Of course, horror and fantasy writers who read this blog will know about the Hand of Glory, but we wanted to share this article from Strange Ago, because we liked it.
Dating back to the 14th century, the Hand of Glory is a purportedly magical item crafted from the severed left hand of a hanged man, which is pickled and dried to give it a blackened appearance. The hand holds a candle made from the fat of the same man.
Historically, the Hand of Glory was used as thieves to light their way at night. It reportedly had the power to open locked doors and to paralyze anyone who beheld it, other than the person holding it. Handy device for thieves.
By the 18th century, the Hand came to be associated with witchcraft, and anyone professing to believe in its power could have been subject to execution.
Whether their powers are real is debatable, but Hands of Glory did exist, as shown in the photo accompanying this article.
Cool prop for a story, we say.
