Line #103 Main/SecretCircleOfSecrets


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8	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/EyesWideShut https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/secret_circle_of_secrets.jpg]]]]
9	[[caption-width-right:350:Membership Has Its Privileges]]
10
11	->'''Lindsey:''' It's a secret society.\
12	'''Gunn:''' Never heard of them.\
13	'''Lindsey:''' That's 'cause they're secret.
14	-->-- ''Series/{{Angel}}'', "[[Recap/AngelS05E21PowerPlay Power Play]]"
15
16	Some {{Cult}}s are all about the mental manipulation and brainwashing in order to inspire devotion to a leader. Other cults, however, are all about [[ReligionOfEvil the whole "meddling with dark powers" thing]].
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18	Let's face it. [[VillainByDefault Secret societies make good villains because you can do almost anything you want with them]]. If your story needs some hidden group to be the bad guys, you can't go wrong with a shadowy cabal of [[MalevolentMaskedMen masked figures]] [[OminousLatinChanting chanting Latin or some other long dead language.]]
19
20	[[EvilMinions The members of such groups]] meet in [[EvilIsNotWellLit the middle of the night]], and when they meet are almost always garbed [[BlackCloak in cloaks that hide their body shape]], along with [[MalevolentMaskedMen identity-concealing masks]]. The leader of the cult, of course, will almost always be wearing a much more extravagant, often differently colored cloak (red is a popular option), and his mask is usually more elaborate as well.
21
22	Expect [[BlackCloak black robes]], [[BlackMagic evil magic]], HumanSacrifice ([[VirginSacrifice especially of the virgin kind]], and usually [[ColdBloodedTorture in a painful manner]]), and dark plots to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy]] or [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer the world]]. Synchronized chanting, bonfires (including the occasional burning cross or wicker-man), odd sexual practices, and blood sacrifice is popular among such groups, but not always necessary. The members of the group itself will be loyal to various degrees. Some will end up being {{Punch Clock Villain}}s, others [[PsychoForHire in it for the money or murdering]], while others will be hardcore true believers.
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24	Don't expect much of a [[ReligiousHorror detailed, coherent religious philosophy]] beyond "serve the GodOfEvil in return for power (or to keep him from smiting us)," a bit of [[StrawNihilist Pseudo-Nietzschean]] nihilism, and perhaps a bit of {{Social Darwinis\|t}}m with special focus on "culling the weak."
25
26	A Subtrope of ReligionOfEvil. May overlap with TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness. Often found in works of ReligiousHorror. Has connections with the DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment. Often a form of MysteryCult, ApocalypseCult, BreedingCult or TheKlan.
27	----
28	!!Examples:
29
30	[[foldercontrol]]
31
32	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
33	* The Cult of Kira, seen at the end of the ''Manga/DeathNote'' manga, don't get much screentime, but they fit the bill.
34	* The ''Manga/LycheeLightClub'' has shades of this, especially in the opening, which depicts them from the perspective of an outsider.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Comic Books]]
38	* I ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', The Court of Owls have ruled Gotham City from the shadows for centuries. They also feature prominently in the animated feature ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanVsRobin Batman Vs Robin.]]''
39	* The Dark Circle in ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperheroes''. In original continuity they were an ignorance cult that viewed knowledge as dangerous and wanted everyone to act on instinct. In Reboot continuity they were TheManBehindTheMan of the Affiliated Planets, and were mostly working towards power for the individual members [[spoiler: and so that Brainiac 4 could feel something - which she finally did when she sent the AP fleet to a pointless death and killed the rest of the Circle]].
40	* In ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' comics, the Cabal of Scrier, which worships an ancient alien, and a breakaway cult led by ComicBook/NormanOsborn (the Green Goblin) called the Order of the Goblin.
41	* In ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' there are two: the Church of Brother Blood, and the unnamed cult that worships Raven's demon father, Trigon.
42	** Turns out they are one and the same.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Fan-Fiction]]
46	* ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse'': The not-a-cult of ''Nightmares Yet to Come'' act like this, dressing all in black (or having black fur), following some nebulous goal they are unwilling to explain to the audience's benefit, and gathering in a circle when possible. Though, again, they insist they're not a cult, and that the black is simply for appearance's sake.
