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?