Are you fascinated by the Hellfire Club? Ever wanted to know what made Aleister Crowley and the OTO so infamous? What is the Order of the Golden Dawn? Each Thursday, the Parcast podcast Secret Societies explores an organization known for their secrecy, and tackles the myths associated with them and what is publicly known. Did you know that the Hellfire Club partially started because coffee houses in England made themselves private organizations so the Catholic church wouldn’t harass them? I didn’t until listening to this podcast. The hosts Greg Polcyn and Vanessa Richardson are engaging and play up the drama, but they don’t cross into that fake sounding awkward territory of someone who is clearly trying to hard.
Secret Societies is very up front that their information is based on extensive research, but without confirmation from members of the organizations themselves there may be missteps and false information. Their episode series on the OTO included a whole breakdown of Aleister Crowley and the rumored insanity behind his Thelema temple in Italy. Secret Societies does include some stomach churning information in regards to the activities of some of the organizations, including possible animal sacrifice and sexual assault, so they advise listeners to listen with caution. Overall, the podcast features great sound engineering and a ton of details.
Secret Societies is available on all major podcast streaming services.
