Qanon got its ideas from somewhere.  Cults and conspiracy go way back in history.

Cults go way back to the Egyptian times, from worshipping weird deities to even having human sacrifices. But the term ‘cult’ first appeared in 1617, derived from the French word ‘culte’ which means worship. Cults weren’t really a big deal until the 1930s when cults became the object of sociological study. The 1980s was also a huge time for cults because of the satanic panic — when the rise of heavy metal and subliminal messages caused a panic amongst people as well as accounts where children were being molested by a group of people. There was also a group during this period called “The Finders” that even had ties with the CIA. 

 Skip forward to present day, and there are still signs that satanism hasn’t gone away, so much so that we even have a “Church of Satan” founded by Anton Szandor LaVey, and (what some say) is much more subliminal messaging than before.  Freemasons are also another big one with notable members such as George Washington, Irving Berlin, Theodore Roosevelt, Louis Armstrong, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ludwig van Beethoven, Harry S. Truman, Andrew Jackson, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, and Henry Ford.   If you search the term “freemasons” on YouTube you might learn a lot about this cult in the comments… they also have a reported connection to an even bigger cult, the Illuminati — but the existence of this cult can be argued. 

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) can also be called a cult — even though it isn’t too secretive. 

Of course, there are some wild accusations out there as well.  Rumor has it that there is also a club called Bohemian Grove where people gather in the middle of the forest to worship the Egyptian Owl god Moloch and some notable members are Clint Eastwood, Henry Kissinger, Walter Cronkite, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Charles Schwab, Ambrose Bierce, Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and Jack London (which is also rumored to be connected to the illuminati).

Someone else getting flame for taking part in a cult is performance artist Marina Abramovic, and a simple google search of “Marina Abramovic spirit cooking” and then images will show why people think this. Her art varies from using blood to nudity, there is even a video of a fake human body made into a cake and eaten by guests in this party, which has left many people scratching their heads as to where she got her inspiration from. In a random survey of 50 people 70% said they think cults exist in modern society. 

 Cults are obsessed with knowledge or “Illumination.” 

 “I don’t know a lot about cults, but I did watch “American Horror Story: Cult” recently, and I think they are secretive depending on the purpose of the cult. In “AHS” the cult was violent, which makes sense why they were secret, but I think it also comes down to the concept of being in a group, one that might be selective and exclusive,” said journalism teacher Ms. Lowther. 

 Triangles, pentagons, and stars are the most common symbols cults use, but some might use snakes, one eye, . 

 “I think the media needs to be careful with coverage because there is a fine line between informing people about what is out there and influencing them to possibly participate. When making choices about what to cover in journalism, the general rule is to make coverage decisions based on what does the greater good for the public,” said journalism teacher Mr. Frankfother. 

 There are up to 10,000 cults in America. 

 “I don’t really care about cults except for the KKK; that one’s bad,” said senior Edgar Morales.