The Ancient Order of the Gormogons, a super-secret society whose only known goal and purpose was to ridicule Freemasonry. The Gormogons were created by ex-Mason Philip Wharton, the first Duke of Wharton, in the early 1720s. In a notice published in the Daily Post (London) in September 1724, the group (perhaps only Wharton himself!) set forth its bizarre ancient origins, an obvious swipe at the Freemasons' purported ties to Solomon's Temple and early biblical figures.
From TIME Secret Societies: Inside History's Most Mysterious Organizations
The origin story claims that Chin-Qua Ky-Po, the first emperor of China, established the Ancient Order of the Gormogons "many thousand years before Adam." The group was introduced to England "by a Mandarin" from the Far East, and the article states that at an upcoming meeting of the group in a tavern on Fleet Street, "nor will any Mason be reciev'd as a member til he has renounced his Novel Order and been properly degraded." The mysterious Mandarin was then to make his way to Rome, "to make a Present of the Ancient Order to his Holiness [the pope], and it is believ'd the whole Sacred College of Cardinals will commence Gormogons."
Several more news articles appeared, telling how Wharton had burned his Masonic possessions in order to become a fellow in the Ancient Order of the Gormogons. The last references to the group appeared in 1731, and then nothing. The Gormogons were written off as a hoax. However, there might be more to this seemingly fictitious secret society formed solely to mock Freemasonry: the British Museum has a medal in its collection that it claims is the only remaining artifact of the Ancient Order of the Gormogons. If so, what's the real story behind this odd secret society?
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