The Real History of Secret Societies

Course Overview

Course No. 8680

Uncover the truth behind history’s most enigmatic organizations with Professor Richard B. Spence’s 24-lecture investigation.

This course explores:

• Ancient mystery cults to modern conspiracy theories
• The Knights Templar, Illuminati, and Freemasons’ real influence
• How secret groups shaped revolutions and wars
• Connections between occultism and espionage
• Why societies form and how they operate

Video Lectures

01: Small-Town Secrets (5 min)

Introduce secret societies through personal encounters in Taft, California.

02: Secret Societies: The Underworld of History (25 min)

Examine the 1929 Blackburn Cult case as an entry point to hidden organizations.

03: The Knights Templar (31 min)

Separate fact from fiction about Crusader monks turned conspiracy icons.

04: Masonic Revolutions in America and France (32 min)

Track Freemason influence on the Boston Tea Party and Bastille Day.

05: Bolsheviks, Masons, and Russian Revolution (31 min)

Analyze whether Lenin’s movement functioned as a political secret society.

06: Adolf Hitler and the Thule Society (32 min)

Explore occult roots of Nazi ideology through pre-WWII German groups.

07: Synarchy, Schemers, and Vichy France (31 min)

Investigate claims of a shadow government manipulating 1930s geopolitics.

08: Ancient Mystery Cults (32 min)

Decode the 2,000-year-old Eleusinian Mysteries’ enduring legacy.

09: The Islamic Assassins (27 min)

Profile history’s most feared religious terrorist network.

10: The Medieval Cathars (31 min)

Trace this persecuted sect’s surprising historical reappearances.

11: The Rosicrucians (33 min)

Examine AMORC’s commercialization of esoteric knowledge.

12: The Illuminati (28 min)

Debunk myths about Adam Weishaupt’s Enlightenment-era conspiracy.

13: The Freemasons (32 min)

Understand how masonry’s rituals influenced countless other societies.

14: Ireland’s Secret War for Independence (31 min)

Map underground groups from Whiteboys to IRA fighting British rule.

15: Debunking the Elders of Zion (32 min)

Expose the antisemitic forgery fueling centuries of conspiracy theories.

16: Mafia! Criminal Secret Societies (29 min)

Compare global organized crime networks’ secret society structures.

17: Aleister Crowley, Occultism, and Espionage (31 min)

Unravel “the wickedest man’s” intelligence connections.

18: Red Octopus: The Communist International (31 min)

Reveal Soviet spy rings using secret society tactics in America.

19: Japan’s Black and Green Dragons (32 min)

Discover ultranationalist groups pushing Japan toward WWII.

20: Italy’s Secret Government: The P2 Lodge (33 min)

Investigate the Masonic lodge allegedly running Italy’s shadow state.

21: From the KKK to the Black Shriners (31 min)

Contrast America’s darkest hate group with African-American fraternities.

22: Bohemian Grove, Bilderbergers, and Elites (31 min)

Peek inside exclusive clubs like Skull & Bones shaping global power.

23: Secret Societies for Aging Swingers (31 min)

Separate UFO cults and hoaxes from genuine hidden organizations.

24: Terrorism’s Long Trail of Secret Cells (33 min)

Analyze extremist groups from Weathermen to Al-Qaeda as secret societies.

25: Secret Societies: The Never Ending Story (36 min)

Conclude with white supremacist networks continuing secret traditions.

26: UFOs and the Elusive George Hunt Williamson (8 min)

Bonus: Link 1950s desert cults to flying saucer mythology.