the devil deals a black hand

For 400 years the Haanappel family of Doesburg in Holland have had the palms of their hands turn black six months after they are born. Doctors say this is the result of a gene mutation, but local folklore maintains that a Haanappel saved a church from fire by ringing the bells, burning his hands as he slid down the bell rope. The Devil, in his anger, cursed him and his heirs forever. 

This is a royalty free image from Getty Images. A “rights-managed” image of  Jaap Haanappel can be seen here

A 1908 newspaper report tells of a different group of  “Black Hands” 

“New York has a large population of Italians. Dumped ashore from the big immigrant ships, they settle in the slum districts of the metropolis.

This class is made up of criminals. Some of them have served prison sentences at home. Others have led lives of brigandage in the Sicilian or lower Italy style without being caught.

The symbol of their threat is a black hand impressed upon the letters that they send to their victim. Scarcely a day passes without as least one murder, attempted murder or job of dynamiting in New York by the members of the famous organization.

While the Milli family** of central Italy have no connection with black hands or gene mutations they do seem to suffer from a jinx. On 17 January 1949 a woman in the family died, as happened on the same day in 1959 and 1969. On 17 January 1978, misfortune struck a year early when Giuseppina Milli died of a heart attack. On 17 January 1989 the remaining family members planned to book themselves into hospital……***

*** story found in Incredible Phenomena published by Orbis Press 1980

*** tetherdcow tells us that jinxes and the like are all hokum