The Hand of Glory

At the Whitby Museum in North Yorkshire is a strange artifact—a dismembered hand, dried and shriveled. It once belonged to a man who was hanged from the gallows for an unknown crime. The hand was cut off at his wrist when the lifeless body was still hanging. The hand was then dried and pickled in salt. The “hand of glory” is thought to have magical powers. Back in the shadowy days of black magic, witchcraft and the occult, sorcerers, shamans, and witch doctors kept such bizarre and otherworldly objects to practice black magic with. The “hand of glory” had a certain attraction among thieves because of its supposed powers of putting to sleep or rendering its victims motionless. The “hand of glory” at Whitby Museum. Photo credit: Badobadop/Wikimedia The name “hand of glory” most likely comes from the French main de gloire , a corruption of mandragore , which is the mandrake plant. Mandrake has a long association with magic and witchcraft. The roots and leaves of the mandrake plant contains an alkaloid that induces hallucination, blurred vision, dizziness, headache, vomiting, and a variety of symptoms when consumed. In sufficient quantities, it can even send a victim to unconsciousness. Antique doctors often used mandrake as an anesthetic during surgeries. The magical properties of the “hand of glory” varied from story to story , but they always relate to things that would enable a thief to rob a house easily. To prepare a hand, first it had to be hacked off while the body was still hanging. The hand was usually the one the crime was committed with. The hand was then packed with salt to draw out the moisture, and then dried in the sun or over a fire until it had fully desiccated. Then a candle was prepared using the fat of the gibbeted person. When this candle was lighted and made to stand on the “hand of glory”, acting as a candle holder, it put to sleep all occupants of the house.