Founded by Adam Weishaupt in Bavaria in 1776, the Illuminati have been referred to in popular culture, in books and comics, television and films, and games. A number of novelists, playwrights and composers are alleged to have been Illuminati members and to have reflected this in their work. Early conspiracy theories surrounding the Illuminati have inspired various creative works, and continue to do so.
Books
Gothic literature had a particular interest in the theme of the Illuminati. The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction states that readers had a "scandalous vogue for German tales of the Illuminati." The Illuminati have a role in Horrid Mysteries, as in Montague Summers' introduction to a later reprint of it. The Illuminati also turn up in two spoofs of the gothic genre, which both also reference Horrid Mysteries,Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock.
A number of writers have pointed out Mary Shelley's familiarity with the early anti-Illuminati text, Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism, due to Percy Bysshe Shelley's enthusiasm for it. They describe the Memoirs influence in Frankenstein, and point to Frankenstein's monster as an amalgam of Shelley's Illuminati-influenced ideas as well as of the Illuminati itself, with the monster being created in Ingolstadt, where the Illuminati had been formed.
Robert Anton Wilson also published in 1977, The Illuminati Papers in 1980, Masks of the Illuminati in 1981, and The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles in the 1980s and 1991.
Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum is a labyrinthine 1988 novel about all sorts of secret societies, including the Illuminati and the Rosicrucians.
Fallen Angels by Bernard Cornwell . A love story set in the shadow of the Paris revolutionary guillotine and the grounds of Lazender Castle in England. The Illuminati plot to bring revolution to England is a central thread.
Angels & Demons, Dan Brown's 2000 precursor to 2003's The Da Vinci Code, is about an apparent Illuminati order plot to destroy its enemy the Catholic Church by using antimatter to blow up the Vatican while Papal elections are being held. In this novel the Illuminati movement was founded by Galileo Galilei, and others, as an enlightened reaction to persecution by the Catholic Church. They were initially based in Italy, but fled after four key members were executed by the Vatican. Apparently there are four churches to them in Rome, each representing one of the four elements. In actual fact, the Illuminati are indeed defunct and the events of the book are orchestrated as part of an elaborate scheme by its central antagonist. This is also the plot of the film of the same name. Simon Cox, writer of Cracking the Davinci Code, also wrote the book Illuminating Angels and Demons, in which he explains the facts behind the pagan signs and secret societies in Angels & Demons.
In Michael Romkey vampire novels, the Illuminati are an order of benevolent vampires, consisting of many famous figures throughout history. The main character, David Parker, joins the order, but later leaves.
In Larry Burkett's book The Illuminati, "The Society" seeks world power.
In Kazue Kato's mangaBlue Exorcist, the Illuminati are a secret organization that oppose the True Cross Order and, by extension, the Vatican itself, which controls the Order. Their goal is to merge the world of humans and world of demons so that Satan, the king of all demons, can rule over the new world order.
Television and film
In Simon West's 2001 film , a group of high-society villains call themselves Illuminati, developing a plan to rule the world. Along with Lara Croft's father, they claim that the Illuminati have existed for four millennia for this purpose.
In Prithviraj Sukumaran's 2019 Malayalam film Lucifer, the character played by Mohanlal is said to be a member of the Illuminati. Many signs and symbols of the Illuminati is used throughout the film.
In the MMORPGThe Secret World, the Illuminati is one of the three playable factions.
In the Street Fightervideo game series, the Illuminati is a shady organisation led by Gill, who wishes to find a utopia for all humans. They are most prominent in the Street Fighter III games as a crime organisation similar to Shadaloo.
*In the first Deus Ex, the Illuminati was almost destroyed in an inside coup by their own research division Majestic 12. The events of the game are part of a power struggle between the Illuminati, Majestic-12 and other factions attempting to secretly take over the world.
*In ', the Illuminati was successfully revived after "the Collapse", an event which saw the destruction of the world telecommunication infrastructures. The Illuminati created and secretly controls two competing factions that rose in the post-collapse world: the hyper-capitalist World Trade Organization and a transdenominational church called "The Order Church", in order to better control society through social division.
*In ', the protagonist Adam Jensen discovers the Illumanati were behind many of the game's events, attempting to control the spread of "augmentations", advanced artificial organs capable of greatly improving and enhancing the human body's performance.
Music
Many fans of modern African-American music, especially hip hop music, believe that an Illuminati conspiracy is active in its production and marketing. The methods and motives of the conspiracy, and its relation to the Bavarian order, are matters of speculation that change with each telling. Some artists, such as Jay-Z and Kanye West, are believed to be agents of the conspiracy who leave hints to their listeners through lyrics, eye of providence handsigns or other signals. Conspiracy literature involving the Illuminati has been cited in the lyrics of several hip hop artists. Milton William Cooper's Behold a Pale Horse is one such work that both Nas and Public Enemy have made reference to. Other such conspiracy books circulate in African-American communities, where both artists and listeners encounter them. Aside from this, the "Illuminati" are invoked to explain why some artists become rich and famous, some die suddenly, and others go unnoticed.
