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[[File:cult.jpg|link=Eyes Wide Shut|frame|Membership Has Its Privileges]]
Some [[Cult
▲Some [[Cult|Cults]] are all about the mental manipulation and brainwashing in order to inspire devotion to a leader. Other cults, however, are all about [[Religion of Evil|the demon worship]].
Let's face it. [[Villain by Default|Secret societies]] [[Exclusively Evil|make good villains]] [[Hidden Agenda Villain|because you can do]] [[Card-Carrying Villain|almost anything]] [[Accidental Innuendo|you want with them]]. If your story needs some hidden group to be the bad guys, you can't go wrong with a shadowy cabal of [[Malevolent Masked Men|masked demon worshippers.]]
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[[Evil Minions|The members of such groups]] meet in [[Evil Is Not Well Lit|the middle of the night]], and when they meet are almost always garbed [[Black Cloak|in cloaks that hide their body shape]], along with identity-concealing masks. The leader of the cult, of course, will almost always be wearing a much more extravagant, often differently colored cloak (red is a popular option), and his mask is usually more elaborate as well.
Expect [[Black Cloak|black robes]], [[Human Sacrifice]] ([[Virgin Sacrifice|especially of the virgin kind]], and usually [[Cold-Blooded Torture|in a painful manner]]), and dark plots to [[The End of the World as We Know It|destroy]] or [[Take Over the World|conquer the world]]. Synchronized chanting, bonfires (including the occasional burning cross or wicker-man), odd sexual practices, and blood sacrifice is popular among such groups, but not always necessary. The members of the group itself will be loyal to various degrees. Some will end up being [[Punch Clock Villain
Don't expect much of a [[Religious Horror|detailed, coherent religious philosophy]] beyond "serve the [[God of Evil]] in return for power (or to keep him from smiting us)," a bit of [[Nietzsche Wannabe|Pseudo-Nietzschean]] nihilism, and perhaps a bit of [[Social Darwinist|Social Darwinism]] with special focus on "culling the weak."
A Subtrope of [[Religion of Evil]]. May overlap with [[The Omniscient Council of Vagueness]]. Often found in works of [[Religious Horror]]. Has connections with the [[Department of Redundancy Department]]. Often a form of [[Mystery Cult]] or [[Breeding Cult]].
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* The Cult of Kira, seen at the end of the ''[[Death Note]]'' manga, don't get much screentime, but they fit the bill.
* The ''[[Litchi Hikari Club]]'' has shades of this, especially in the opening, which depicts them from the perspective of an outsider.
== Comic Books ==
* In ''[[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]'' there are two: the Church of Brother Blood, and the unnamed cult that worships Raven's demon father, Trigon.
* In [[Spider-Man]] comics, the Cabal of Scrier, which worships an ancient alien, and a breakaway cult led by Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin) called the Order of the Goblin.
== Film ==
* The sex cult in ''[[Eyes Wide Shut]]'' (see picture above). Exactly how sinister they really are is left somewhat unclear.
* A '''''lot''''' of [[Hammer Horror|Hammer Films]] productions featured cloak-wearing demon worshippers of one stripe or another.
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* The cultists in ''[[Race with the Devil]]'', who chase the heroes across Texas after they witness the cult carrying out a [[Human Sacrifice]].
* Hilariously subverted in ''[[Hot Fuzz]]'' - black robes? Check. Meeting in secret? Check. Killing people off? Check. Being generally evil? Big damn check. Having anything to do with a reasonable, normal, evil bunch of black-clad homicidal night-meeters' goals? {{spoiler|[[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|Noooot quite...]]}}
== Literature ==
* Quite a few examples in various ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' works, by Robert E. Howard and other authors: Golden Peacock, Hanuman the Accursed, Set, Tsathoggus, Yama, Yezud.
** Some in Fritz Leiber's ''[[Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser|Nehwon]]'' stories, too: Earth God, Gods of Trouble, Hate, Rat God, Spider God, Tyaa.
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* The Satanists in Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's ''[[Good Omens]]'' [[Lampshade Hanging]] and parody this concept, with a coven of secretly Satanist nuns who are doing their best to fulfill the prophecies leading to the conception of the Antichrist, but are [[Punch Clock Villain|otherwise just decent people]] following the tenets of the religion they were raised in, not that different from anyone else.
