Tarothpaths will be at Fan Expo Toronto on Labour Day Weekend

The History of the Scorching Ball...so far!

Sèphera Girón will be at Fan Expo this year in Toronto from September 3 - 6.

BOOTH #5536 in the NORTH Building

Sèphera will have a tarot reading booth #5536 in the Horror Headquarters at Fan Expo in the North Building. She will also be billed as Mistress Ariana. She will be reading tarot and selling books and handmade charms.

Sèphera is thrilled to be appearing on several panels such as:

So You Want to Be a Horror Writer? Friday 11:15 Room 703
Panelists
Lou Rera
Nancy Kilpatrick
Sephera Giron
Suzanne Church
Stephanie Bedwell-Grime
moderated by Richard S. Todd

What Scares You? Friday 12:45 Room 705
Panelists
Suzanne Church
Stephanie Bedwell-Grime
Brian Clement
Sephera Giron
Nancy Kilpatrick
moderated by Richard S. Todd

Ghost Hunting Friday 5:15  Room 717A
Sephera Giron

Tarot101 Saturday 5:45 Room
Mistress Ariana/Sephera Giron

Corsets! Why Do We Love Them? Room 717A
Sephera/Mistress Ariana moderater
Panelists TBA

The Horror Writers Association Ontario Chapter has a booth in the Horror Headquarters area as well. Over one dozen members will be on hand throughout the weekend to answer questions about the Horror Writers Association and how to join.

Sephera/Mistress Ariana will have her own booth and will only be popping to the Horror Writers Association Ontario Chapter booth sporadically so watch her tweets to see where she'll be, depending on the crowds!

Listen to Sèphera on the Radio on August 4

Sèphera Girón and Andrew Borden

On Tuesday August 4, 2015, Sèphera will be on the Horror Happens Radio Show hosted by Jay Kay.

She will be on at 7:35 pm est.

August 4 is the day that Lizzie Borden took an ax...

Tune in and check out the show!

The Scorching Ball: An East Coast Adventure

Tools of a metaphysical nature often fall into people's hands under the strangest of circumstances. I've been given or stumbled upon or found tools in the weirdest ways. Thus is the nature of the tool.

Crystal Balls
A crystal ball is significant to me for a myriad of reasons that I won't get into here. Besides the fact one was used in the Wizard of Oz effectively enough to scare the hell out of this little kid, crystal balls have always held a fascination for me. I have several little ones and I often "see things" in them, for whatever reasons. Could be lights, shadows, inclusions, imagination, or anything else. Often whatever it is will have a significance to the querant. It doesn't matter what I myself think something represents, it only matters what the querant thinks, for it is their own life path that they need to follow. Shapes, shadows, colours, are only symbols and signposts. We use free will to determine how to proceed armed with these ideas.

But I digress.

A few months ago, I found myself wishing I had a big crystal ball. Scrying was a skill I had toyed with long ago but never really had the time or quiet to fully delve into as deeply as I desired. I wondered if I could see anything in a big ball and what would it mean?

Roasting in Rhode Island
Since 1989, I've attended the writer's conference Necon, only missing five. Necon is often referred to as "summer camp for horror writers" and it is. There are games, contests, one track of panel programming, a vendors room, and the roast.

This year, I, Sèphera Girón, was roasted. It was a great honour and a great horror. As roasts generally are. Only the people doing the roasting know who is being roasted. No one else knows. I didn't know though I certainly knew I was on "the list" as were many others.

The roast was opened by M.C.s Nicholas Kaufmann and Jeff Strand leading the audience through a series of distractions while building up to who was going to be roasted. They pulled out a big crystal ball and most people yelled out my name.

And I was called up and roasted for about an hour and a half.

The Offering
After the roast, Jeff asked if I wanted the crystal ball. It had originally belonged to his wife, Lynne  Hansen but they had no use for it. Or so they told me. I'm still not really buying their story about how it sat in a closet unused...He said it was really heavy and he wanted to bring home a bunch of books. Of course I said I wanted it.

