Dodge behind the impressive Old Town Square in the heart of Prague. In the winding streets just off the Royal Way, you will find the Basilica of St James¹. Inside hangs the mummified hand of a thief. No, really.

As you enter, look up towards the right. There is a withered and blackened human arm hanging off a meat hook. This is not the sort of thing you normally find in a church so its presence is even more disconcerting than you’d expect.

Scarier still is the story of how they buried someone alive in this church.

According to legend², a homeless man took refuge in the church on a particularly cold day and saw the bejeweled statue of the Virgin Mary. Being homeless, and since the church wasn’t using the jewels, he thought it would be a good idea to steal them. He hid in the church and waited until it got dark and the church was locked up for the night.

Under cover of darkness, he crept up towards the statue and carefully reached out for the jewels. The statue came to life and gripped his thieving arm to prevent him from stealing anything. Parishioners found him there the next morning, screaming for his life.

They could not prise the statue’s hand off his arm so the only logical solution was to amputate his arm. As soon as they did this, the statue relaxed (!) and resumed its normal pose.

The arm hangs beside the entrance as a warning to future would-be thieves.

Living statues and harsh Old Testament punishments? It’s hardly likely, is it? So what is the real explanation. No one has put forward a credible alternative, so what follows is my guess-work:

The parishioners in the area all belonged to a butchers’ guild in medieval times. They certainly wanted to have ‘their’ church stand out. Since it is a stone’s throw away from the church of Our Lady of Tyn that dominates the beautiful Old Town Square, they had to come up with something spectacular to attract attention. The story indirectly highlights the beauty of their statues and also suggests that ‘their’ Our Lady is prepared to act against all forms of evil – something the other church cannot claim.

As for getting a mummified arm? Well, medical science was quite barbaric in those days and amputations were common. Butchers would hardly have been a stranger to this sort of thing and may even have assisted one or two doctors themselves. Getting their hands on one would not have been too difficult, I would think.

But we’ll never really know, will we?

Tip: Someone was buried alive in this church. The tomb of Count Mitrovice is on the left of the church as you enter.

Share this with someone who enjoys macabre sightings!

References

1. Oxford dictionary of art, The; Ian Chilvers, Harold Osborne; Oxford University Press 1988; ISBN 9780198604761[↩]
2. The Thief’s Arm at Kostel Sv. Jakuba Vetsiho; Atlas Obscura; (Retrieved 2019-06-19) [↩]

Remember: links were correct at time of publication.