Book & Snake

Motto

**Book & Snake** is one of the Ancient Eight secret societies of Yale University. It is the third oldest House of the Veil and was the first society to induct women into its delegation. They specialize in necromancy and bone conjuring. Its members are colloquially known as the Lettermen.

## Book Information

The following is information found in Ninth House p.454 on the Houses of the Veil provided by Leigh Bardugo .

* *Motto*: Everything changes, nothing perishes.
* *Teachings*: Practices Nekyia or nekromanteia, necromancy and bone conjuring.
* *Famous Alumni*: Bob Woodward, Porter Goss, Kathleen Cleaver, Charles Rivkin

### Magic and Influence

Book and Snake specialize in the magics of nekyia or nekromanteia, the Greek rite by which ghosts were called up and questioned, commonly known as necromancy. Despite their specialty, Book and Snake rarely perform a *complete* raising of the dead. Once dead, no one could be brought back from beyond the Veil permanently and hauling a reluctant soul back into its body garners unpredictable results. While Book and Snake had created numerous safeguards for their specialized necromancy rituals, even they sometimes have lost control once a Gray found its way to a body. As a result, most of Book and Snake's rites are dedicated to information recovery from their network of dead informants, that of which will be passed on to those willing to pay, such as the state department, military etc.

When conducting their rites, the Book & Snake congregation start with the words, "". The delegation also wear black robes and veils embroidered with snakes during their rites, while the alum serving as high priest wears a robe of black and gold.

Another tool in Book and Snake's magical repertoire are the glumae, spirits raised from the recently dead to pass through the world and act as messengers for Book and Snake.

### Tomb

Of all the societies, Book and Snake's tomb looks most like a crypt. Towering and white in color, the building had Greek pediment and Ionic columns. It's surrounded by a black iron fence, crawling with black iron snakes, which are meant to represent the caduceus of Mercury, the god of Commerce. Along with being across the street from the cemetery, there is a tunnel beneath Grove Street that connects Book and Snake to the heart of Grove Street Cemetery.

Inside, there is a stone carving that reads, *Omnia mutantur, nihil interit.* Everything changes, nothing perishes. The central temple was round and painted with colorful frescoes with naked men climbing ladders which were atop the dead. At the center of the room were two statues of veiled women on top of snakes. In their hands was a lamp, with blue fire inside it.

## History

### 1800's

Book and Snake was founded in 1863. The construction of their tomb, funded by the Stone Trust Corporation, wouldn't begin until the death of Effie White in 1898. The consumption of her soul created the nexus on which the tomb of Book and Snake was built upon.

### 1900's

In the late 1970's, Book and Snake tried to summon the 'Belle of New Haven' Jennie Cramer and transfer her spirit into the body of a teenage girl from Camden, who had frozen to death in blizzard. Instead, they had summoned the Camden girl, who 'shivered with the ferocious strength of the newly dead.' The Camden girl broke through the Book and Snake gates and walked to Yorkside Pizza, where she ate two pizzas and then laid down in an oven to get warm. A Lethe delegate was able to quickly quarantine the area and contain the situation through compulsions and—when that didn't work—cash bribes. With the continuous help of Yale and the Houses of the Veil, Yorkside Pizza would retain its lease and remain successful despite so many neighboring businesses leaving.

### Ninth House

In the fall semester, Darlington and Alex Stern witnessed the Book & Snake delegation, with the help of a translator, perform a raising of a dried up corpse who relayed the final accounts of recently dead soldiers in the Ukraine. This information, according to Darlington, was probably going to be passed along to the state department.

When a gluma attacks Alex Stern at a grocery store, she begins to suspect the societies involvement in the death of Tara Hutchins, although she later finds them to be innocent.

### Hell Bent

Book & Snake had the second ritual of the year.

## Known Members

* Bob Woodward - a real person. Book & Snake member who pulled the location of a hidden speakeasy from a few bones and some hair.
* Calista

### Historical

Book and Snake Society was originally founded in 1863 by students of the Yale Sheffield Scientific School as Sigma Delta Chi Society. Not wanting to be considered a fraternity, the society changed it name to the Book and Snake Society in the late 1870s. Members who lived in the society residence, or "Cloister", became the Cloister Club. Graduates and honorary members of Book and Snake were also members of the Cloister Club. In 1876 the society incorporated as the Stone Trust Corporation. The Book and Snake converted to a senior society in 1933.

## Gallery

Skull and Bones tomb, circa 1879, before expansion
## Trivia

* While Darlington preferred Moorish stylings of Scroll and Key, Alex took notice of the fence surrounding the Book & Snake tomb: black iron, crawling with snakes to represent Mercury, God of Commerce, although Alex notes that he was also the god of thieves.

## References

1. ↑ https://etymology.en-academic.com/24934/necromancy from the Greek word *nekros* "dead body" + *manteia* "divination, oracle."
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nekyia
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 *Ninth House* Chapter 8 (Winter)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ninth House Chapter 12 (Winter) - Lethe Days Diary
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Ninth House Chapter 10 (Last Fall)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ninth House Chapter 9 (Winter)
7. ↑ Ninth House Chapter 3 (Winter)
8. ↑ Perhaps in reference to their selling of dead people's secrets.
9. ↑ Ninth House Chapter 29 (Early Spring)
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ninth House Chapter 31 (Early Spring)
11. ↑ Real Life Person - famous investigative journalist, covered Watergate as a young journalist, continues to be influential
 Book & Snake on Wikipedia
13. ↑ Yale University Archives