Books and Other Writing
We're All a Little Ridiculous
and Fragile In the End
In this haunting, tender, and darkly funny collection steeped in bone-deep magic, Mortellus explores grief, memory, ritual, and the absurd holiness of being human.
We're All a Little Ridiculous and Fragile in the End gathers poems of loss and love, humor and heartbreak, the living and the dead-illuminating the small, fragile moments that shape a life. Through vivid imagery and soft ritual work, these poems move like lanterns across dark water, casting light on what we carry and what carries us.
Structured as a journey through past, present, and beyond, this book becomes both elegy and incantation-a spell for the living and the dead alike. Darkly playful yet deeply moving, it meditates on what it means to remember, to grieve, and to keep going. With gentleness, irreverence, and an unflinching love for the liminal, Mortellus reminds us that grief is a ritual, memory is a lantern, and even our most breakable places can become sacred.
We're All a Little Ridiculous and Fragile in the End is a spell for remembering-an offering of tenderness in the dark, and a reminder that even the smallest glow can guide us home.
eBook $6.99
It Doesn't Have To Be This Way
​It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way is Mortellus’s brilliantly unhinged, razor-sharp satirical dispatch from the fictional-but-suspiciously-familiar town of Frog Level, North Carolina—a place where casseroles are occasionally possessed, pastors are nervously eyeballing the library, and witches participate in civic life much to everyone's disdain. Equal parts small-town newspaper, occult gossip rag, Appalachian folklore archive, and political roast, It Doesn't Have To Be This Way blends Southern Gothic humor with queer, progressive commentary to reveal a simple truth: rural communities are complicated, hilarious, stubbornly alive places—and they can change.
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Mortellus—self-appointed chronicler of rural nonsense and someone who has personally attended more public meetings than any mortal should—delivers the “news” with the exhausted authority of a person once personally blamed for the moon being too bright, and through satire, shines an uncomfortable but affectionate spotlight on how small-town communities work, fail, and grow.
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Under the satire, the zine serves a purpose: to remind people that communities, even the messy, stubborn, fractious ones, can change when we see one another clearly. It’s a love letter to rural weirdos, witches, Baptists, activists, allies, the perpetually confused, and anyone who has ever tried to make their small corner of the world a little bit better with humor and stubborn hope.
Digital Download Available on Patreon
Physical Copies On Request
Necrobotany
The time has come to revel in the underworld in which we plant our seeds—to delve into the compost of decay—and to resurrect the living from the darkness of the earth in this new book from Mortellus, Necrobotany: The Morticulture of Death.
Necrobotany is centered not just on green witchery or death but also on life itself and on understanding why the bodies of the living, be they plant or animal, function as they do and why they cease to live. Those who take the path of necrobotany—necrobotanists—have an understanding that plants behave as humans do—living, dying, rising again—utilizing the raw natural power of the living and the dead to wield potent magic over the natural landscape and reveling in the dissection of human experience. This book, beautifully illustrated by Mortellus, discusses practicalities, harvesting plant life from cemeteries, communion with the plants of death, the language of funerary flowers, and the decay of compost that brings dormant and dying plants back from the brink of death, resurrected in the light of the sun. In Necrobotany, we take an in-depth look at the magic of death contained in the natural world, learning about plants such as yew (a master of life, death, rebirth), tobacco (the consummate thanatopathic), laurel (a messenger from the living to the dead), and many, many more. From the practical aspects of death and the natural world to rites, rituals, recipes, and divinations, Necrobotany will leave you ready to break earth in your own necro-garden.
Forthcoming
The Bones Fall in A Spiral
Providing more than fifty exercises, rituals, spells, and recipes, this book teaches you how to honor and work magically with the dead. Mortellus shares the history and power of death magic while also demonstrating its ability to bring comfort and connection. They show you a variety of ways to build a meaningful and safe practice, from using necromantic tools and instruments, to understanding the very nature of a soul.
The Bones Fall in a Spiral dispels misconceptions about necromancy, helps you ethically work with spirits and remains, and provides a book of shades—an extensive spell book featuring step-by-step instructions. Explore correspondences, devotions, sigils, rites, and healing magic. Discover how to help the dying cross over, set up an altar, investigate the paranormal, protect yourself, and more. This deeply researched and respectful book empowers you to learn from the dead and become a guardian of the liminal spaces between our world and theirs.
Reissue Coming Soon
Do I Have To Wear Black?
Explore death and dying from the perspective of magical and Pagan communities. Filled with rituals, meditations, legal considerations, and practical advice, this book provides profound insights into death as a spiritual process.
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You will also discover hands-on advice for creating shrouds, coffins, and death masks as well as tips for advanced planning, wills, and power of attorney. Whether you want to share this book with a non-Pagan funeral professional, learn what to expect at a Pagan funeral, or develop a ritual for a loved one's passing, the wealth of material within is designed to help readers experience final transitions in a spiritually meaningful way. With contributions from a variety of practitioners across many traditions, Do I Have to Wear Black? delivers a multitude of magical rites and detailed explanations in one thorough manual.
Reissue Coming Soon