47
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
51	* In ''Film/CurseOfTheCrimsonAltar'' centres a witchcraft cult established by Lavinia Morley, a woman executed for witchcraft in the 17th Century, which still operates in the present day. The cult practices HumanSacrifice, but it is unclear what its actual goals are.
52	* ''Film/TheDevilsRain'' was advertised as giving the audience "the first real look into the world of Satanism". Despite the presence of several {{LARGE HAM}}S (including Creator/WilliamShatner and Creator/ErnestBorgnine), it has all the thrilling scares of [[NightmareRetardant cardboard box convention]].
53	* The 1987 [[TheMovie film parody]] version of ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'' featured the [[FunWithAcronyms P.A.G.A.N.S.]] (it stands for "People Against Goodness And Normalcy"), a motorcycle gang-cum-satanic cult whose leader chants in really bad rhyme.
54	* ''Film/DemonLoverDemon Lover'' has the former leader of a devil-worshiping cult summons a creature from the depths of Hell to carry out his revenge against the coven's members.
55	* The sex cult in ''Film/EyesWideShut'' (see picture above). Exactly how sinister they really are is left somewhat unclear.
56	* In ''Film/TheFactsInTheCaseOfMisterHollow,'' has an investigator researching "paganism" in northern Ontario in 1933. Evidence of a cult's operation is presented piecemeal, via newspaper articles, letters, reference materials and a specific photo, gradually detailing a Greco-Roman MysteryCult that is involved in a spate of disappearances. The viewer is meant to infer that these Keres-worshippers are hard-to-track and have been operating in secret for quite some time.
57	* The cultists in ''Film/TheFinalSacrifice'' are a bunch of machete-wielding madmen in black tanktops and hoods out to TakeOverTheWorld by summoning the spirits of an extinct Native American civilization. [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Mike and the bots]] can't decide if they're pro wrestlers or if "Canadian rules football is ''quite'' different."
58	* A '''''lot''''' of [[Film/HammerHorror Hammer Films]] productions featured cloak-wearing demon worshippers of one stripe or another.
59	* Hilariously subverted in ''Film/HotFuzz'' - black robes? Check. Meeting in secret? Check. Killing people off? Check. Being generally evil? Big damn check. Having anything to do with a reasonable, normal, evil bunch of black-clad homicidal night-meeters' goals? [[spoiler: [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Noooot quite...]]]]
60	* 1957's ''Film/NightOfTheDemon'' was all about an investigator who discovers one of these groups.
61	** The 2009 Sam Raimi film ''Film/DragMeToHell'' took a lot of inspiration from this film.
62	* The "vampires" from ''Film/TheOmegaMan'' wore cloaks and engaged in mystic rituals as per this trope, but also were the [[{{Cult}} brainwashed minions of a charismatic leader]] too.
63	* Damien from ''Film/TheOmen'' has a secret cult of devil-worshipers that serve and protect him. When they're not murdering people or attending black masses, they're care-takers, teachers, priests, and Cub Scouts. Since there doesn't appear to be any influential people in this cult, it could almost be a MilkmanConspiracy if their plan wouldn't revolve around [[WouldHurtAChild ending Christ's life as soon as possible]]. All of the cultists have ample access to children.
64	* The cultists in ''Film/RaceWithTheDevil'', who chase the heroes across Texas after they witness the cult carrying out a HumanSacrifice.
65	* Subverted in the short film ''Rings'' of ''Film/TheRing'' franchise. Instead, the groups consist of "rings" of teenagers who watch Samara Morgan's cursed videotape and record the supernatural things they witness, this ritual of sorts passing to each group member when the previous panics. One group in Astoria, Washington seem more than willing to sacrifice one member to see the events of the inevitable Day Seven when the victim is killed by Samara's ghost.
66	* Demonstrated in the opening of the 2009 [[Film/SherlockHolmes2009 Sherlock Holmes]] film.
67	* What the Sisterhood is accused of being in ''Film/TheSisterhoodOfNight''.
68	* ''Film/SoundOfMyVoice'': two undercover documentarians get themselves recruited into a secretive {{cult}} built around a young woman claiming to be a time traveler from a post-apocalyptic future. The first scenes show the two leads running a gauntlet of security measures to meet the cult leader.
