Photo By Gail

On a cold October day, a young Victorian boy found a giant hand in the woods. A few of the elderly locals recognized the strange relic and told the boy a story about its unusual origins. About 100 years earlier, a farmer in the village woke up to discover he had been cursed with what was described as “troll hands.” It was quite unbelievable.

The man surmised that he may have been hexed with this unwieldy affliction as a kind of revenge for having run his cart over the foot of an old woman that the townsfolk thought to be a witch. The enormous hands were attached to his own, like a giant pair of gauntlets that turned to stone by the light of the sun and weighed the man down, rendering his arms useless.

By nightfall, the hands would become flesh and blood. His massive new appendages allowed him to lift heavy objects, like large wine barrels, or horse-drawn carts. At first, the townsfolk were thrilled by the great feats of strength that he performed for money. But after a few weeks, they hands took on a life of their own, and began to force the man to do wicked things. After destroying several buildings in the village, he was eventually driven out of his home by an angry mob, and never heard from again.

Art and Story by Travis Louie. Photographed at Harman Projects Gallery on the Lower East Side.