The Tomb is not open to the public. This is the home of Yale’s most notorious secret society, the Skull & Bones Club, founded in 1832, and its list of members reads like a ‘who’s who’ of high-powered judges, financiers, politicians, publishers and intelligence officers. Stories of bizarre initiation rites and claims that the Tomb is full of stolen booty, like Hitler’s silverware and the skulls of Apache warrior Geronimo and Mexican general Pancho Villa, further fuel popular curiosity.

It's rumored that the Tomb has the highest water utilities bill of any property on campus (and some say in the city)…and nobody knows why.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby New Haven attractions

1. Yale University Art Gallery

0.05 MILES

This outstanding museum was architect Louis Kahn's first commission and houses the oldest university art collection in the country; it includes Vincent…

2. Yale Center for British Art

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Reopened in 2016 after extensive restoration, this fabulous gallery was architect Louis Kahn’s last commission and is the setting for the largest…

3. New Haven Green

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New Haven's spacious green has been the spiritual center of the city since its Puritan fathers designed it in 1638 as the prospective site for Christ's…

4. Yale University

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Each year, thousands of high-school students make pilgrimages to Yale, nursing dreams of attending the country's third-oldest university, which boasts…

6. Grove Street Cemetery

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Three blocks north of the green, this cemetery holds the graves of several famous New Havenites behind its grand Egyptian Revival gate, including rubber…

7. Artspace

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Specializing in contemporary visual arts and community outreach, Artspace runs this bright contemporary gallery and organizes the annual City-Wide Open…

8. Peabody Museum of Natural History

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It's hard not to be fascinated by this vast collection of animal, vegetable and mineral specimens, including wildlife dioramas, meteorites and minerals…