: Modern theories were largely popularized in the 1960s by writers Robert Wilson and Kerry Thornley , who wrote fake letters to magazines to satirize the era's paranoia—a prank that backfired and fueled real belief in a hidden cabal.
: Influenced by the Freemasons, the order used a hierarchical system of degrees and internal discipline to ensure secrecy. illiminate
: At its peak, the group had between 650 and 2,500 members, including notable figures like the writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The Suppression : Modern theories were largely popularized in the