122 - The Taxil Hoax

Today we’re taking a look at one of the wildest, most enduring hoaxes of all time—The Taxil Hoax. Ever wondered why Freemasons are a magnet for conspiracy theories? In the 1890s, a French prankster named Leo Taxil tricked the Vatican into believing that Luciferian Freemasons were plotting world domination. We'll trace how Taxil's grand illusion unfolded, from his time as a schoolboy to his time pretending to be Diana Vaughan—a fabricated Grand Mistress descended from a 17th-century Rosicrucian. Through pseudonyms and theatrics, Taxil made a hoax so compelling that people today still believe in Palladism, the imaginary secret Luciferian society inside Freemasonry.   Keep us ad free, keep us sad free and get access to our bonus series The Corkboard Bizarre and our private Discord server when you support us on Patreon!https://patreon.com/thenonsensebazaar