, pero lo que sé es que otros bonesmen tenían roles importantes en un evento político cambiante de diferente juego, el Proyecto Manhattan. Ese es el programa que desarrolló la bomba nuclear durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Y dado que el secretario de guerra, quien supervisó al programa, también era un bonesman,

• 22:31Yvette Gentile?

  bueno, todos pueden ver hacia dónde estoy yendo, ¿verdad?

• 22:34Rasha Pecoraro?

  Sí.

• 22:35Yvette Gentile?

  De hecho, algunos teóricos de conspiración afirman que Skull and Bones en realidad movió toda la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Pusieron a Hitler en el poder, luego desarrollaron las armas para derrotarlo, todo para que Estados Unidos de América emergiese como una superpotencia mundial.

• 22:56Rasha Pecoraro?

  Como dijo Yvette, no sabemos si las acusaciones sobre Hitler son realmente verdad o cómo involucrados realmente fueron los bonesmen en el Proyecto Manhattan. Pero lo que podemos ser seguros de es que algunos miembros estaban posicionados para ser muy involucrados con la política estadounidense. Porque solo 80 años después de Taft, en 1988, otro bonesman se convirtió en presidente de Estados Unidos, George H. W. Bush.

• 23:28Yvette Gentile?

  Y George H. W. Bush fue castigado el siguiente enero. Pero antes del día electoral, mientras Bush todavía era solo un candidato para la presidencia, The Washington Post escribió un artículo sobre él. Se trata de ciertos esqueles en su armario y las personas poderosas que conocen sus secretos y que podrían usarlos contra él.

• 23:50Rasha Pecoraro?

  Así que Bush se unió a Skull and Bones en 1947, cuando tenía apenas 23 años y era estudiante en Yale. Como parte de su ceremonia de iniciación, se suponía que decía toda su historia de vida, dejando absolutamente nada fuera. Para lo que vale, vamos a cubrir la ceremonia de iniciación en más detalle más tarde. Pero todo lo que necesitan saber ahora es que los compañeros bonesmen de Bush dijeron que necesitaban aprender todo sobre él, sus sueños, sus objetivos, sus victorias y sus mayores secretos más vergonzosos también. Así que, supuestamente, Bush les dijo todo.

• 24:29Yvette Gentile?

  Ahora pueden ver por qué en 1988 es un gran problema cuando The Washington Post ejecuta ese artículo sobre Bush, porque hay aproximadamente una docena de personas allá afuera que tienen la paja sobre el posible presidente futuro de Estados Unidos. ¿Qué significa que no usarán esa información para enviar un mensaje negativo a él para hacer algo dañino para este país?

• 24:52Rasha Pecoraro?

  Excepto cuando Bush se enfrenta a esto, dice absolutamente no, sin manera. Los bonesmen nunca lo engañarían. En el contrario, lo ve como miembros de familia, personas que lo apoyan y quieren lo mejor para él. Quiero decir, les ayudó a convertirse en el hombre que es hoy.

• 25:12Yvette Gentile?

  Lo cual es muy dulce, pero preocupante de una manera completamente diferente. Si Skull and Bones moldeó a Bush en el tipo de hombre que podría ganar la presidencia, parece como si estuvieran limpiando a los futuros líderes de América, plantando a su propia gente justo en nuestro gobierno. De hecho, cuando algunos periodistas preguntan a Bush sobre los trabajos internos de Skull and Bones y qué más pasó cuando era miembro, él se niega a hablar de ello. Claramente, la sociedad no es un rompido de negocios para la mayoría de los estadounidenses, aunque, porque tres meses después, Bush gana la carrera. Pero hay algunas personas que preguntan, ¿quién realmente está en cargo en la Casa Blanca?

• 25:56Yvette Gentile?

  ¿Presidente Bush o Skull and Bones?

• 26:00Rasha Pecoraro?

  La gente está preguntando una pregunta similar cuando el hijo de Bush también gana la presidencia en 2000, y estoy hablando de George W. Bush. Y para aquellos de ustedes que no recuerdan, en 2004, George W. gano la reelección contra un nominado demócrata llamado John Kerry, lo cual, por supuesto, es interesante, porque John Kerry también era un antiguo bonesman. Este hecho hace a mucha gente nerviosa, porque de cualquier manera que voten, se obtienen un bonesman. Y dado que Kerry y Bush son ambos a supuesto parte de la misma red y ambos potencialmente avanzando la agenda de Skull and Bones, bueno, muchos votantes están preguntando, ¿realmente tenemos un sayo en absoluto?

• 26:44Rasha Pecoraro?

  Es decir, si las teorías de conspiración se deben creer.

• 26:49Yvette Gentile?