69	* ''Film/{{The Whisperer in Darkness}}'' (2011). The Franchise/CthulhuMythos cult attempting to open a wormhole to the Mi-Go's planet for an AlienInvasion.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Literature]]
73	* ''Literature/AngelsAndDemons'': The Illuminati are a secret society, originated as a pro-science organization in a time when the Catholic Church was anti-science. It is almost exaggerated, as they have convinced the entire world for 400 years that they didn't exist anymore, and they managed to deeply infiltrate even the Freemasons, who themselves can be considered a secret society of sorts. At the end of the book, [[spoiler:subverted]], though, as it turns out they [[spoiler:indeed stopped existing centuries ago, and their come-back was only feigned by the villain]].
74	* Quite a few examples in various ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' works, by Robert E. Howard and other authors: Golden Peacock, Hanuman the Accursed, Set, Tsathoggus, Yama, Yezud.
75	** In Creator/RobertEHoward's Literature/ConanTheBarbarian novel ''Literature/TheHourOfTheDragon'', the cult of Asura is portrayed as this. While they are secretive, Conan refused to persecute them without actual crimes, and they assist him in regaining his throne. And do not, in the course of the novel, show any sign that the accusations are anything but MaliciousSlander.
76	** Some in Fritz Leiber's ''[[Literature/FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser Nehwon]]'' stories, too: Earth God, Gods of Trouble, Hate, Rat God, Spider God, Tyaa.
77	** In fact, these are quite common in SwordAndSorcery, even relative to their frequency in {{Fantasy}} generally. Convenient ObviouslyEvil villains.
78	* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/GuardsGuards'' the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night are a secret society behind the plot to summon a dragon and overthrow the Patrician. While the leader is a cunning manipulator, the members are [[MilkmanConspiracy pathetic petty-minded lower-middle class losers who mainly want to get back at people]]. (What they have going for them is ''anger.'') But apparently they aren't as unique as they think... there's a whole street full of secret societies, with all the trimmings.
79	** The other societies are similar enough that early in the book, two characters exchange esoteric passphrases for ''most of a page'' before one of them says something the other isn't expecting. They then spend most of ''another'' page arguing about whether the good mother makes bean soup for the errant boy or the ill-built tower trembles mightily at the butterfly's passage. Finally the person trying to get in says something that clues the doorkeeper in that he's looking for another secret society that meets three doors down. Not long after, it turns out one of the people already ''at'' the gathering was at the wrong society, only realising it when the ''full'' name of it was mentioned.
80	* ''Literature/FoucaultsPendulum'' is a hardcore postmodern deconstruction of this trope. In addition to numerous literary and historical references to various Secret Circles throughout the ages, two of them feature in the main plot: the first is a generally benign Druidic cult at an alchemical retreat, but the second is a full-on evil secret society [[spoiler:led by a major supporting character, Senor Aglie.]]
81	* The Satanists in Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's ''Literature/GoodOmens'' {{lampshade\|Hanging}} and parody this concept, with a coven of secretly Satanist nuns who are doing their best to fulfill the prophecies leading to the conception of the Antichrist, but are [[PunchClockVillain otherwise just decent people]] following the tenets of the religion they were raised in, not that different from anyone else.
82	* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', Death Eaters behave this way. When they gather, they all wear uniform robes in a cult of personality of sorts for Voldemort. They wear masks as well in a FacelessGoons sort of way.
83	* Pretty much any group of worshippers of an EldritchAbomination, such as those found in Creator/HPLovecraft and his imitators' works. "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!"
84	** "Phn'glui mgl'wnafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"
85	** "Iä! Iä! Shub-Niggurath! The Black Goat of the Woods With a Thousand Young!"
86	*** Listen to a "wax cylinder recording" of that last [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQkos7WTHjg here]] and watch the cat when the ''other'' voice speaks up.
87	* The bad guys in ''Lovely Assistant'' by Geoph Essex wear dark, hooded cloaks...and really do have some [[EvilPlan Evil Plans]] on their agenda. The leader doesn't exactly wear a different color, but [[spoiler:she]] ''does'' sport a different look from the rest ([[spoiler:by leaving her hood down to show off her [[BlondeRepublicanSexKitten beautiful blonde hair]]]]).
88	* Even Creator/AgathaChristie used this trope, and like she did with most tropes, had some fun with it. The investigation in ''Literature/TheSevenDialsMystery'' leads to the titular secret society, whose members wear masks shaped like clock faces. [[spoiler:It's a society of amateur detectives led by the police superintendent.]]
