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 The passage right is taken from R.H.Barham’s “The Ingoldsby Legends” (1840) a collection of folklore stories told in rhyme. It’s first story introduces the reader to the mysterious Hand of Glory. Although witches were supposed to make and use the Hand of Glory for their own dire needs, it was an in fact a robber’s charm that would enable the user to break in to property undetected without fear or discovery. The witch or sorcerer would cut off the hand from the fresh corpse of a hanged or gibbeted man and wrap it in a shroud. Preferably the hand was cut off during the eclipse of the moon. Afterwards it was wrapped in a shroud, squeezed of blood and pickled for two weeks in an earthenware jar with salt, long peppers and saltpetre. Then it was either dried in an oven with vervain, an herb believed to be able to ward off demands, or laid out to dry in the sun, desirably in the hot dog days of August. To enable to work its ways a candle had to be made. Ingredients included the fat of a murderer, virgin wax and “Lapland Sesame”, in “Witchcraft, Magic and Alchemy” (1931) the author gives sesame and “ponie” as ingredients, although “ponie” is of unknown significance today and may have been manure. When the hand was ready, candles were fitted on it between the fingers. These were called the "dead man's candles" were made from another murderer's fat, with the wick being made from his hair. (Another method of curing the severed and dried hand was dip it in wax. After this process the fingers themselves could be lit.) Once the candle was finished the robber would remember the Hand of Glory incantation and would be on his way. “High on the windy hills of High Spital on Bowes Moor sits the old mail coaching inn, Old Spital Inn.” Its late October 1797 and the landlord, George Alderson is preparing to retire to bed now the customers have long one into the stormy night. Suddenly a loud banging interupts his routine and George sends the servant girl to open the door. There before her stands a bent old woman dressed in a long cloak and hood that hide her features. The wind howls and blows the woman’s clothing (that would pass for rags) around her frail, bent body. The woman begs to be let in and rest from the fearsome stormy night outside. George was unwilling to turn the woman away and let her stay for the night by the fire with the servant girl. As the old woman lays before the fire her cloak rises to reveal heavy riding boots. Instantly the servant girl becomes suspicious and decides to keep an eye on the stranger. Later the stranger peeks to see the servant girl asleep and throws back “her” hood to reveal the hardened face of an embittered face of a robber. Out beneath his cloak the robber reveals a shrunken, withered hand and places a candle between its stiff bony fingers and lights it. The servant girl pretends to be asleep, keeping very still and hears the thief begin his spell. The thief finished his incantation and the candle grew to an intense, brilliant light. The man withdrew the heavy bolts on the large oak door and whistled to his gang. The servant girl jumped to her feet and threw herself at the robber, hurtling him into the dark. Before he could regain his feet the maid locked the door and ran upstairs. For what seemed an eternity she bangs on her master door but there is no response. As she enters she realises that her master is in a trance. Remembering the hand was still lit she runs downstairs and pours a jugs of milk over the hand’s eerie light - spell broken! George and his son, awakened from their deep sleep came running downstairs with guns in their hands. “Go away or I’ll shoot!” shouted George to the thieves. The thieves began to circle the coaching house and George’s son fires towards the noises in the night. “Gives us our Hand back!” exclaimed one of the thieves. In reply George and his son fired into the dark sending the robbers away. The next morning a pool of blood was found outside and later the whole gang was caught. |
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