A new photography book combines religious kitsch, southern mythology, and eerie occult horror.

A crucifix made from Kraft cheese slices sitting on a dirt road. Poltergeist-y mist coming seeping through a sunlit door. Two bedsheet ghosts driving a car. These are just a few of the funny and strange photos included in Maury Gortemiller’s new book Do The Priest in Different Voices, a collection of images inspired by the photographers’ bible-heavy childhood memories. Growing up, religious illustrations helped him conjure the unseen and make the Bible’s written words – which felt abstract and inaccessible – feel tangible, palatable and worth contemplation. His work is a peculiar, contemporary take on these narratives, often infused with mythology from the American South where he grew up and currently lives and works.

We spoke to discuss everything from the project’s origins to Gortemiller's relationship with religion and his love for horror movies.

Maury Gortemiller in conversation with Jon Feinstein