Secret Societies Quiz | World

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This group was a murderous band of medieval Shia Muslims. They were few in number, so they pioneered stealth killings. Their creed was "Nothing is true, everything is permitted". What name was given this allegedly hashish-consuming group?

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".

2. These now infamous organizations started out innocently enough as halls or gathering places for mostly Asian immigrants arriving in North America. These immigrants worked for near slave wages, making them instant enemies of labor unions. What is the overall name given to these organizations, that saw themselves as community-oriented and semi-political?

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.

3. The Freemasons are the world's oldest fraternal organization. They were formed by masons during the middle ages as a guild of skilled craftsmen, and remain for men only. What is the name of the masonic offshoot that does admit women?

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.

4. The Serbian Black Hand was a progenitor of the Mafia.

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).

5. The Thugs were a group who perhaps pioneered organized crime. They would roam from town to town robbing, looting, and killing. They would disguise themselves and target travellers. In what country did the Thugs operate?

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.

6. The Italian version of the Black Hand in America was a terrifying extortion group that targeted its own people. Victims would often receive letters demanding payment, or "La Mano Nera". Who was known as the "Boss of Bosses".

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.

7. This society is said to be the oldest fraternal hereditary society in the world. Membership is restricted to descendants of military officers who served in the American Revolution. Whose namesake mirrored one of its initial members?

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!

8. Of the six known Mafia families in New York City, of which one was John Gotti the leader?

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.

9. Who was responsible for destroying the Knights Templar?

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.

10. With which Ivy League institution is the Skull and Crossbones Society linked?

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.

Source: Author ncterp

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Secret Societies Trivia Quiz

So-called "secret societies" have been with us since the beginning. Despite their secrecy, most such societies were formed with good intentions, although some were not. Let's take a look at both kinds.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>