The Scorching
On Sunday afternoon, as everyone was preparing to leave, Jeff walked me out to the car with the ball. We covered it up and put it in the back of my car. Then I realized that we should take a picture of the "handing over of the ball."  We unwrapped the ball and Jeff carried it as we marched across the parking lot. Cara Colyott took our pictures with the ball. Jeff kept remarking how the sun was burning his hands so we hurried.

Finally we got back to the car. He showed his red hands. Poor Jeff. He was scorched by the crystal ball.

Lovecraft's Grave
In the heat of July, the ball and Jeff Strand's scorched flesh travelled with me to visit Lovecraft's Grave. Although I took a printout map from the kiosk at the graveyard house, I still got lost looking for the grave. I was there last year, it's not like I didn't know what I was looking for. And what a fool! I finally asked the security guard to help me find it and it was...right by where I had originally parked my car. DOH!

Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast
Onward the ball and I went to the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast in Fall River. The current owner is Lee-Ann Wilber. If you ever want to rent a room or the whole house for a night, just give her a call.

Lee-Anne Wilbur and Lisa Mannetti

Radio Show
Corrine De Winter hosted The Paranormal Show live from the house.
Me and one of the tour guides were on the show.
I read images in the crystal ball for a little while and some tarot cards. The show was mostly the tour guide telling Lizzie stories.

The Scorching Ball went for a tour of the house and was photographed

It's interesting how the slight tilt of the camera can change the images in the ball. I see faces in the next two pictures. I know they are the flower patterns on the carpet but it's still cool and creepy.

This face looks like a person of either sex but the bottom half is blurry, as if hacked in by an ax perhaps?

I see the stern face of a man in this reflection, how about  you? And yes, I know there are just patterns playing tricks on my eyes and brain. It's still cool.

The K2 meter was active in the room where Abby Borden was axed in the head.

The ball is sitting in the spot where Abby was murdered.

Abby  murder spot.

Borden Family Plot
I took the ball to the Borden family plot.

The ball sat on Andrew Borden's grave on some dried grass for a little while. When I picked it up to take it back to the car to get it out of the blinding sunshine, I smelled burning smells. As I carried the ball across the graves back to my car, I had it resting on my "shelf" and within seconds experienced a scorching like Jeff must have felt. Except that he endured it for minutes instead of seconds!

I took the ball from my breast and put it in the car. The burning smells were from burnt grass from the grave stuck to the ball.

So now the ball has Jeff Strand flesh, Sèphera Girón flesh, and Andrew Borden grave grass...

The ball resides covered in a thick cloth away from any windows in Canada.


The Preface

Here is Jeff Strand pretending he's signing books beside me at the author signing at Necon.

Really, it was all an elaborate ploy not to butter me up for the roasting, but to grease the pot to relieve himself of his cursed crystal ball once and for all. The roast was just a ruse for his real diabolical plan. He fooled dozens of people into thinking the ball was just a prop he lugged from Florida in his suitcase. Little did anyone know that he had to find a mark fool enough to accept the cursed ball. By using the roast of a witch, he could deflect the true intent of his mission, to unload himself of the ball.

And now The Scorching Ball has been released into the world.


The Scorching Ball will be on display at Fan Expo in Toronto at Sèphera Girón/Mistress Ariana's booth.

Come and see the panel Tarot101 which will include the tale of the scorching ball and a demonstration by Mistress Ariana/Sèphera Girón.


What travels are next in store for the Scorching Ball?

Sephera Giron is Going On Tour

 Sèphera Girón is going on tour this year to many exciting places. Keep checking back to this page as more events are added. Okay, maybe she's not going on tour like a rock star, however, she's going to be in many places in the coming months so be sure to say "hi!"

Sèphera may be appearing as herself or under one of her many tarot reading persona such as Mistress Ariana, Mistress Scariana, or Madame Something or even Madame Selene from Killer Rack.

The Horror Happens Radio Show, Tuesday August 4 at 7:40 EST

Sèphera will be discussing her new book, Experiments in Terror from Samhain Horror Publishing as well as other horrific things.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/horrorhappens/

The Horror Show, August
Sèphera taped a segment of The Horror Show with Brian Keene. Air date TBA

Fan Expo, Toronto Convention Centre,Toronto September 3 - 6

Look for Sephera Giron and Mistress Ariana signs. 

