The Life And Death Brigade From Gilmore Girls Is Real

While it’s certain that the LDB is based on an elite Ivy League secret society, the jury’s still out on which one it most resembles. Gilmore Girls fan literature claims that the crazy stunts pulled off by Life and Death Brigade members closely resemble the bungee-jumping antics of the Dangerous Sports Club at Oxford University. Credited for inventing modern-day bungee jumping in the ’70s, this organization bears a lot of resemblance to the Life and Death Brigade, especially when you consider the fact that Rory’s first experience with the society involved jumping off scaffolding with an umbrella as a parachute. The Dangerous Sports Club also had the art of wearing tuxes and drinking lots of Champagne down.

Other theories claim that the Brigade is actually akin to Skull and Bones, a secret society at Yale founded in 1832. Parallels between these organizations are more easily traceable, simply because details about Skull and Bones are more publicized. Alexandra Robbins, a Yale graduate, wrote a book called Secrets of the Tomb about the organization and its secrets, including insights about the group’s members, (kinda freaky) initiation, and events.

One direct parallel is the wealth of both societies: Skull and Bones is rumored to have its own island, which Robbins talks about in her book. She writes that, “The 40-acre retreat is intended to give Bonesmen an opportunity to get together and rekindle old friendships. A century ago the island sported tennis courts, and its softball fields were surrounded by rhubarb plants and gooseberry bushes. Catboats waited on the lake. Stewards catered elegant meals.”

Sounds a lot like the extravagant, 1930s camp Rory stumbled upon when she first joined the Brigade, right? Another hint is that Skull and Bones was sometimes referred to as The Brotherhood of Death back in the day, according to Crushable, sounding quite similar to the LDB. We might never know which secret society our beloved Life and Death Brigade is based on, but one thing’s for sure: We, too, are In Omnia Paratus (up for anything, as the LDB’s motto goes), and we want in.