89	* In ''Literature/ShadowKiss'', Mână (the Hand) was a secret society of royals who attempted to use forbidden compulsion techniques to get their way. Their initiation ritual was torturing potential members with magic until compelled to stop.
90	* ''Such Bright and Risen Madness in Our Names'', by Jay Lake. LaResistance on an Earth conquered by the [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Old Ones]] adopt this trope to conceal their activities by imitating the Literature/{{Dagon}} and [[TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu Silver Twilight]] cults. And hey, it worked for them.
91	* The satanic cults in the works of Creator/DennisWheatley (mostly based on Aleister Crowley and company), plus Film/HammerHorror versions thereof.
92	* The Darkfriends of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime.'' Since they are all about helping [[GodOfEvil the Dark One]] bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt (in exchange for personal power and immortality), membership is banned on pain of death throughout the world, and their cells are even called "circles" with strict limits on who knows whom. One book has a "Darkfriend social" where all the guests wear [[InTheHood obscuring hooded robes]] and masks -- and are still [[NoHonorAmongThieves looking for dirt on each other]].
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Live Action TV]]
96	* The Grey Council from ''Series/BabylonFive'' is the senior level of government for the Minbari Federation. It is comprised of three members of each of the three castes (Worker, Warrior, Religious) [[spoiler: at least until the fifth season when Delenn breaks the Council and reconstitutes it so that the Workers gain a majority over the other two (usually more dominant) castes]]. Unlike the other examples, the Grey Council isn't so much evil as it is manipulative [[spoiler: and ultimately corrupt]]. It meets in secret aboard a warship in deep space, so that its deliberations (and for that matter the identities of its members) remain unknown even to most Minbari. All members wear dark grey cloaks with head-concealing hoods. They also have a habit of withholding information ''[[TooDumbToLive even if doing so is ultimately self-defeating]]''.
97	* Showed up at all the time in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.
98	** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E8IRobotYouJane I Robot, You Jane]]", Moloch the Corrupter apparently auto-generated them wherever he went.
99	** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E5ReptileBoy Reptile Boy]]", a frat house sacrificed people to a demon snake in exchange for the power and wealth of their families.
100	** [[BigBad The Mayor]] was a particularly effective single person version of this, to the point that most of the demons that appeared were working for him.
101	** The Harbingers of the First Evil probably qualify, a group of high school cultists tried to sacrifice a fellow student in exchange for money, and on and on. Even [[TheMentor Giles]] was a member of one when he was younger.
102	** And of course, the spinoff ''Series/{{Angel}}'' has the Circle of the Black Thorn (referred to in the title quote), AncientConspiracy and TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness, complete with black robes and Venetian masks.
103	* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E5TheDaemons worshippers of Azal]] and the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E1TheMasqueOfMandragora Cult of Demnos]], though the former leans more towards a ReligionOfEvil.
104	** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E3ImageOfTheFendahl Image of the Fendahl]]", a local black magic cult learn of the coming of the Fendahl and the leader believes that he can control it and use it to dominate others. This ends badly.
105	* [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Secret Society]], from ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'', of course. They are a bit of a lighter example though. While they do indeed meet up in the dark cellar of Anubis House, chant creepily during ceremonies and wear cloaks, they aren't doing big sacrifices or any dark magic. They are mostly teachers along with a few important figures like a cop and a nurse (as well as the father of who they assume to be TheChosenOne) and their goal is to achieve [[ImmortalitySeeker eternal life]] so each of them can fulfill a more personal goal, such as stopping themselves from dying of a degenerative disease. The most evil thing they did was hide away their supposed chosen one and lie about it to the students, yet they never wanted any of the students to actually get hurt. They are disbanded at the end of the first season when they realized they had the wrong chosen one and their one-hour window to do the ceremony has closed.
106	* ''Series/ResurrectionErtugrul'': Dragos’ legion counts as this since he and his members operate under aliases around Sogut, doing so while preventing most outsiders from figuring out their true identities in order for them to take over the city and eventually all of Anatolia, plus the fact that his subordinates display an unyielding devotion to him.
107	* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' reveals that within the Tal Shiar -- the Romulan SecretPolice -- is an even more secretive cabal known as Zhat Vash, which exists solely to protect a terrible secret capable of breaking the minds of those who learn it.
108	* The Regents from ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' invoke the general idea of this trope as an acerbic jab at Artie's expectations.
