Horrible things to do with Hands of Glory...

[vheggie at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 26929

[snip]
> Basically, it is formed by taking the hand of a hung man. Then, any 
remaining blood is drained, and it is tied up tightly at the end. 
Then, a candle is put in the hand (which may or may not be formed 
from the fat of the hung man) and then, when it is lit, it makes the 
user invisible. I'm guessing either Rowling decided that having HER 
hand of glory merely only give light to its owner was a better item, 
or that some superstitions believe that it does that.


The 'Hand of Glory' is just one of a hundred or so useful things you 
can do with an executed prisoner...the one I thought of first was the 
womens' custom of sneaking out at night to the hanging site and 
having their heads/stomachs stroked with the dead man's hand - a 
practice which was supposed to increase you fertility, or 
alternatively, to protect your unborn child from experiencing the 
same fate as the dead man's.
Nice.