Members Only: Secret Societies, Sects, and Cults Exposed!

There’s nothing more intriguing than a secret. Whether it’s a secret ritual, a secret cabal of people running the world, or secret access allowed to only a few, those outside looking in cannot help but be fascinated.

Members Only catalogues many of the most famous and infamous cults, secret societies, and organizations with some sort of clandestine agenda, exploring everyone from the Freemasons and the Illuminati to ghost clubs and the Magic Castle. (Admittedly, I think the author went a step too far by listing the SCA, since the only secret there is why more people aren’t members of such a fun group.) Although some of these organizations tend toward the ridiculous, Tibbott never shies from exploring the darker side of each group, including ties to violent crimes, acts of intimidation, and genuinely unsettling events committed by those who hide in the shadows.

Tibbott has clearly done her homework, but there are numerous minor mistakes. Misspellings, missing punctuation, and an entire repeated paragraph in the Bizango section all distract the reader from the otherwise engaging content. Of course, given the book’s subject, I can’t help but wonder if these errors are all part of a subtle plot to undermine the author’s credibility.