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
112	* Many ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' adventures have them, in accordance with the original Franchise/CthulhuMythos source material.
113	* ''TabletopGame/DarkMatter1999'' has the Final Church, ''the'' worldwide conspiracy for demons and satanists. Basically, pretend that every paranoid rumor regarding Satanism mentioned in the 'Real Life' section was actually true, and you get the gist. There was even a web book devoted solely to the group at the end of ''TabletopGame/{{Alternity}}'''s run, and the group makes a comeback in the ''TabletopGame/D20Modern Menace Manual''.
114	* ''TabletopGame/TheDraculaDossier'': During Dracula's initial visit to England, he took over a Satanic cult with a large proportion of upper-class members. Edom later suspected the cult was acting as a "stay-behind" network for Dracula.
115	* Subverted with the Lords of Waterdeep from the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]] setting, who dress like this trope, engineer secretive political schemes, and conceal their membership from the public, but aren't actually evil and work to ensure their city's security and prosperity.
116	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'', there are the Primals, a group who is based in the Inner Planes. They seem to have discovered some big secret of the universe, but aren't eager to share it. (Most assume it has something to do with Elemental powers, given their location and name.) Due to the secrecy, most other folk assume they're up to no good, even though there's no concrete proof.
117	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Unknown Armies}}'' it's very likely that the robe-wearing, secretive cultists with an agenda for the entire world are actually the Player Characters themselves. Also their main antagonists. And some of the side characters too. The Occult Underground being defined as a subculture of secrecy is a fertile breeding ground for all manners of secret cults, with varying degrees of evilness (or, for that matter, efficiency).
118	* ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' features the Shadow Cults, an invention of the Mekhet that allows them control over humans (and other fringe benefits) by promising to unearth the secrets of existence. One of them, the Moulding Room, promises to reveal the power behind modern pop culture but is explicitly revealed to be a Situationalist prank -- in other words, founded entirely ForTheEvulz.
119	** From another ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' game, ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'', you have the Guardians of the Veil, who both qualify as this trope ''and'' manufacture this trope for mortals. As the Mage equivalent of the Secret Police, they obviously act in secret, [[spoiler: and also fit this trope by believing in an apocalyptic philosophy that is actively trying to bring about [[TheMessiah the birth of a mage messiah]]]]. But they also like to make mystery cults that deliberately spread disinformation about magic, in order to prevent curious individuals from accidentally discovering ''real'' magic.
120	** A [[TabletopGame/MummyTheCurse Mummy's]] {{Cult}} also tends to operate in this fashion. Mummy Cults are among the few people in the modern world who know of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Sekhem]] and the Nameless Empire, and also have the ability to direct a Mummy through his Relics. A Cult that abuses this authority, though, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard may regret it]] once the Mummy starts getting its memories back...
121	** ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'': Many Dark Cults end up looking like this. Between getting supernatural powers from TheDarkSide and the need to remain undercover so that Princesses and mortal authorities can't find you, it's a fairly natural place to end up.
122	** ''TabletopGame/LeviathanTheTempest'' has this as one of the forms a Leviathan's {{Cult}} can take. The emphasis on secrecy makes it easier to jettison part of the Cult if it starts drawing heat, but you run the risk of losing track of some of your Beloved and having them go do something stupid.
123	* Chaos Cultists from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' (and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'') qualify. [[BloodKnight Khorne's]] worshipers often organize into martial brotherhoods or murder cults, orders devoted to [[TheChessmaster Tzeentch]] tend to be influential secret societies or sorcerous cabals, cults of [[SenseFreak Slaanesh]] are at best bands of artistes and hedonists or at worst mobs of depraved sex-crazed sadomasochists, and [[PlagueMaster Nurgle's]] followers are nihilistic groups spreading disease and despair.
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Video Games]]
127	* ''VideoGame/TheBizarreAdventuresOfWoodruffAndTheSchnibble'': You find one inside the Schnibble Cult.
128	* ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos'' has the Order of the Blessed Agonies.
129	* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' features The Circle Of Thorns, a group that one poster to the [[VideoGame/CityOfHeroes COH forums]] characterized as [[DemonicSpiders "a bunch of demon-worshipping asshairs"]]. Missions where the players go against the Circle of Thorns are never popular.
130	** That's at least partially due to the ScrappyLevel ''maps'' the missions tend to use.
