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CONSPIRACY: Skull and Bones

·34 min·3 clips

Skull and Bones' headquarters, called the Tomb, has coffins inside and clocks set five minutes fast.

Hosts Rasha Pecoraro and Yvette Gentile open the Skull and Bones episode by contextualizing it within the longer history of secret societies, beginning with Freemasonry, founded in 1717. They trace the story of William Morgan, a New York bricklayer and Freemason who in the 1820s decided to expose the organization's secrets by writing a tell-all book. Before he could publish, a series of escalating retaliatory actions followed: his publisher's office burned (ruled arson), Morgan was arrested on fabricated charges of stealing a shirt and tie, his home was ransacked, and he was arrested again on phony charges before being bailed out by a mysterious stranger. Morgan subsequently vanished and was never seen again. His disappearance sparked an Anti-Masonic movement in the United States, which briefly became a significant political force. Against this backdrop, Skull and Bones was founded at Yale in 1832, reportedly as a breakaway faction from a rival debating society. The episode covers its foundational symbol -- the skull and crossbones and the number 322 -- the society's tradition of 'tapping' 15 juniors per year for membership, and its network of powerful alumni including George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and John Kerry. The hosts discuss the alleged initiation rituals, including lying in a coffin confessing sexual secrets, and explore what the society's actual purpose may be -- networking vehicle, power club, genuine secret operation, or all three. The episode is presented in So Supernatural's accessible, conversational true crime and conspiracy style, aimed at listeners who enjoy speculative but grounded historical investigation.

As heard by us

A Yale secret society story that turns family dynasties, tomb lore, and political power into a single slow burn.

Supernatural frames Skull and Bones as a climb from campus self-discovery to a Yale secret society whose reach runs into the presidency, business, and politics.

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Why you'd press play

You want Yale's secret society lore with a clock running five minutes fast.

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