Hands

It’s late one night on a particularly isolated stretch of road. The temperature begins to drop, and the driver suddenly senses that “something else” is in the car.

Image by artflow.ai

Suddenly, a pair of hairy Hands reach over and grasp the wheel, wrenching it from the driver’s control. The vehicle spins to a halt, narrowly missing some trees. Immediately the Hands vanish, having been there for mere seconds. A careful examination of the car reveals no anomalies.

The disembodied Hands are extremely strong. Each Hand has three sinewy fingers and a thumb, each sporting a talon or claw. The Hands usually appear attached to powerful forearms that disappear at the elbow. They never attack directly, but may operate machines, prod and shove people/objects and even scratch or write messages.

The Hands usually appear out of nowhere, work their evil, and then vanish abruptly.

Possibilities

1 The “Hairy Hands” are a popular local myth. The stretch of road in question is notorious for fatal accidents, and many survivors of accidents claim to have seen the hideous Hands. Legend states that a murderer was lynched on that spot 150 years ago - and that the spirit of the murderer lives on.

2 The vehicle itself is haunted. When it was very new, it struck and killed a young man, Frederick Winterbottom. Winterbottom himself dabbled in dubious occult arts and his spirit now haunts the car.

3 The Hands were a part of a deliberate attack by the remnants of a previously vanquished cult. Remaining members, seeking revenge, have summoned a black and terrible spirit to do their bloody deed. Part of the summoning ritual involved each cultist cutting off a hand. The Hands will not cease until revenge is complete.

(Inspired by the “hairy hands of Dartmoor”.)

© Rob Illing