131	** Also, this trope is being invoked in-universe: the trappings of the Circle hide the fact that they aren't a secret society at all. They're actually the ghosts of a fallen civilization using their rituals to possess the bodies of both innocent victims and recruits. They act like a secret society both to get a greater pool of bodies to incarnate into and to look like a different kind of threat to law enforcement and the government. The masks and robes ensure their low-level recruits don't notice the replacements.
132	* ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' had the Raincoat Cult. As the name says, they didn't wear cloaks, but they did wear masks.
133	* The first ''VideoGame/{{Discworld}}'' videogame is based on ''Literature/GuardsGuards'', mentioned above, and so has a similar secret society.
134	* In a subversion of the "cult leader wears red" thing, the Cult of the Mythic Dawn in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' has the mooks wearing red. The leader wears blue. Also, the Speakers of the Black Hand wear black robes, but their leader, the Listener, wears a green overcoat. Justified, as he is the one who has to show himself in public when visiting the Night Mother's shrine [[spoiler:smack-dab in the middle of Bravil]].
135	* The Cult of Kefka in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''. They have given their souls to Kefka, and spend all their time walking around thinking about him.
136	* The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Evil Spaghetti Cult]] from ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'''s Nemesis Quest, as it plays out for Pastamancers. They worship your Nemesis, an evil spaghetti elemental. There's a brief ShoutOut [[http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/A_Protestor to Project Chanology]] (which devolves into a general spoof of 4chan memes).
137	* The secret society in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfShredsAndPatches'' fits this bill, having ties to several high-profile figures (from noblemen to the Queen's own occultist) all in service to Literature/TheKingInYellow.
138	* When the fans get a hold of the Black Cloak Society in ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'', they usually get this treatment. Creator/AGDInteractive's FanRemake of ''VideoGame/KingsQuestII'' has several hints that they're prepping to survive TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt - possibly the events of ''VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity''. AGD puts another example in their version of the game by [[spoiler: having the benevolent monk]] from the original turn out to be running a [[spoiler:FurAgainstFang racket against what turns out to be the FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire]].
139	* The Genoharadan in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' are a secret society of assassins and bounty hunters that operate behind the scenes, guiding galactic history.
140	* ''VideoGame/ObsCure II'' has Delta Theta Gamma, which at first glance appears to be a [[WackyFratboyHijinx hard-partying fraternity]] but is slowly revealed, as you explore their frat house, to have a lot more in common with the likes of [[Film/TheSkulls Skull & Bones]] than with [[Film/AnimalHouse Delta House]]. [[spoiler:The finale reveals them to have been a GreaterScopeVillain secretly involved in the events of both games, with most of the main villains working for them in some capacity.]]
141	* The Masquerade in ''VideoGame/Persona2: Innocent Sin'' certainly qualifies. In this case, they even have different robes to indicate which leader commands them, though they will all take orders from the Joker.
142	* The story in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' revolves around rescuing the daughter of the President of the United States from a cult called "[[TheIlluminati Los Illuminados]]". Interestingly, the most obvious example of this trope is only in one particular level. The rest of the game involves you fighting villagers and soldiers that have been infected by the cult. Oddly, the Cult seems to have their wires badly crossed about HOW to go about their mission - they actually spend most of the game trying desperately to kill people their principle strategy hinges on being alive.
143	* The ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series has an evil cult which has a large role in every game except arguably ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''. Hints to some sort of actual religious theory beyond "serve the evil god in exchange for power," appear in [[VideoGame/SilentHill3 the third game]] (for example: that Alessa is both the mother and daughter of God). The third game also has examples of true believers (Claudia) and people mostly in it for power and money (Father Vincent).
144	* ''VideoGame/SushiStrikerTheWayOfSushido'' has such a group that has ''already'' taken over most of the land by the time the game begins. They're known as the Sushimancers, serve directly under Emperor Octavius, and the majority of them have PurposefullyOverpowered Sushi Sprites that [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard you're not allowed to have]]. Considering they deal in sushi-themed sorcery, these EliteMooks are PlayedForLaughs.
145	* The Keepers from ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' are a rare heroic example, using their ancient knowledge and secrecy to protect the ordinary people from great evils.
