In addition to being a member of the Freemasons, an ancient fraternity linked to the occult, Franklin was also a member of "The Hellfire Club," when he lived in England. The Hellfire Club was an exclusive, English club that met sporadically during the mid 18th century. Its purpose, at best, was to mock traditional religion and conduct orgies. At worst, it involved the indulgence of satanic rites and sacrifices. The club to which Franklin belonged was established by Francis Dashwood, a member of Parliament and friend of Franklin. The club, which consisted of "The Superior Order," of 12 members, allegedly took part in basic forms of satanic worship. In addition to taking part in the occult, orgies and parties with prostitutes were also said to be the norm. It is said that all of the members of the society had political affiliations and political gossip was exchanged among the members as well as favors.

In addition to promoting orgies and worshiping Satan, the members of the club, which was set up as a mock monastery, the members calling one another "Brother" and the prostitutes being referred to as "nuns," made public sacrifices to the deities Bacchus and Venus

All of the tales of Franklin's debauchery and satanic worship might be amusing nearly 250 years later, except for the fact that in 1998, workmen dug up the remains of ten bodies hidden beneath the former London home of Benjamin Franklin. This incident was reported on February 11, 1998 by the Sunday-Times news company in the United Kingdom. Although it never was reported in the United States, where Franklin is practically an icon. The bodies were that of four adults and six children and were found buried beneath the basement kitchens. The remains were determined to have been buried during the period which Franklin lived at the house. According to Evangeline Hunter-Jones, the deputy chairman of the Friends of Benjamin Franklin House, the charity that was restoring the property, the bones were buried very deep and it was possible that there might even be more bodies buried. Hunter-Jones theorized that the reason the bones were buried so deed was not so much to conceal the odor of a rotting corpse, but to hide the fact that the bodies were there in the first place; as grave robbing was illegal.