In one of the first scenes, the protagonist, Galaxy “Alex” Stern, watches a Skull and Bones ritual in which a mentally ill, transient man taken from the streets of New Haven, is drugged and cut open so that his bowels can be read for predictions of stock market prices.Īlex is a member of Lethe House, a ninth secret society that also practices magic.
And inside their inscrutable buildings, for nearly two hundred years, the Houses of the Veil have been performing rituals that bring current members and their rich, powerful, and sometimes-famous alums, money, advantages in contract deals and espionage, and enhanced skills and abilities. In the story the founding members of the Houses of the Veil choose to build their tombs or halls over a specific site-a nexus of magical power. This interweaving of fantasy and reality occurs throughout the story and serves to lure the reader subtly into believing that aspects of Bardugo’s created world are part of the real lore of Yale and New Haven. Bardugo calls the group the Ancient Eight or the Houses of the Veil, but uses each society’s real-world name when she refers to a specific house-Skull and Bones, Book and Snake, etc. But behind these outward appearances, eight of these secret societies are practicing magic. Secret Yale societies meet in mausoleum-like halls, most built during the 1800’s. Scenes take place within iconic landmarks like Grove Street Cemetery and Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. On the surface Bardugo’s Yale University and New Haven are consistent with their real-world counterparts. In Ninth House, her first adult fantasy, Leigh Bardugo imagines one of these centers of power in a very unlikely and deeply-conflicted place-New Haven, Connecticut.
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