diff --git a/packages/SwingSet/test/vo-test-harness/dvo-test-harness.test.js b/packages/SwingSet/test/vo-test-harness/dvo-test-harness.test.js
index 00c04aa92d5..d141cd1cae4 100644
--- a/packages/SwingSet/test/vo-test-harness/dvo-test-harness.test.js
+++ b/packages/SwingSet/test/vo-test-harness/dvo-test-harness.test.js
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { makeSpy } from '@agoric/swingset-liveslots/tools/vo-test-harness.js';
 import { test, runDVOTest } from '../../tools/dvo-test-harness.js';
 
 function bfile(name) {
@@ -6,17 +7,27 @@ function bfile(name) {
 
 async function dvoTestTest(t, mode) {
   function testLogCheck(_t, phase, log) {
-    t.deepEqual(log, ['start test', phase, 'test thing', { mode }, 'end test']);
+    t.deepEqual(log, [
+      'start test',
+      phase,
+      `fail during "${phase}"`,
+      { mode },
+      'end test',
+    ]);
   }
   await runDVOTest(t, testLogCheck, bfile('vat-dvo-test-test.js'), { mode });
 }
 
-test.failing('fail during "before" phase', async t => {
+test('fail during "before" phase', async t => {
+  const tSpy = makeSpy(t);
   await dvoTestTest(t, 'before');
+  t.is(tSpy.failureMessage, 'fail during "before"');
 });
 
-test.failing('fail during "after" phase', async t => {
+test('fail during "after" phase', async t => {
+  const tSpy = makeSpy(t);
   await dvoTestTest(t, 'after');
+  t.is(tSpy.failureMessage, 'fail during "after"');
 });
 
 test('succeed', async t => {
diff --git a/packages/swingset-liveslots/test/vo-test-harness.test.js b/packages/swingset-liveslots/test/vo-test-harness.test.js
index d8341c7405c..a87e7936722 100644
--- a/packages/swingset-liveslots/test/vo-test-harness.test.js
+++ b/packages/swingset-liveslots/test/vo-test-harness.test.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import test from 'ava';
-import { runVOTest } from '../tools/vo-test-harness.js';
+import { makeSpy, runVOTest } from '../tools/vo-test-harness.js';
 
 async function voTestTest(t, mode) {
   let makeThing;
@@ -36,8 +36,6 @@ async function voTestTest(t, mode) {
   await runVOTest(t, prepare, makeTestThing, testTestThing);
 }
 
-// Note: these first two are not marked "test.failing" because
-// something is wrong and we need to fix it. Rather, they are
 // confirming that the voTestTest harness would catch problems during
 // downstream tests that use the harness, if those problems arose in
 // the "before" or "after" phases, and reported by the downstream test
@@ -47,20 +45,26 @@ async function voTestTest(t, mode) {
 // fails, otherwise the harness is not doing its job, and is hiding
 // real test failures in some downstream client package.
 
-test.failing('fail during "before" phase', async t => {
-  await voTestTest(t, 'before');
+test('fail during "before" phase', async t => {
+  const tSpy = makeSpy(t);
+  await voTestTest(tSpy, 'before');
+  t.is(tSpy.failureMessage, 'deliberate failure in before phase');
 });
 
-test.failing('fail during "after" phase', async t => {
-  await voTestTest(t, 'after');
+test('fail during "after" phase', async t => {
+  const tSpy = makeSpy(t);
+  await voTestTest(tSpy, 'after');
+  t.is(tSpy.failureMessage, 'deliberate failure in after phase');
 });
 
 // Similarly, this test makes sure that our harness can detect when
 // the downstream test misbehaves and holds on to the object they were
 // supposed to drop.
 
-test.failing('fail due to held object', async t => {
-  await voTestTest(t, 'hold');
+test('fail due to held object', async t => {
+  const tSpy = makeSpy(t);
+  await voTestTest(tSpy, 'hold');
+  t.is(tSpy.falsyMessage, 'somebody continues to hold test object');
 });
 
 test.serial('succeed', async t => {