Lil

a name of much fanfare which rather belies the macabre reality. You might expect the famous object to have some kind of pride of place in the museum, but actually one of the museum's charms is that no one object can claim this accolade, all curios being equal in their cluttered distribution around the premises.

I was grateful for the signage, otherwise I think I could have circled around for ages just trying to find it, unassuming as it is. Just a small glass panelled box atop yet another antique cabinet, with a board behind it displaying a few information leaflets and postcards.

I was grateful for the signage, otherwise I think I could have circled around for ages just trying to find it, unassuming as it is. Just a small glass panelled box atop yet another antique cabinet, with a board behind it displaying a few information leaflets and postcards.

At first glance, the object in the box could be mistaken for an appendage chipped off a stone statue and then dipped in mud that had dried to a dusty-looking brown crust. But look closer and it becomes clear that the hand has wrinkles around the knuckles. Tattered bits of skin fraying around pale smooth fingernails and nubby bones protruding from the wrist.

At first glance, the object in the box could be mistaken for an appendage chipped off a stone statue and then dipped in mud that had dried to a dusty-looking brown crust. But look closer and it becomes clear that the hand has wrinkles around the knuckles. Tattered bits of skin fraying around pale smooth fingernails and nubby bones protruding from the wrist.

This is a real disembodied hand with quite a legend attached to it. Having known what to expect, I didn't find myself too squeamish at first, taking in the leathery flesh sunken around the finger bones. But despite my preparation, I found my stomach giving a little lurch when I spotted the addition the museum have made to help visitors fully experience the artefact.

This is a real disembodied hand with quite a legend attached to it. Having known what to expect, I didn't find myself too squeamish at first, taking in the leathery flesh sunken around the finger bones. But despite my preparation, I found my stomach giving a little lurch when I spotted the addition the museum have made to help visitors fully experience the artefact.

The hand is displayed on a circular glass or plastic stand, rather like a cake stand, and underneath there is a circular mirror reflecting the underside of the object, revealing grisly ribbons of shriveled muscle and tendon strung from wrist to palm to fingertips. What on earth could be the reason for the infamy of this gory object? Did it belong to someone famous? Someone revered, perhaps? Nope.

The hand is displayed on a circular glass or plastic stand, rather like a cake stand, and underneath there is a circular mirror reflecting the underside of the object, revealing grisly ribbons of shriveled muscle and tendon strung from wrist to palm to fingertips. What on earth could be the reason for the infamy of this gory object? Did it belong to someone famous? Someone revered, perhaps? Nope.

Very much the opposite. By its very nature, this hand likely belonged to a nameless criminal. And, in fact, it was criminals who made this object their tool of choice. as the protagonists Ben and Janet find out in The Whitby Witches from their indomitable carer, as the 92-year-old Aunt Alice tells them the tale behind the Hand of Glory.

Very much the opposite. By its very nature, this hand likely belonged to a nameless criminal. And, in fact, it was criminals who made this object their tool of choice. as the protagonists Ben and Janet find out in The Whitby Witches from their indomitable carer, as the 92-year-old Aunt Alice tells them the tale behind the Hand of Glory.

It was believed in those times that this charm, if used properly, could put to sleep an entire household, so that a thief could ransack the place without anyone stirring. which gives us a clue as to the nefarious deeds afoot when later on in Robin Jarvis's story, the hand mysteriously goes missing from the museum.

It was believed in those times that this charm, if used properly, could put to sleep an entire household, so that a thief could ransack the place without anyone stirring. which gives us a clue as to the nefarious deeds afoot when later on in Robin Jarvis's story, the hand mysteriously goes missing from the museum.

In real life, however, the hand is still safely ensconced in its little glass box, but Aunt Alice's telling of the legend is true enough.

In real life, however, the hand is still safely ensconced in its little glass box, but Aunt Alice's telling of the legend is true enough.

At first glance, it's the items on top of the cabinet that catch the eye when walking past the display, especially that porcelain doll. Legs crossed jauntily, and hands resting lightly in her lap, as though she might at any moment hop down from her perch and skitter off across the floor in a swish of skirts and tippy-tap of tiny feet. D'oh!

At first glance, it's the items on top of the cabinet that catch the eye when walking past the display, especially that porcelain doll. Legs crossed jauntily, and hands resting lightly in her lap, as though she might at any moment hop down from her perch and skitter off across the floor in a swish of skirts and tippy-tap of tiny feet. D'oh!

But the main event of this display is what's inside the cabinet. A mahogany chest of dark, polished wood, intricately decorated with carvings and housing a set of wide, vertically stacked drawers. Some of the drawers are pulled open to varying degrees, showing inside a diverse collection of fascinating little objects.

But the main event of this display is what's inside the cabinet. A mahogany chest of dark, polished wood, intricately decorated with carvings and housing a set of wide, vertically stacked drawers. Some of the drawers are pulled open to varying degrees, showing inside a diverse collection of fascinating little objects.

Rocks, fossils, coins, jewellery, plaster casts, bits of plants, a pair of pince-nez glasses. I can only imagine what's inside the closed drawers.