The Gruesome Hand of Glory

In the 18th century, a criminal could be hanged for any number of crimes, and from that fact sprung a gruesome type of good luck charm- the hand of an executed criminal. It was important that the hand taken was the one that actually committed the crime, and detailed instructions for preparing the hand were published in 1722. The hand had to be carefully dried with salt and nitre, and then exposed to the sun until fully dessicated. The resulting "hand of glory" could be used to cure illness when placed on the affected body part, such as a goiter.

If the hand had previously belonged to a murderer, it had special powers, but only in conjunction with fat taken from the same murderer. Since we can assume that this would be difficult to procure, an authentic hand of glory was a rarity. When a murderer's hand of glory was used as a candleholder, burning a candle made from the human fat, the holder had the power to put people to sleep, making a household burglary or other crime a simple affair.  

Hands used in such a manner have been documented in drawings in historical writing, but only one hand has been found and identified. It has been in the possession of the Whitby Museum since 1935. Read about the hand of glory and see a picture of the only one to still exist at Angel Buckley's blog. -via Strange Company