The Spook's Bestiary - By Joseph Delaney Page 0,6
unfortunate incident. Whenever I deal with a stone chucker, I now persuade everyone to leave the surrounding area until the job is completed successfully. Usually it just means finding a farmer and his family temporary accommodation, but if necessary I would evacuate a whole village.
STAGE 3: BINDING
To bind a boggart, a spook must first dig a pit and then coat the inside with salt and iron mixed into a bone glue. Next, a lid must be fashioned by a reliable stonemason, then hoisted into position directly above by a skilled rigger. To facilitate this, the mason attaches a hook to the top of the stone, which is later removed. After the underside of the stone has been coated with the mixture, a bait dish is filled with blood. This lures the boggart into the pit, at which point the stone is quickly lowered into position to bind it there.
Below are the important stages of the process.
1. Hire a master mason to cut and shape the stone lid of the pit, and a rigger and his mate to lower that stone safely into position. The tradesmen should have previous experience of binding boggarts. This is vital. Using inexperienced or unskilled labor has cost the lives of both spooks and apprentices.
2. Dig the pit, which needs to be at least six feet deep and six feet square. This should be as close as possible to the roots of a mature tree and positioned beneath a branch from which the rigger can hang a block and tackle. The oak is the best choice because such trees are the most efficient at slowly draining the strength of an imprisoned boggart, making it less likely to escape. (Note: The pit should be nine feet deep for a ripper.)
3. Mix the powdered cattle bone with water to make a thick glue. It is usual for the riggers to supply this and bring it to the location on their cart. When the mixture is sufficiently thick, add equal parts of iron filings and salt (half a standard sack in each case, also supplied by the riggers). Then stir thoroughly.
4. Using a block and tackle, and utilizing a strong branch, the rigger must now position the stone cover over the pit.
5. While this is being accomplished, use a brush to coat the inside of the pit with the glue mixture. This must be completed carefully, because to miss the tiniest spot would allow the boggart to escape.
6. Once the stone is suspended over the pit, its underside should also be thoroughly coated with the mixture.
7. Using a bait dish,6 the boggart must be lured into the pit with milk or blood, the latter being preferable. (Blood is vital when dealing with a ripper.)
8. Once it has been lured into the pit, the rigger and his mate must quickly lower the stone lid into position. It is useful to have the mason also standing by to help with the positioning of the stone.
9. With the stone safely in place, the boggart is artificially bound.
BOGGART SIGNS
Spooks use a system of signs to mark the position of boggarts. This is both a warning to other spooks and a record of what has been done.
Gregory
The sign above is typical of that found on the stone lid covering a boggart pit. The Greek letter beta indicates that a boggart is bound beneath the stone. The name (Gregory) tells who has carried out the binding. The rank 1 warns of the highest degree of danger (the ranks are graded from 1 to 10): a boggart of the first rank is very dangerous indeed and can kill without warning. The line sloping downward from right to left marks the boggart as having been artificially bound by a spook. More County spooks have died while attempting to bind boggarts than from any other cause. They are more prevalent here than anywhere else in the world.
A mark may be placed above the letter beta to signify the type of boggart bound—for example, the Greek letter P (rho) for ripper.
If the line slopes downward from left to right, the boggart is only naturally bound, probably as a result of some disturbance to the ley line that it has traveled to reach this place. In this case, the sign could be carved on a tree or scratched on a wall. A naturally bound boggart may break free at any time as a result of an earth tremor many miles distant.
THE FATES OF MY APPRENTICES
Being a spook is a dangerous