Copies of Experiments in Terror will be available as well as tarot readings and handmade charms.

Tarot readings at Fan Expo are a bit different than a one-hour change-your-life in-home visit. Tarot readings are often priced at $20 and if a specific question isn't asked, a spread will be determined for you. The reading may be as quick as "yes" or "no," or it can go up to five minutes. There isn't room or time for long in-depth questions and observations. If you like what you see, feel free to book Ariana for corporate functions or private readings.

There is a Horror Writers Association booth at Fan Expo as well. If you're a member of HWA and want to participate, contact Lou Rera through the membership page.

Sephera/Ariana is appearing on five panels: Tarot 101, Ghost Hunting, Corsets, How to Write Horror, What Scares You?

http://fanexpocanada.com/horror-attractions/

http://fanexpocanada.com/horror-featured-guests/#authors

Eeriecon17, Buffalo, NY    October 2 - 4

Sephera is returning as one of the home-team author guests. This is a great little con and more people should come and check it out in its new haunted location on Grand Island.

http://www.eeriecon.org/

Brentwood Library, Toronto,  October 8,    6:30 - 8

Sèphera is giving a presentation "So You Want to Be a Horror Writer?" just in time for Halloween. Suitable for ages 14 to 444. Learn writing tips and tricks to avoid the the pitfalls of despair and rise to the elation of growing an established reading audience. 

http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Nr=p_cat_branch_name:Brentwood

Horror-Rama, Toronto, October 17 - 18

Horror Writers Association has a booth and panels.

http://horrorramacanada.com/

Stanley Hotel Writers Retreat, Colorado, October 23 - 25

A horror writers retreat in a haunted hotel in the mountains of Colarado where the guests of Honour include Jack Ketchum and Kealan Patrick Burke. What could possibly go wrong?

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-stanley-hotel-writers-retreat--2#/story

Film Festival, Hamilton, November 14

Screening of Killer Rack. 

Something Strange First Annual Circus Sideshow, Toronto, January 23, 2016

Doesn't everyone want to run away and join the the freakshow at some point? Well, what better time to scratch one off the old bucket list than on one's birthday. Mentalist Mysterion has created this unique event which will include obscure collections, sideshow acts, vendors of all kinds, and more.

Madame Something is a tarot reader who may or may not tell you things you never wanted to or perhaps always wanted to know, with help from the Arcane deck. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1587824634812288/

http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/something-strange-circus-sideshow-festival-tickets-17981555316

Horror University, StokerCon2016, The Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas, May 12 - 15, 2016

Hey, those witches have Hogwarts in England and now horror writers have Horror University in Las Vegas.  Isn't a writing career just a big crap shoot? Have a drink and network with professionals on every rung of the ladder. There's still lots of time for you to sign up!

Sèphera will be presenting a workshop on how to use occult tools such as tarot cards in fiction writing. Focus is primarily on how to portray metaphysical items in a story. Secondary will be a few exercises exploring how to use these tools to spark creativity, create plots and graphs, and characters.

http://stokercon2016.horror.org/?page_id=93

Supernatural Radio Show with Corrine De Winter   Sephera read tarot cards and a crystal ball live from the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast in July 2015. She has been live from Lizzie Borden BB twice before other years. Check the archives.

Book Sèphera Today!

Sèphera is currently booking with libraries, schools, and writers group for her presentation, "So You Want to Be a Horror Writer?"  This presentation is appropriate for ages 14 to 444. Other presentations include self-publishing, editing, and other writing-related topics. She also gives presentations on ghost hunting, which includes personal experiences on haunted writing retreats and paranormal investigations and the use of ghost hunting equipment and famous haunted locations. She still has a few spots available in October for both afternoon and evening presentations. 

Mistress Ariana is currently booking corporate functions, university/college student federation groups, secondary school, private school, Halloween parties, Back-to-School Parties, Holiday Parties from  October to January. Slots are filling up fast. Limited daytime and evening spots still available.

Ariana reads tarot and uses other tools to help her clients at parties and business functions see the world in a more positive light with accurate and compassionate readings. sephgiron @rogers.com