Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power by Alexandra Robbins

Author:Alexandra Robbins [Robbins, Alexandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780759527379
Google: ccoJBdbp558C
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 7063931
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: 2002-09-06T05:00:00+00:00

The Skull and Bones initiation, Lanny Davis wrote, was reportedly the most harrowing of any society. Once the initiate, or “neophyte,” entered the tomb, according to 1968 lore, he “faces the old delegation and the alumni alone and is physically beaten. Next he is stripped and made to engage in some form of naked wrestling followed by a coffin ritual.” The most flagrant, widespread rumor about Skull and Bones is that initiates lie naked and masturbate in a coffin. The notion prompted an Observer Life magazine reporter to ruminate, “If … George Bush did lie in a coffin and masturbate while recounting his teenage sex life to his fellow Bonesmen, as the society’s initiation rite demands, then it is suddenly difficult to see the former president as a figure of gravitas.” It is possible that, in its early days, Skull and Bones directed odd rituals in coffins and the kind of sexual braggadocio typical of adolescent boys. Today, however, there is no coffin in the ceremony, and any sordid sexual activity is not part of the regular program, but rather the unsurprising exploits of a coed group of college kids, or even a member sneaking a significant other into the building.

The initiation itself is a cross between an amusement park haunted house and a human pinball game, with the blind dizziness of a trip through a sandstorm—“something like a Harry Potter novel,” described a patriarch who is now an engineer. “It consisted of all kinds of goofy stuff. It was one of the most exciting things ever. It was this incredible fantasy created just for you.” It can also scare the bejeezus out of the anxious juniors. “You’re a little uneasy when you’re tapped,” said one Bonesman, “so when it’s your turn to tap the next group, it’s funny to hear people worry about it.” Although the costumes, props, and lines remain consistent, the rites may vary slightly from year to year, “particularly if there are theater guys in the club,” a 1980s Bonesman said.

The Bones instructions for initiation preparation read something like a wedding planner’s checklist. Knights must ensure that the tomb is well stocked with black sealing wax, black ribbon, rolls of red paper, and black ink, and that the pins, “Black Book” (bound books in which each alternating Uncle Toby records notes on each session), and scrapbook for the new group are in the tomb prior to the ceremony. The Bonesmen will rehearse the most important part of the initiation rites a few times with the Uncle Toby of elections.

Sometime after Tap, most often on a Sunday night between 8:00 P.M. and 12:00 A.M., the knights deliver to each neophyte a “red packet,” a kind of valentine prepared strictly in the following manner:

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