Famous Members:            William F. Buckley, Jr., George Bush, Averill Harriman, Henry Luce, Archibald MacLeish

On a designated “tap day” in April, masked members contact selected Yale seniors and invite them to become members.  The initiation requires candidates to lie in a coffin and describe their sexual history to the members.  (An absurd story claims that the candidates get $15,000 upon initiation.)

By tradition, a member must leave the room when the society’s name is mentioned.  Athletes from other schools sometimes yell “Skulls and Bones” during matches in hope that some of the Yalies will be in the society and have to leave.