If you lived beneath a rock that might crush you at any moment, would you believe in witches? In The Witch of Willow Sound, debut author Vanessa F. Penney weaves a chilling and fast-paced gothic tale that blends feminist themes with East Coast folklore, offering a story that’s as unsettling as it is poignant. When Fade returns to the shadowy forests of Willow Sound, Nova Scotia, in search of her missing aunt Madeline, she finds only a rotting cottage and a community eager to assign blame. The villagers of nearby Grand Tea have always called Madeline a witch—but now, as misfortunes pile up and a hurricane approaches, their fear is turning violent.
The worldbuilding in this novel is both original and deeply atmospheric. At the heart of Grand Tea’s folklore and fear is a massive rock perched above the town, a looming presence that could fall at any moment. You can feel the weight of it as you read—how its threat presses down on the villagers, shaping their beliefs, their behaviors, even their cruelty. The psychological tension it creates is masterful. It makes perfect, eerie sense that a place so precariously positioned would invent scapegoats and spin stories about curses and witches. The mob mentality that develops is reminiscent of The Crucible, complete with paranoia and projection.
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