Hand of Glory

Hand of Glory

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The Hand of Glory was a dried pickled hand of a man who had been hanged, which, when used as either a candle or candle holder, was meant to have special magical properties. Descriptions of the hands vary but they were all pretty gruesome. The hand was grey and withered due to its preparation. In stories such as this one, where the fingers themselves are used as a wick, either the back of the hand provided a rest and the finger were bent upwards, or it was placed in some kind of holder with the hand straight and the fingers upright. Where the hand is used as a candle holder the fingers are bent around the candle which was usually made from the fat of the dead man with the dead man’s hair as the wick.

What special magical properties was it meant to have?

The magical properties of the hand vary from story to story but they always relate to things that would help a thief to enter a house at night without opposition. They include:

Giving light only to the holder whilst others are left in darkness or, alternatively, making the owner invisible

Being able to burn forever, once alight, without being consumed

Having the power to open any lock in the vicinity

Putting to sleep occupants of a house or rendering motionless all persons to whom it is presented

In stories where the fingers themselves act as candle wicks, each finger that catches fire means somebody inside the house is sleeping and once the finger is lit they will be unable to wake until the flame is extinguished. If a finger does not light then it means the person is awake or that there are fewer people in the house than there are fingers on the hand. This is important in these stories, as the thieves are usually caught by misjudging the number of people in the house and therefore the number of people asleep.