Hand of Glory
A withered hand on a cushion which, when a candle is inserted, gives light only to the person holding it. | ||||
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Hand of Glory Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
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Hand of Glory
The Hand of Glory is the dried and pickled hand of a man who has been hanged, often specified as being the left (Latin: sinister) hand, or else, if the man were hanged for murder, the hand that "did the deed."
According to old European beliefs, a candle made of the fat from a malefactor who died on the gallows, virgin wax, and Lapland sesame oil (the candle could only be put out with milk), and the hand having come from the said hanged criminal, lighted and placed in the Hand of Glory (as in a candlestick) would have rendered motionless all persons to whom it was presented. (In another version the hair of the dead man is used as a wick.) The Hand of Glory also purportedly had the power to unlock any door it came across.
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