“Ladder to Nowhere”
18x24 oil on panel 2026
The Mystifier Series 5/9
The Tale so Far...…
When a strange and hypnotic object lands in the town of Crow during the annual Linterget Troll Festival, Marigold Badger is determined to complete the seasonal celebration and deliver the yearly offering to the troll despite the unwelcome distraction. But when a bizarre man steps out of the object claiming to be a time-traveling future-human, and proceeds to drain the life force from the town’s residents, Marigold frets at what might happen when the ferocious troll does not receive his annual tribute.
In this scene…
we see the creature that called itself Chaz Throckmorton--a wealthy time-traveling businessman--attempting to show Marigold Badger the interesting features of his invention, “The Mystifier”.
A multipurpose contraption, the Mystifier is an entertainment device, a space ship, a time machine, an immortality apparatus, and even a home (it’s way bigger on the inside).
It is also exceedingly addictive and produces deadly radiation.
Behind the Tale:
I feel like I have heard a lot of UFO encounters—non-fiction encounters—where the experiencer or abductee gets up close and personal with one of these objects and later suffers from radiation sickness or worse. In a similiar spirit, I wanted to show that the Mystifier (as entertaining as it might be) is pretty bad for the environment, humans, and all living things.
So if you ever see a UFO in real life—as cool as it might look—don’t get too close!