Order of the Silver Serpent (The Ninth Gate)

The Order of the Silver Serpent is a secret society that features in the movie The Ninth Gate.

Overview

The Order of the Silver Serpent was a satanic cult that worshipped the Prince of Darkness Lucifer himself and was founded at some point after the 17th century. Their basis came from the writings of Aristide Torchia noted for being the Devil's apprentice who was known to had read the Delomelanicon. Thus, he wrote his own manuscript known as The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows that was co-authored by the Devil himself. Torchia managed to make three copies of the text whereupon he was found and burnt at the stake for his heresy. Despite his death, a lasting legacy remained in his books and a cult formed around them with the intention of preserving the knowledge of the books as well as perpetuating its secrets across the centuries. Whilst considered a cult, it was actually a witches coven that worshipped Lucifer in its early years with its membership reading from one of the three books that were available.

Howevever, as the centuries went by, the coven degenerated into a dark social club for millionaries and celebrities who believed they owed their successes to their membership within the Order. They used to meet yearly on the anniversary of Torchia's death where it was known that they pursued carnal desires and sexual relations with one another. At one point, Baron Kessler who possessed one of the three books was a member but left in disgust as she believed that the Order's purpose had been greatly distorted. Following that time, the head of the Order of the Silver Serpent was Liana Telfer who had managed to obtain the third copy of "The Ninth Gate" by using her husband Andrew Telfer's wealth to purchase the book in Toledo, Spain which was in the possession of the Ceniza brothers bookstore. Using the book, she conducted the rituals of the Order of the Silver Serpent until the death of her husband who learnt of her activities and decided to sell it to Boris Balkin.

In desperation, Liana Telfer attempted to track down the book and initially attempted to seduce Dean Corso a rare-book dealer that was entrusted with Balkin's copy. However, this failed and she made continued attempts at regaining her copy. She eventually succeeded and began her ritual ceremony at her private mansion but Balkin arrived and killed her whereupon he scared the remnants of the Order of the Silver Serpent away.

The fate of the cult remains unknown.