History Main / HandOfGlory

* One is used in the original ''Film/TheWickerMan1973'' against Sgt. Howie by the pagan community he is investigating in an attempt to make him sleep pass the May Day celebrations. [[spoiler:It's heavily implied by the ending, in which they use him as a HumanSacrifice, to have actually been an ImpliedDeathThreat.]]

%%(ZCE)* One is used in the original ''Film/TheWickerMan1973'' against Sgt. Howie.

"Ah, the Hand of Glory!" said Mr. Borgin, abandoning Mr. Malfoy's list and scurrying over to Draco. "Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your son has fine taste, sir."

* There is a [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160313094435/http://whitbymuseum.org.uk/collections/hogg.htm Hand of Glory]] in Whitby Museum (UK)

* There is a [[http://www.whitbymuseum.org.uk/collections/hogg.htm Hand of Glory]] in Whitby Museum (UK)

* In ''TabletopGame/DarkMatter'' what a hand of glory does depends on what the original owner did, such as a thief's hand making people fall a sleep, or a magician's hand making the user smarter and more skilled at magic.

* There's an old English fairytale about the Hand of Glory: an old woman comes to stay at an inn for the night, begging shelter. The servant girl notices that the 'old woman' actually appears to be a man and only pretends to sleep, seeing him light the dead man's hand and start looting the house. She tries to wake her masters and finds them in a charmed sleep. She pours water, then beer, over the hand and it does nothing; she finally pours milk over the hand and puts it out. The landlord wakes and drives the thief away. In one version, the landlord's son shoots the thief and his cronies dead.

* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'': You get three in [[spoiler:the second mission in the eponymous dungeon]]. They're quest items used to [[spoiler:light the Iron Crowns to force the EldritchAbomination responsible for the game's events to reveal itself before it's fully matured]]. When you use one, you hear [[HellIsThatNoise an echoing wail]].[[labelnote:Fun fact]]If you leave the rooms where you use the Hands of Glory without using one, a GameBreakingBug will softlock the interaction and force you to retreat from the mission to proceed with the game.[[/labelnote]]

* A Hand is used in the 1997 ''Film/QuicksilverHighway'' to introduce an adaption of Creator/{{Clive Barker}}'s story, ''"The Body Politic"''.
* One is used in the original ''Film/TheWickerMan1973'' against Sgt. Howie.

:: Unfortunately, Borgin's sucking up falls flat when Lucius Malfoy points out that he hopes his son will amount to more than a sneak-thief.

* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'': You get three in [[spoiler:the second mission in the eponymous dungeon]]. They're quest items used to [[spoiler:light the Iron Crowns to force the EldritchAbomination responsible for the game's events to reveal itself before it's fully matured]]. When you use one, you hear [[HellIsThatNoise an echoing wail]]. Fun fact: if you leave their intended locations without putting one to use, a GameBreakingBug will stop you from using it, and force you to retreat from the mission.

* ''[[VideoGame/ShadowHearts Koudelka]]'': Hands of Glory appear as somewhat rare enemies in the deeps of the [[HellHolePrison Nemeton Monastery]].

* ''Series/LostGirl'' episode "[[Recap/LostGirlS2E7FaeGoneWild Fae Gone Wild]]" a group of [[SelkiesAndWereseals Selkies]] use a Hand to recover their pelts from a safe.