* The satanic cults in the works of Dennis Wheatley (mostly based on Aleister Crowley and company), plus [[Hammer Horror]] versions thereof.
* In the [[Discworld]] novel ''[[
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s [[Conan the Barbarian]] novel ''[[The Hour of the Dragon]]'', the cult of Asura is portrayed as this. While they are secretive, Conan refused to persecute them without actual crimes, and they assist him in regaining his throne. And do not, in the course of the novel, show any sign that the accusations are anything but [[Malicious Slander]].
* The Darkfriends of [[The Wheel of Time]]. Since they are all about helping [[God of Evil|the Dark One]] bring about [[The End of the World as We Know It]] (in exchange for personal power and immortality), membership is banned on pain of death throughout the world, and their cells are even called "circles".
▲== Live Action TV ==
* Showed up at all the time in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. Moloch the Corrupter apparently auto-generated them wherever he went. A frat house sacrificed people to a demon snake in exchange for the power and wealth of their families. [[Big Bad|The Mayor]] was a particularly effective single person version of this, to the point that most of the demons that appeared were working for him. The Harbingers of the First Evil probably qualify, a group of high school cultists tried to sacrifice a fellow student in exchange for money, and on and on. Even [[The Mentor|Giles]] was a member of one when he was younger.
** And of course, the Circle of the Black Thorn, [[Ancient Conspiracy]] and [[The Omniscient Council of Vagueness]], complete with black robes and Venetian masks.
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has the [[Doctor Who/Recap/S8/E05 The Daemons|worshippers of Azal]] and the [[Doctor Who/Recap/S14/E01 The Masque of Mandragora|Cult of Demnos]], though the former leans more towards a [[Religion of Evil]].
* The Regents from ''[[Warehouse 13]]'' invoke the general idea of this trope as an acerbic jab at Artie's expectations.
== Real Life ==▼
* The Ku Klux Klan follows this trope more than you'd expect from a real-world organization. Night-time meetings, bonfires and burning crosses, and not to mention the all-enclosing robes and masks (complete with [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience|differently-colored masks and robes]] to distinguish the leadership from the [[Mooks|common members]]).▼
* Media portrayals of Satanism also tend to fall into this trope, especially during the so-called "Satanic Panic" of the 1970s and '80s.▼
* The Druids, at least according to many Greek and Roman writers. There is, in fact, more evidence for the horrible human-sacrificing Druids than for most other views of them. On the other hand, it comes from the pens of their enemies.▼
* Keith Thomas [http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Religion_and_the_decline_of_magic.html?id=yQwSAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y\] points out that the stereotype of devil-worshippers as black-robed figures chanting in Latin in a ruined abbey originated with Tudor propaganda against the banned Catholics. Only after Catholics had ceased to be figures of fear was it applied to more obscure cults.▼
== Tabletop Games ==
* Chaos Cultists from ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' (and ''[[Warhammer
* ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'' features the Shadow Cults, an invention of the Mekhet that allows them control over humans (and other fringe benefits) by promising to unearth the secrets of existence. One of them, the Moulding Room, promises to reveal the power behind modern pop culture but is explicitly revealed to be a Situationalist
▲* Chaos Cultists from ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' (and ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' qualify. [[Blood Knight|Khorne]]'s worshipers often organize into martial brotherhoods or murder cults, orders devoted to [[The Chessmaster|Tzeentch]] tend to be influential secret societies or sorcerous cabals, cults of [[Sense Freak|Slaanesh]] are at best bands of artistes and hedonists or at worst mobs of depraved sex-crazed sadomasochists, and [[Plaguemaster|Nurgle]]'s followers are nihilistic groups spreading disease and despair.
▲* ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'' features the Shadow Cults, an invention of the Mekhet that allows them control over humans (and other fringe benefits) by promising to unearth the secrets of existence. One of them, the Moulding Room, promises to reveal the power behind modern pop culture but is explicitly revealed to be a Situationalist prank -- in other words, founded entirely [[For the Evulz]].