146	* The ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' universe's Cult of the Damned is a group that worships [[{{Lich}} The Lich King]] in order to achieve eternal life through undeath. In contrast, the apocalyptic Twilight's Hammer cult exists to awaken [[EldritchAbomination the Old Gods]] [[SealedEvilInACan sealed beneath Azeroth's surface]], knowing full well that doing so will bring about the end of the world.
147	* The cult in ''VideoGame/WorldOfHorror'' faithfully serves their chosen [[EldritchAbomination Old God]], and attempt to summon it in order to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. [[spoiler:The FinalBoss is one of their head honchos]].
148	[[/folder]]
149
150	[[folder:Webcomics]]
151	* In ''Webcomic/{{Broodhollow}}'', the Society of the Skull and Shovels seems like this at first. Brooding chants, dark robes, mystical significance, check, check, and double-check. But then Wadsworth actually gets inside and is shown that it's really just a (seemingly) harmless gentleman's club of sorts.
152	* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius:'' Most of Queen Albia's MadScientist division goes renegade joining a secret little conspiracy, complete with hooded cloaks, HumanSacrifice, and the summoning of an EldritchAbomination.
153	* In ''Webcomic/{{Opplopolis}}'', Tomaj Pangolin's young godson Marvin uses his [[http://www.opplopolis.com/issues/3/4 hacking/googling]] skills to determine that "[[MacGuffin marvedyne]]" has something to do with a [[http://www.opplopolis.com/issues/4/18 secret society of aristocrats.]]
154	* A rare heroic example from ''Webcomic/TheSanityCircus'': The Nameless Organisation is concerned with tracking down, monitoring and keeping a lid on [[EldritchAbomination the Scarecrows]], but they do with maximum secrecy and all information is strictly limited. They're even called 'The Nameless Organisation', after all.
155	[[/folder]]
156
157	[[folder: Web Original ]]
158	* [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Strong Bad]] insists that his true age is a closely-guarded secret guarded by a sect of closely-guarded monks, who bake [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail164.html crustly-guarded bread.]]
159	* The Brood of Nachash in ''WebOriginal/TallTales'' is a cult whose primary teachings are generally kept secret from the outside world, working to destroy religion as a concept.
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder: Western Animation]]
163	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}:'' The Secret Society, which claims to be the true power behind the throne of Dreamland. Most of the time, their get-togethers just seem to be to have wild orgies, though in Part 3 it turns out they can be dangerous. When they're not having orgies.
164	-->'''Elfo:''' It looks like a lot of people having sex.\
165	'''[[IneptMage Sorcerio]]:''' Oh, yes, we do that too.
166	* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' introduces the "Society of the Blind Eye" in the episode of the same name, though they had been hinted at in previous episodes. They turn out to be a MemoryWipingCrew who erase people's troubling memories of the supernatural, which explains the show's ExtraStrengthMasquerade.
167	* Creator/JackieChan stumbles onto one in the ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' episode "The Chan That Knew Too Much". Much of the humor in that episode comes from their deciding HeKnowsTooMuch, when in fact he knows almost nothing and it is their frequent attempts to kill him that inform him of their identities/goals.
168	[[/folder]]
169
170	[[folder:Real Life]]
171	* The UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan follows this trope more than you'd expect from a real-world organization. Night-time meetings, bonfires and burning crosses, and not to mention the all-enclosing robes and masks (complete with [[ColorCodedPatrician differently-colored masks and robes]] to distinguish the leadership from the [[{{Mooks}} common members]]).
172	* [[HollywoodSatanism Media portrayals of Satanism]] also tend to fall into this trope, especially during the "[[WitchHunt Satanic Panic]]" of the 1970s and '80s.
173	* The Druids, at least according to many Greek and Roman writers. There is, in fact, more evidence for the horrible human-sacrificing Druids than for most other views of them. On the other hand, it comes from the pens of their enemies. However, there is some archaeological evidence for this too.
174	* [[http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Religion_and_the_decline_of_magic.html?id=yQwSAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y Keith Thomas]] points out that the stereotype of devil-worshippers as black-robed figures chanting in Latin in a ruined abbey originated with Tudor propaganda against the banned ''Catholics''. Only after Catholics had ceased to be figures of fear was it applied to more obscure cults.
175	* This stereotype was deliberately taken up by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellfire_Club Hellfire Club]], a bunch of rich 18th century British thrill-seekers who were in it just for the kicks and the depravity.
176	[[/folder]]
177

Context Main / SecretCircleOfSecrets