Secret Societies: In The Shadows

From the original nine knights protecting holy pilgrims, the Knights Templar expand across Europe. They own vast swathes of land, command fleets, and lend money to kings.

What started as a Bavarian group of revolutionaries intent on infiltrating powerful institutions has now become the stuff of legend. Some claim this elite group continues to control power from behind closed doors.

Yale's ultra-secret society is a pinnacle of the elite, and its members have become presidents, Supreme Court justices, and heads of industry. To be "tapped" is to be welcomed into a line of power brokers with the promise of life-long opportunities.

Established in 1952 as a Catholic conservative group, Le Cercle now operate as a shadow intelligence agency rumoured to control world politics.

The Freemasons have been meeting since the 14th century. From an ancient stoneworker's guild through to the modern era, their mythologies, beliefs, and secret rituals have inspired countless works of fiction and speculation.

A society that included Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and H P Lovecraft as a members. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a secret society that dabbled in the occult, laying the groundwork for modern Wiccanism and esoteric practices.