diff --git a/build.sbt b/build.sbt
index 3912acef..367452cd 100644
--- a/build.sbt
+++ b/build.sbt
@@ -329,7 +329,8 @@ lazy val xray = crossProject(JSPlatform, JVMPlatform)
     libraryDependencies ++= Seq(
       "io.circe" %%% "circe-core" % "0.14.16",
       "co.fs2" %%% "fs2-io" % fs2Version,
-      "com.comcast" %%% "ip4s-core" % "3.8.0"
+      "com.comcast" %%% "ip4s-core" % "3.8.0",
+      "io.circe" %%% "circe-literal" % "0.14.16" % Test
     )
   )
   .jsSettings(
diff --git a/modules/xray/src/main/scala/natchez/xray/XRaySpan.scala b/modules/xray/src/main/scala/natchez/xray/XRaySpan.scala
index b36bff69..9047d43e 100644
--- a/modules/xray/src/main/scala/natchez/xray/XRaySpan.scala
+++ b/modules/xray/src/main/scala/natchez/xray/XRaySpan.scala
@@ -75,32 +75,6 @@ private[xray] final case class XRaySpan[F[_]: Concurrent: Clock: Random](
   private def toEpochSeconds(t: FiniteDuration): Double =
     t.toMicros.toDouble / 1000000
 
-  implicit val exceptionEncoder: Encoder.AsObject[XRayException] =
-    Encoder.AsObject.instance { xex =>
-      val ex = xex.ex
-      JsonObject(
-        "fault" -> true.asJson,
-        "cause" -> Json.obj(
-          "exceptions" -> Json.arr(
-            Json.obj(
-              "id" -> xex.id.asJson,
-              "message" -> ex.getMessage.asJson,
-              "type" -> ex.getClass.getName.asJson,
-              "stack" -> ex.getStackTrace
-                .map(x =>
-                  Json.obj(
-                    "line" -> x.getLineNumber.asJson,
-                    "path" -> x.getFileName.asJson,
-                    "label" -> x.getMethodName.asJson
-                  )
-                )
-                .asJson
-            )
-          )
-        )
-      )
-    }
-
   def serialize(end: FiniteDuration, exitCase: ExitCase): F[JsonObject] =
     (fields.get, children.get, XRaySpan.segmentId[F]).mapN { (fs, cs, id) =>
       val (badKeys: Map[String, Json], goodKeys: Map[String, Json]) =
@@ -153,6 +127,33 @@ private[xray] object XRaySpan {
     Encoder[String].contramap(_.toString)
 
   final case class XRayException(id: String, ex: Throwable)
+  object XRayException extends scala.runtime.AbstractFunction2[String, Throwable, XRayException] {
+    private[xray] implicit val exceptionEncoder: Encoder.AsObject[XRayException] =
+      Encoder.AsObject.instance { xex =>
+        val ex = xex.ex
+        JsonObject(
+          "fault" -> true.asJson,
+          "cause" -> Json.obj(
+            "exceptions" -> Json.arr(
+              Json.obj(
+                "id" -> xex.id.asJson,
+                "message" -> Option(ex.getMessage).asJson,
+                "type" -> ex.getClass.getName.asJson,
+                "stack" -> ex.getStackTrace
+                  .map(x =>
+                    Json.obj(
+                      "line" -> x.getLineNumber.asJson,
+                      "path" -> Option(x.getFileName).asJson,
+                      "label" -> x.getMethodName.asJson
+                    )
+                  )
+                  .asJson
+              )
+            )
+          )
+        )
+      }
+  }
 
   implicit val EncodeTraceValue: Encoder[TraceValue] =
     Encoder.instance {
diff --git a/modules/xray/src/test/scala/XRaySpanSuite.scala b/modules/xray/src/test/scala/XRaySpanSuite.scala
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5dd963e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/xray/src/test/scala/XRaySpanSuite.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2019-2020 by Rob Norris and Contributors
+// This software is licensed under the MIT License (MIT).
+// For more information see LICENSE or https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT
+
+package natchez
+package xray
+
+import io.circe.syntax.*
+import io.circe.literal.*
+import munit.ScalaCheckSuite
+import natchez.xray.XRaySpan.XRayException
+import org.scalacheck.Arbitrary
+import org.scalacheck.Arbitrary.arbitrary
+import org.scalacheck.Gen
+import org.scalacheck.Prop.*
+
+class XRaySpanSuite extends ScalaCheckSuite {
+
+  val genXRayException: Gen[XRayException] =
+    for {
+      id <- arbitrary[String]
+      cause <- arbitrary[Throwable]
+    } yield new XRayException(id, cause)
+  implicit val arbXRayException: Arbitrary[XRayException] = Arbitrary(genXRayException)
+
+  property("header encoding/parsing round-trip") {
+    forAll { (exception: XRayException) =>
+      val output = exception.asJson
+
+      val stackTrace = exception.ex.getStackTrace.map { x =>
+        json"""{
+           "line": ${x.getLineNumber},
+           "path": ${Option(x.getFileName)},
+           "label": ${x.getMethodName}
+            }"""
+      }
+
+      val expected =
+        json"""{
+          "fault": true,
+          "cause": {
+            "exceptions": [
+              {
+                "id": ${exception.id},
+                "message": ${Option(exception.ex.getMessage).asJson},
+                "type": ${exception.ex.getClass.getName},
+                "stack": ${stackTrace}
+              }
+            ]
+          }
+        }"""
+
+      assertEquals(output, expected)
+    }
+  }
+
+}