* The ''{{TabletopGame/Ravenloft}}'' setting for ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' naturally features the Hand of Glory, in several different styles. Each different form of the hand has its own special powers - and its own special curses. The Many-Fingered, One-Fingered, Three-Fingered and Unfingered variants appeared in the 2nd edition supplement "Forged of Darkness", then reappeared alongside the Four-Fingered and Two-Fingered variants in the Ravenloft Gazetteer V. Many-Fingered Hands of Glory provide a boost of necromantic magic, but can displace the user's soul when they are extinguished. One-Fingered Hands of Glory increase durability and grant a HealingFactor, but drain life-force when they are extinguished. Three-Fingered Hands of Glory boost the potency of a user's spells, but causes a potentially deadly surge of raw magical energy in the user when snuffed. Unfingered Hands of Glory provide shocking increases in mobility to the user, but age them in exchange for this speed and agility boost. Four-Fingered Hands of Glory are the classic "put people to sleep" variety, but cause nightmares in their user in exchange for their power. Finally, Two-Fingered Hands of Glory allow their bearer to enter the ethereal plane, but serve as beacons for the hostile creatures that throng that eerie otherworld.
* The Gatorman Bokor from ''[[TabletopGame/IronKingdoms HORDES]]'' has a Hand of Glory attack that forces the target to remain stationary, mostly to hold them still so their [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Shamblers]] can swarm over them.
* ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'' has the Hand as a top-level example of [[TheyWouldCutYouUp the Cheiron Group's]] Thaumatechnology. Instead of granting invisibility, however, it grants a light that enthralls all who see it. And unlike other examples, the user needs to have it grafted to their wrist first. It's always a bit cold and wrinkled, like you just pulled it out of a bath. Fun times can ensue if you blow the roll to use it - you get stuck staring at it ''yourself'' until someone puts it out (the flames don't consume your flesh, but only go out if you stick them in milk). [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome And that's not even going into the cocktail of immunosuppressants required to keep your body from rejecting it.]]

* In the ''Dime Store Magic'' book of the ''Literature/TheOtherworld'' series, Kristof Nast tries to get custody of Savannah and plants a Hand on Paige's property to pressure her into giving in to him. When Savannah wants to use the Hand to sneak out of house, Cortez says that the claims of {{invisibility}} are just a myth and that all that it can do is prevent sleeping people from waking (and weakly at that).

* In Creator/MicroProse's ''The Legacy: Realm of Terror'', [[BlobMonster Slimes]] will shy away from the light cast by the Hand of Glory.

[[folder:Film]]

The Hand is variously ascribed a number of magical abilities that it is supposed to produce whilst the wick stays lit, generally any power that would be of use to a sneak thief, including providing a light that only the wielder can see, [[SkeletonKey unlocking any door it comes across]], or sending anyone into a household or who looks into the flame to sleep or [[TheParalyzer paralyzing them]]. Generally an artifact of BlackMagic, seen as something that no respectable GentlemanWizard would own, use, or even want to touch.

* The Music/{{Rage}} album ''Reign of Fear'' has the song "Hand of Glory" about the hand.

** In ''Box of Evil'', Igor Bromhead uses a Hand to steal a box that had the demon Ualac [[SealedEvilInACan trapped inside]]. It paralyzes the home owner while Bromhead steals the box right in front of him and Bromhead leaves the Hand behind him forcing the home owner to wait for hours till he could move.

* One of the objectives ''VideoGame/ThiefTheDarkProject'' is to retrieve Garrett's lucky Hand of Glory from the beggar, Issyt who managed to smuggle the Hand with him into Cragscleft Prison.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheWickerMan1973 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2af60ec23a29a16a459bcb93b283cda2.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:High five?]]

* Very common in the Creator/SimonRGreen Verse:

* ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'' has the Hand as a top-level example of [[TheyWouldCutYouUp the Cheiron Group's]] Thaumatechnology. Instead of granting invisibility, however, it grants a light that enthralls all who see it. And unlike other examples, the user needs to have it grafted to their wrist first. It's always a bit cold and wrinkled, like you just pulled it out of a bath. Fun times can ensue if you blow the roll to use it - you get stuck staring at it ''yourself'' until someone puts it out (the flames don't consume your flesh, but only go out if you stick them in milk). [[RealityEnsues And that's not even going into the cocktail of immunosuppressants required to keep your body from rejecting it.]]

-->'''Harry Angel and Ethan Krusmark''', ''Film/AngelHeart''

The "HandOfGlory." It was supposed to be able to open any lock. It was the right hand of a convicted murderer, cut off while his neck was still in the noose. It's supposed to open any lock... [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial Or so Margaret believed.]]