Skull & Bones – Yale’s Sinister Secret Society (Part 1)
While the members are not secret, the Skull & Bones activities certainly are. On the surface, the Skulls & Bones might just be a silly game played by spoiled students at one of the world’s most prestigious universities, Yale, but look a little deeper and you had found an alumni that certainly suggests something a little more sinister. Turns out, there have been three US Presidents who have been members of the Skull & Bones organization. William Howard Taft and both President Bushes, as well as several secretaries of Defense, have boasted membership. And when multiple political leaders are groomed under the shadows of a secret society, it tends to raise red flags.
Skull & Bones originated in 1832 and was founded by William Huntington Russell (who was also a founder of the Republican Party) and Alphonso Taft. Yes, that’s right. Father of William Howard Taft, himself. They scurried along barely noticed until the 1870s when a former Yale student wrote of it in his autobiography. The rituals of the society that are known somewhat cryptic: they use Yale’s “Tap Day” to invite a select group of 15 men and women whom they suspect will be notables in later life or on campus to become members. Once invited, the inductees are taken to The Tomb, as the meeting place of the Skull & Bones is known.