* ''Dark Matter'', a roleplaying game for the ''[[Alternity]]'' system based enormously on contemporary conspiracy and ''[[X Files]]''-like science fiction, had the Final Church, THE worldwide conspiracy for demons and satanists - basically, pretend that every paranoid rumor regarding Satanism mentioned in the 'Real Life' section was actually true, and you get the gist. There was even a web book devoted solely to the group at the end of ''[[Alternity]]'''s run, and the group makes a comeback in the ''[[D20 Modern]] Menace Manual''.
* Many ''[[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'' adventures have them, in accordance with the original [[Cthulhu Mythos]] source material.
** ''[[Pandemic Legacy|Pandemic: Cthulhu]]'' pits the players against cultists who spawn all over the game board using the ''Pandemic'' disease mechanism, and who begin invoking the Old Ones if too many gather in any one location.
* Subverted with the Lords of Waterdeep from the [[Forgotten Realms]] D&D setting, who dress like this trope, engineer secretive political schemes, and conceal their membership from the public, but aren't actually evil and work to ensure their city's security and prosperity.
* In ''[[Planescape]]'', there are the Primals, a group who is based in the Inner Planes. They seem to have discovered some big secret of the universe, but aren't eager to share it. Most assume it has something to do with Elemental powers, given their location and name. Due to the secrecy, most other folk assume they're up to no good, even though there's no concrete proof.
== Video Games ==
* The Cult of Kefka in ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]''. They have given their souls to Kefka, and spend all their time walking around thinking about him.
* The story in ''[[Resident Evil|Resident Evil 4]]'' revolves around rescuing the daughter of the President of the United States from a cult called "[[The Illuminati|Los Illuminados]]". Interestingly, the most obvious example of this trope is only in one particular level. The rest of the game involves you fighting villagers and soldiers that have been infected by the cult.
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** That's at least partially due to the [[Scrappy Level]] ''maps'' the missions tend to use.
* In a subversion of the "cult leader wears red" thing, the Cult of the Mythic Dawn in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]: Oblivion'' has the mooks wearing red. The leader wears blue. Also, the mooks of the Black Hand wear black robes, but their leader wears a green overcoat for no apparent reason whatsoever.
* The first [[Discworld]]
* The ''[[Silent Hill]]'' series has an evil cult which has a large role in every game except arguably Silent Hill 2. Hints to some sort of actual religious theory beyond "serve the evil god in exchange for power," appear in the third game (for example: that Alessa is both the mother and daughter of God). The third game also has examples of true believers (Claudia) and people mostly in it for power and money (Father Vincent).
* The Keepers from ''[[Thief]]'' are a rare heroic example, using their ancient knowledge and secrecy to protect the ordinary people from great evils.
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* The Circle of Cold Flames from the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'' are an order of mystics and sorcerers dedicated to overthrowing Heaven and instituting a reign of evil over the earth (and put themselves in control over it all in the end). They go in for all the trappings: [[Black Cloak|black cloaks]], pentagrams, [[Virgin Sacrifice|sacrificing virgins]] to their [[Satan|demonic overlords]], and so on.
* [[Homestar Runner|Strong Bad]] insists that his true age is a closely-guarded secret guarded by a sect of closely-guarded monks, who bake [http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail164.html crustly-gaurded bread.]
▲== Real Life ==
▲* The Ku Klux Klan follows this trope more than you'd expect from a real-world organization. Night-time meetings, bonfires and burning crosses, and not to mention the all-enclosing robes and masks (complete with [[
▲* Media portrayals of Satanism also tend to fall into this trope, especially during the so-called "Satanic Panic" of the 1970s and '80s.
▲* The Druids, at least according to many Greek and Roman writers. There is, in fact, more evidence for the horrible human-sacrificing Druids than for most other views of them. On the other hand, it comes from the pens of their enemies.
▲* Keith Thomas [http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Religion_and_the_decline_of_magic.html?id=yQwSAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y\] points out that the stereotype of devil-worshippers as black-robed figures chanting in Latin in a ruined abbey originated with Tudor propaganda against the banned Catholics. Only after Catholics had ceased to be figures of fear was it applied to more obscure cults.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Evil Tropes]]
[[Category:Religion Tropes]]
[[Category:Villains]]
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