The truth about the mysterious Skull and Bones! These secrets covering the rituals, elitism, initiation, rumors, and theories regarding this Yale University secret society include tales of coffins, politicians, and more.


From a legacy of legislators and leaders to initiation by coffin, today we look at Skull and Bones: The Secret Society You Didn’t Know About.

#10 Origin
The beginnings of this secret society can be traced back to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1832, Skull & Bones founders Alfonso Taft and William Huntington Russell created the secret society in response to Russell’s lack of invitation to the academic society Phi Beta Kappa. From then on, more secret societies would begin to sprout up in thanks, or as a counter, to the popularity of Skull & Bones. The founders of the society Scroll and Key created the organization for reasons similar to Russell and Taft, but this time due to being excluded from Skull & Bones!
These secret societies grew in power over the next century with Skull & Bones and Scroll and Key running the roost at Yale for the next 41 years before other secret societies would attempt to enter the fold. However, by then Skull & Bones and Scroll and Key were too far established. Any challenging organizations would either end up settling with a lesser status or fall apart as their potential members would be tapped by the two senior societies instead. This issue is no longer a problem at Yale as many organizations coexist today, with hundreds of secret society members-to-be being tapped annually.
#9 Rituals
Near the time of commencement each year, a day was designated on campus as Tap Day, the day in which seniors would choose juniors to join their secret society. This process incorporated hundreds of male students escorted by women. Together they viewed a ceremony in which seniors would ask individual juniors to visit their room where an invitation would be found. These invitations were almost never rejected. This style of ceremony, with juniors gathering in a courtyard in hopes of being chosen continued until the 1950s.
However simply being picked, or tapped, to join the secret society isn’t enough to get you in. Partially responsible for the mysterious aesthetic surrounding the group, rituals and ceremonies play a huge role in evoking, and proving, loyalty to Skull & Bones. Some of the society’s initiation ceremonies that have been recounted include lying in a coffin to symbolize a rebirth of sorts, the sharing of new members’ entire sexual histories, and nude mud wrestling!
Recent reporting has shown modern initiation rites have strayed quite a bit, with many of the society’s outings prior to Tap Day being little more than pranks and stunts. This has caused the public image of the society on campus to be more akin to just another fraternity, in some regards. However its legacy can’t be shed that easily, and the famed reputation and rumors of the Skull & Bones rituals continue to circulate today.

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