The Odd Fellows: Brotherhood, Betrayal, and Buried Secrets
The Odd Fellows can be placed within the ever-twisting labyrinth of secretive organizations. Known for their motto, "Friendship, Love, and Truth," they are organizations that seemingly act in the name of charity and fraternity. Secrecy and ritualistic practice have shrouded their history, telling a different story—one of duplicity: a benevolent general face shrouded by whispers of what was actually done in those enigmatic practices. From the shadowy beginnings in 18th-century England to the shocking findings in abandoned lodges, the Odd Fellows' story asks more questions than it answers. In this investigation, peeling back the layers probes their rites, symbols, and controversies to reveal what actually could lie below it all.
Whence: Origins and Evolution - A Tale of Obscurity and Power
Odd Fellows trace their roots back to 18th-century England, though as cryptic as the name might be, so, too, are their beginnings.
The more romantic types say the word "Odd" described the members themselves—a disparate group of tradesmen and laborers who managed to find common cause in their peculiar brotherhood. Others claim it reflected the fact that they were independent, free from the strict guild structures of their various professions. In 1819, Thomas Wildey introduced the order to America, establishing its first lodge in Baltimore. Thus began the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), which promised to impose order on a chaotic world. But their rise was not without its singularities. Historical accounts describe how early lodges often met in secret, locations whispered amongst members. Their mushrooming expansion across the United States was accompanied by an equally rapid rise in suspicion. Why the clandestine meetings? Why the elaborate rituals and oaths of silence? To outsiders, their practices bordered on the arcane.
Skeptics even believed that the order had a hidden agenda in tampering with social structures in the name of fraternity.
By the mid-19th century, their reach was over continents, yet their secrecy had grown even thicker. Rumors flew of lodges with underground chambers, and cryptic messages passing amongst members spoke of activities beyond the charitable. What was born as a brotherhood for mutual aid began to take on the appearance of a society with hidden agendas and veiled power.