Do Freemasons worship Satan? It was once "common knowledge" that they did... until, ironically, a famous occultist debunked this preposterous belief. Waite, a preeminent 19th-century expert in esoterica, here examines the outrageous claims of Leo Taxil, who shot to fame in the 1880s and '90s with his stories about "Diabolism" among the Masons, ripping them to shreds in his uniquely sharp, droll voice and offering his own keen insights into Victorian mysticism along the way.This highly entertaining work, a classic of rationalistic literature first published in 1896, will fascinate and delight students of secret societies, paranormal skeptics, and readers of the history of religion alike.American-born British author ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE (1857-1942) was cocreator of the famous 1910 Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Among his numerous books are Book of Ceremonial Magic, The Holy Kabbalah, and New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry.