Order Motherdevil in paperback OR the full Motherdevil offerings set.

MOTHERDEVIL by Kailey Tedesco

Paperback, 90 Pages

On a darkmoon night, deep in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey a woman screams out piercing the eerie silence, “let this one be a devil!”

Enter, Motherdevil by Kailey Tedesco, a spellbinding collection of poetry that reimagines the legend of the New Jersey Devil through the eyes of Mother Leeds. In these hauntingly visceral poems, Tedesco draws out the spirit of Mother Leeds & intimately infuses it with her own truths & experiences with mental health, post-partum depression, & the often-overlooked struggles of motherhood, making this an enduring collection of myth, magic, & powerful storytelling.

MOTHERDEVIL OFFERINGS SET

Includes: Motherdevil Book, Pinelands Candle, Raffia Poppet, Two Stickers, & Burlap Book Bag

This set is an immersive poetic experience with complimentary items evocative of Kailey Tedesco's, Motherdevil. These items are hand crafted with intention in order to create a ritualistic reading experience as you journey through the Pine Barrens with Mother Leeds & her 13 children.

Pinelands Candle by Marvel + Moon

3oz. Soy Wax Candle in Black Tin

Scent notes: Patchouli. Sage. Balsam. Pine Cedarwood.

Adornments: Wax Jersey Devil Wing

In the depths of the Pine Barrens, a legend was born...a mother's curse, a creature of the night. Inhale the chilling aroma of pine, patchouli, &evergreen, as you delve into the haunting tale of Mrs. Leeds & her devil child.

Light this candle, a dark symphony of soil, balsam, cedarwood, & patchouli & immerse yourself in Kailey Tedesco's MOTHERDEVIL, a chilling collection of folklore & fear surrounding the origins of the Jersey Devil.

Let the shadows dance as the scent of the Barrens fills your room. "& oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths," guiding you through the twisted paths of this chilling legend.

This candle is more than a fragrance; it's a portal to a world of darkness & despair. Embrace the eerie allure of Mrs. Leeds' legacy, & "Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here," as you journey through the pages of her tragic tale.

Raffia Poppet

Poppet made with tea-dyed raffia & wrapped with twine.

"i’m cursed to be the old woman

who lives in a shoe              sans bread-crust           

the leaves once warned       a child may still

a doll has no breath             to stop breathing"

-Kailey Tedesco, from "fertility"

This poppet can be used in various rituals, including protection & to ward off negative entities, for manifestation or sympathetic magic, & for telling your secrets & tales. *Includes information card.

QUOTES

this is how the devil is made, the fiery feminist speaker intones in Kailey Tedesco’s MOTHERDEVIL’s very first poem, inviting readers into the myth of the Jersey Devil where the mother is more than just a vessel. The collective tone of these beautifully haunting (and haunted) works teeters between “something eerie about to happen in a well-wrought artsy horror film” and “out in the woods, forgetting what year it is,” with the sonic and visual elements of poetry holding you captive as well, holding each work together in a well-spun web, and then you’re not sure how you got in here or if you’ll get out. Spoiler alert, you think you’ll have gotten out as you close the last page, but you’re stuck in-between the lines somewhere. Come because you love your local legends and were sad Netflix cancelled The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina; stay because it turns out the mothers and the makers are the ones who were always already more interesting than their spawn.

- Kimberly Ann Southwick, editor in chief of Gigantic Sequins & author of Orchid Alpha: Poems

Through the lens of the New Jersey Devil & The Pine Witch, MOTHERDEVIL explores the continuous disruptions and transformations of motherhood. With her characteristic semi-domesticated ferality and a soundscape knife-sharp and velveteen, Kailey Tedesco exposes the fantasies and horrors of parenthood, “the sleep that starts starving.” Like any good mother, she gives voice to the children and their various truths. A master of the uncanny, Tedesco “[reigns]/ over a dimension/ [she brings] / with [her] mind,” one where the contours of a mother’s interior are allowed to be spoken, no matter how unusual or frightening. These poems are a form of shadow work, enlivening language so it is “once again alight with blossoming.”

 - Shari Caplan, author of Exhibitionist

MOTHERDEVIL is an initiation ritual for birthing monsters. Readers will be possessed, obsessed, and screaming by the end.

-Stephanie M. Wytovich, author of On the Subject of Blackberries

KAILEY TEDESCO

Kailey Tedesco is a New Jersey-born caul bearer and mother. She teaches courses on Gothic literature, the archetype of the witch, and horror at Moravian University and Northampton Community College. She has recently led poetic craft workshops with The Poetry Society of New York, and she is an active member of the Horror Writers Association. Her poetry has been nominated for various prizes and has won contests such as BPAL x Haute Macabre's TOTALITY perfume contest (2020). You can find her work in Electric Literature, Fairy Tale Review, Black Warrior Review, Epiphany Lit, The Journal, Driftwood Press, Passages North, and more.