The Taxil hoax was an 1890s hoax of exposure by Léo Taxil, intended to mock not only Freemasonry but also the Catholic Church's opposition to it.[1]
Taxil, the author of an anti-papal tract, pretended to convert to Catholicism (circa 1884) and wrote several volumes, purportedly in the service to his new faith. These included the adventures of one Dr. Bataille, a surgeon serving in the French merchant navy who has infiltrated the Freemasons and observes their evil rituals as they occur all over the world. Buddhists, Hindus, and Spiritualists join with Freemasons in conspiring against the Catholic church, and Bataille uncovers an even more secret order within the Masons called the Palladists, who take their orders directly from demons.[2] As Dr. Bataille's tale unfolds, he introduces Diana Vaughan, a former high priestess of Palladism who has converted to Catholicism and is in grave danger of assassination from vengeful Freemasons.[2]
In 1897, Taxil called a press conference at which he promised to produce Vaughan. Instead he announced that his revelations about the Freemasons were made up, and thanked the Catholic clergy for helping to publicize his stories.[3] Nine years later he told an American magazine that he at first thought readers would recognize his tales as "amusement pure and simple"—too outlandish to be true—but when he realized they believed them and that there was "lots of money" to be made in publishing them, he continued to perpetrate the hoax.[4] Despite this debunking, belief in Vaughan and the Palladists did not entirely die and the Palladists appeared in a 1943 noir film The Seventh Victim.[2]
^
written by Noah Nicholas and Molly Bedell (2006-08-01). "Mysteries Of The Freemasons — America". Decoding the Past. A&E Television Networks. The History Channel. Archived from the original on 2007-05-09.
^ abcLaycock, Satanism, 1981: section 2 Imagining the Black Mass. The Taxil Hoax
^Cite error: The named reference Confession was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference National Magazine, 1906 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
by the Viceroy of Egypt. Between the years 1885 and 1897, Léo Taxil maintained a hoax against both Freemasonry and the Roman Catholic Church, by making...
friend of Léo Taxil and one of the many victims of the Taxilhoax. A former Freemason who said in 1885 that he converted to Catholicism, Taxil revealed in...
deals with "the occult". These theories have their beginnings in the Taxilhoax. In addition to these, there are various theories that focus on the embedding...
various reasons, or could be outright hoaxes on the part of the author, as in the case of the Taxilhoax. These hoaxes and exposés have often become the basis...
of Christ. Léo Taxil (1854–1907) claimed that Freemasonry is associated with worshipping Lucifer. In what is known as the Taxilhoax, he alleged that...
by William Boyd intended to temporarily fool the art world. The Taxilhoax by Léo Taxil, poking fun at the Roman Catholic Church's attitude toward Freemasonry...
originated with the Taxilhoax. Lévi's Baphomet was depicted on the cover of Les Mystères de la franc-maçonnerie dévoilés, Léo Taxil's lurid paperback "exposé"...
theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxilhoax People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston...
theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxilhoax People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston...
even written by Pike. It was included in a letter which con artist Leo Taxil claimed was from Pike, and was later demonstrated to be a forgery. The occultist...
theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxilhoax People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston...
Temple of Satan. A reaction to this was the Taxilhoax in 1890s France, where an anti-clerical writer Léo Taxil (aka Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès)...
theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxilhoax People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston...
theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxilhoax People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston...
theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxilhoax People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston...
theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxilhoax People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston...
theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxilhoax People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston...
theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxilhoax People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston...
of Christ. Léo Taxil (1854–1907) claimed that Freemasonry is associated with worshipping Lucifer. In what is known as the Taxilhoax, he alleged that...
theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxilhoax People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston...
theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxilhoax People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston...
influenced by the writings of Nesta Webster and the French hoaxer Léo Taxil (see Taxilhoax). He also referred to the theories of Augustin Barruel and...