'Hand of Glory' info....

[geri510]

>From some light research that I've done on the `hand of glory' (how 
pathetic am I?) – It seems to be mentioned in folklore, as an item a 
robber would have to help him rob a house. I read that a hanged mans 
hand (right or left) was cut off & covered with herbs & dried. 
Supposedly when the hand is lit with candles, made from the fat of 
the deceased and a certain rhyme was said all the inhabitants of the 
house would fall asleep. The only way to put out the candles was by 
throwing milk over the flames. It seems to be a piece of folklore 
told thru the British Isles – not that I ever heard it growing up.

Something else I found -- The term the "hand of glory" is believed 
to be derived from the French "main de glorie" or "mandrogore" and 
be related to the legends of the mandrake. The mandrake plant was 
believed to grow under the gallows of the hanged man.

I have no idea how this will play in additional films or books.