  Por supuesto, algunas personas están emocionadas por esta elección. Mientras George W. Bush gana la presidencia, recibe un montón de dinero de, ustedes lo saben, sus compañeros bonesmen. Supongo que los bonesmen están donando también a Kerry. Y hay mucha atención en una elección cuando la gente está eligiendo entre dos diferentes bonesmen. Pero al final, Bush gana un segundo mandato. Y durante su tiempo en el cargo, designa a cinco compañeros bonesmen de Skull and Bones para posiciones de cabecito. Así que según las rumorías, esto incluye nuestro cuarto, sí, escuché, nuestro cuarto William de la historia.

• 27:31Yvette Gentile?

  Un tipo llamado William Donaldson, que es el jefe de la Comisión de Seguridad y Comercio de Estados Unidos. Pero Donaldson y Bush se niegan a discutirlo, la sociedad es solo ese secreto. Sé que el vicepresidente de Bush, Dick Cheney, no es un bonesman. Pero la familia Cheney tiene vínculos con la sociedad. Estamos hablando de anteriores generaciones, lo que puede haber ayudado a él a asegurar ese lugar de alguna manera. Sin importar, esto hace que la gente habla. En los inicios de los 2000, las rumorías están volando que Skull and Bones tienen demasiado sayo en nuestra política.

• 28:10Rasha Pecoraro?

  Algunas personas no toman la gana en serio, aunque. Dicen que la sociedad no es diferente de cualquier otro club social o asociación de college. Dicen que es una manera de conocer amigos, algunos de los cuales se mantienen en contacto durante años. Quiero decir, la gente se conecta y a veces ese enlace se paga. No es justo o equitativo, pero no es una conspiración global.

• 28:33Yvette Gentile?

  Mucha gente no está de acuerdo. Piensan que Skull and Bones es algo mucho más oscuro. Y la evidencia para que eso se vuelva más evidente es cuando miras sus rituales secretos.

• 28:48Speaker 00

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  Well, I haven't had any hot flashes yet. Knock on wood.

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• 30:31Speaker 03

  Hi, I'm Ashley Flowers.

• 30:32Rasha Pecoraro?

  And I'm Britt. And if you're on the edge of your seat listening to this show, Crime Junkie needs to be your next listen.

• 30:38Speaker 03

  Every Monday, I dive into a new true crime case that our reporting team has been on the ground looking into. From lesser-known disappearances to the most chilling cases hitting the headlines. And I'm gonna walk you through it the way I tell my best friend, because, well, that's what I'm doing.

• 30:54Rasha Pecoraro?

  Yeah, that's me. And I'm right there with you as we listen together, react to every wild detail, and of course, I ask all the questions.

• 31:02Speaker 03

  And I'm gonna have the answers, because we have case files. We're talking to detectives and family members, and we're gonna stay focused on the facts.

• 31:09Rasha Pecoraro?

  So if you're not already listening to Crime Junkie, what are you waiting for? There are over 300 episodes available right now.

• 31:15Speaker 03

  And you can listen to new episodes of Crime Junkie every Monday, wherever you get your podcasts.

• 31:26Rasha Pecoraro?

  After operating for almost two centuries on the Yale campus, the Skull and Bones is still around to this day. And their spokespeople admit, back when they were founded in the 1830s, their members were anti-democratic elitists. But apparently, in the 21st century, they've caught up with the times. Current Bonesmen claim that they do not want to take over the world or fight for inequality. They just want to be a typical club, a place where people can get together, network, and talk about their future plans.

• 32:04Yvette Gentile?

  But let's be honest, the society is anything but normal. Because even to this day, they've maintained some weird traditions and ceremonies. I'm talking things that could sound magical or demonic, depending on how you look at them. Just listen to the rumored details of their initiation ritual. This is something that supposedly every single Bonesman has to go through. New recruits have been doing this since the society was founded. As soon as a student learns they've been invited to join, they have to report to the tomb on a particular Sunday night. And they don't just walk in the front door.

• 32:46Yvette Gentile?

  They have to be blindfolded and led inside, like they're being taken prisoner. Then after they make it inside, rumor has it that other Bonesmen beat them and stripped them naked. I mean, damn, that's a pretty rough start. Once they're all bruised up, the new members have to lay down in a coffin. And this is supposed to represent their rebirth, like their old self is literally dying. Except this process doesn't happen instantly. The new recruit has to lay in the coffin for hours. While they're in there, they tell the current Bonesmen all of their sexual secrets.

• 33:27Yvette Gentile?

