Apparition of a human hand in the sky over Findley, Ohio
Published October 6, 2026 at 5:48 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
On May 31, 1888, the inhabitants of Findley, Ohio, witnessed a celestial phenomenon consisting of a giant, human-shaped hand formed from light, which remained for about half an hour before fading.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 50, No. 33 (13 August 1888), p. 527):
A correspondent of the Findlay (Ohio) Jeffersonian says that on the 31st of May, a giant hand was seen in the sky over that city. It was formed of light, and remained visible for about half an hour, when it gradually faded away.
In Their Own Words
“The following account of a wonderful and awe-inspiring sight, which is said to have been witnessed on the night of May Alst, by the inhabitants of the town of Findley, Ohio, appeared as a telegram in the New York Sun :—‘‘ A strange spectacle was visible in the northern sky here last night, which has caused great consternation. It was the representation of a human hand of immense proportions. ... The hand appeared to be a shadowy substance, through which waves of light of a blood-red color surged as regularly as heart beats in a human breast, and then fell off at the ends of the fingers in drops of the same color almost as large as hot air balloons. The first finger of the hand pointed downward toward the sleeping city, as if warning the people of some woe about to fall on them. — Millennial Star 50:33”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 13 August 1888 (Vol. 50, No. 33). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1888-08-13_50_33 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 50, No. 33 (13 August 1888), p. 527 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1888-08-13_50_33
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