To Dim His Hand of Glory

We once read that someone became interested in the works of John L. Stoddard after reading The House with a Clock in its Walls. That made us wonder how much of John’s work has inspired younger readers to explore the works of the different authors that John (and later Brad) mentions throughout his fiction.

Here’s another example: someone decided to check into that magical device called the Hand of Glory after reading it in House:

Since the book is a work of fiction full of wizards and magic, I assumed that the "hand of glory" was made up for the book to add color. But it turns out that such a thing is real, or at least, based on a real myth. Supposedly one can create a candle which will cause paralysis in all who look upon it, which would be especially useful for burglars.