  As in getting into detail about every single hookup, every kink, what they're into. I mean, we're talking really intimate stuff. Now, as to why the hell this is anybody's business, y'all, I don't even know. Maybe the Bonesmen are being invasive so they can blackmail the new members later? Who knows? Or maybe it's just a way to break down their boundaries and force them to feel more vulnerable? But either way, they learn a lot about each other that night. Afterward, the Bonesmen gets out of the coffin and is reborn as this brand-new person, someone who will now embody the Bones' values.

• 34:10Yvette Gentile?

  They pick a new name for themselves to symbolize their new identity, code names that other Bonesmen will use for them going forward. For example, William Taft's codename was Old Bill. Obviously, not that creative or stealthy, I know. So George W. Bush took so long choosing one, his fellow Bonesmen eventually dubbed him Temporary. That's the name that stuck for the rest of the year. Hopefully, new initiates these days do a better job of picking a name. But that's not the end of the ceremony. The initiation supposedly ends with the new member drinking blood out of a human skull.

• 34:54Yvette Gentile?

  For what it's worth, most reports say it's not really blood. More likely, it's actually red Kool-Aid. And the skull might not be real either. But once they're done drinking, they kiss another member's toe. And then, I guess that's it? They're a part of the Skull and Bones?

• 35:17Rasha Pecoraro?

  Once you are a fully-fledged Bonesman, you're committing to spending every single Sunday and Thursday night at the tomb. Some of these meetings feature highly structured debates about politics and philosophy. Others are basically repeats of the initiation ceremony. Members get together and talk about their sexual exploits or deep, dark secrets. Honestly, none of this sounds like the sort of thing that would lead to a global takeover. It's more like what I'd expect to go down in any frat house. But it's Skull and Bones' culture of secrecy that sets it apart. This idea that no one knows for sure what's going on behind closed doors.

• 35:59Rasha Pecoraro?

  And therefore, Yale's best and brightest have historically been desperate to get in on the action. And dopey frat atmosphere or not, the connections you can make at the Skull and Bones will open professional doors for you for the rest of your life. Or at least, that's how it used to work.

• 36:20Yvette Gentile?

  The Skull and Bones has changed in the last few decades, in part because they've tried to move past their reputation for being all about fighting progress and change. In the 1960s, for the first time in Skull and Bones' history, they had a hard time bringing in new recruits.

• 36:38Rasha Pecoraro?

  This was the height of the civil rights era. And lots of Yale students had some reservations about joining a group that was just for white men who were opposed to equality. In fact, the Bonesmen issued invitations to some students, still white men, of course, saying they had a chance to join. And some of those students actually said, "Thank you, but no thank you." Though in 1936, the Skull and Bones tapped the first man of color to join its ranks. They hoped this would improve their image, but apparently, he declined too. Because there wasn't a black member of the society officially until the year 1956.

• 37:17Yvette Gentile?

  Yeah, but it was a case of too little, too late. By the 1990s or so, the leaders at the Skull and Bones realized they still had a branding issue. So in 1992, they started letting women join. Not that they deserved too much credit for figuring out that racism and sexism are wrong at the end of the 20th century. But still, they actually seemed embarrassed by their history of inequality. They probably also realized you can't really be an organization for the best and brightest, not when you're intentionally excluding a ton of smart, accomplished people just because of their gender or the color of their skin.

• 38:01Yvette Gentile?

  Which is pretty ironic, I have to say. Because the founder, William Russell, one of the many Williams in today's story, originally created Skull and Bones almost out of spite. He didn't care about being politically correct or socially acceptable. In fact, part of his point was to reject democratic ideals. And the society is trying to demonstrate that it's fair and equitable after all. I love the irony here. So many people think that Skull and Bones are trying to change the world. But instead, to all appearances, the world is changing Skull and Bones.

• 38:41Rasha Pecoraro?

  If that's true, that sends a very powerful message of its own. That real power doesn't come from exclusive clubs, secret meetings, and occult rituals. It comes from us. Our collective voices are more powerful than any one wealthy individual, or any secret society for that matter. And the louder we scream, the harder it becomes for them to ignore us.

• 39:18Yvette Gentile?

  This is So Supernatural, an AudioChuck original, produced by Crime House. You can connect with us on Instagram at So Supernatural Pod and visit our website at so-supernaturalpodcast.com. Join Rash and me next Friday for an all-new episode.

• 39:39Yvette Gentile?

  I think Chuck would approve.

• 39:44Yvette Gentile?

  When the nights grow longer, the shadows start to stir. And that can only mean one thing. Full Body Chills is back. This season, step inside original tales where every doorway leads somewhere darker, every stranger carries a secret, and nothing is ever quite what it seems. Each story takes you somewhere new, but be careful. You never know what might follow you home. So gather round, listen close, and stream Full Body Chills wherever you get your podcasts.