Thanks, Alber. Worked it out. It slows the enemies. Hourglass...time....I should have seen it...duh! Another item I forgot to mention was the cross which stopped Dracula appearing in the original, so I suspect probably stops Death appearing.
You seem to have advanced in the game more than I have, Alber - and I'm pretty good at it! You tease me with the eye of death. Richard stated it worked the best for Lester, so it has to have something to do with the 5 main evil creatures (a la Nightshade). I thought it might be a way of destroying them without their specific weapon. However, I tried that and it doesn't seem to work. My main problem at the moment is navigating the labyrinth to get to the main room there with the sludge creatures. I found it once, but then haven't been able to since. Another object which is puzzling but I feel has a purpose is the soap. What a great game.
Yes, that second part is proving troublesome! Another question, does the game remember you have completed a quest, so there is an ending for completing all four quests? Also, hate to suggest an improvement, when it looks so perfect, but a percentage counter would be a great way of working out if I have more door to open!