Secret Societies Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Assassins

The Assassins founder was Hasan-i-Sabbah, circa 11th-12th century. His headquarters were in the mountains of northern Persia. It was alleged that Hassan had his men under a magic spell for if directed they would martyr themselves. He and each subsequent leader of the Assassins were known throughout the Middle East as the "Old Man of the Mountain".

Answer: Tongs

Of course there are criminal elements of the Tongs. But, in recent years, the pro-community Tongs have reasserted their presence and today members of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association support many Chinatown organizations.

Answer: The Order of the Eastern Star

The Order of the Eastern Star is said to be a female (although male members are permitted) offshoot of the Masons. The Order was in fact founded by a male freemason as a sanctuary for women. However, many point to its upside down five-pointed star, or pentagram as a well-known symbol of the occult.

Answer: False

The Black Hand gained a reputation as one of the more nefarious groups in the annuals of secret societies, but it was not a forerunner of the Mafia. The Serbian Black Hand was founded in 1911 as a secret military fraternity in Serbia. The group's formal name was "Ujedinjenje ili Smrt" (Unification or Death).

Answer: India

Members claimed to be part of a religious organization honoring Kali, the goddess of chaos and destruction. They would strangle their victims, mutilate the bodies, steal any valuables and disappear. The Thugs lasted some 600 years. One of their leaders, Behram, may be the world's most prolific serial killer with 931 murders to his credit between 1790-1830.

Answer: Vito Cascio Ferro

The Italian version of the Black Hand set up shop in Harlem's Little Italy. A story goes that when the opera singer Enrico Caruso visited New York he was greeted by a letter demanding $15,000 to be left under a Brooklyn stoop. Caruso complied, but only after notifying the police, and the Black Handers were arrested. Ignatius Lupo, aka "Lupo the Wolf", is suspected of killing 60 people for the Italian Black Hand.

Answer: The Society of the Cincinnati

The Society of the Cincinnati was named after Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a Roman consul, circa 450 B.C., who was called from his pastures to defend the Roman Republic from attack. He was granted all the ancillary powers and trappings. Instead of choosing to rule the republic, he chose instead to return to his farm. Has a familiar ring to it!

Answer: Gambino

Gotti became the leader by murdering the previous boss, Paul Castellano. Gotti ran the family from his headquarters at the Bergen Hunt and Fish Club in Queens. He got the monicker "the teflon don", when the charges against him wouldn't stick. The end of his reign came when his underboss, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, turned state's evidence.

Answer: King Philip IV of France

The Knights Templar started out as a military organization whose duty it was to protect Christians in the Holy Land. As time went by the Knights grew in size and popularity. Their task eventually became to wipe out the Muslim faith. Despite the ending of the Crusades by around the beginning of the 13th century the organization had grown to wield tremendous power. Philip, significantly in debt to both the Jews and the Knights Templar, proceeded to expel all Jews from France. Since the Knights were only answerable to the Pope, Philip used his influence over Pope Clement V to disband the organization, thereby releasing Philip from his debt.

Answer: Yale University

The society was formed in 1832 as a fraternal all-senior group. The emblem appears with the numbers 322 beneath it. 322 is thought to represent the year Demosthenes died.