As summer fades to autumn–albeit stubbornly–the chill in the air sparks a desire for that certain flavor of fall. From coffee orders to the amount of time spent in pumpkin patches, the emergence of fall shifts tastes, often to the cozy and sometimes, eerie. Why should literature be any different? 

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In an attempt to satiate my craving for a spooky read, I recently picked up Vanessa F. Penney’s debut novel, The Witch of Willow Sound (2025). The novel follows protagonist, Fade Luck, to rural Nova Scotia in an attempt to locate her elderly and estranged aunt, Madeline, after she is reported missing. However, Fade’s objective is complicated by the local community’s fear and general aversion to her aunt, many of whom celebrate her disappearance. After toiling through years of bad luck, the nearby village holds Madeline responsible for the series of inexplicable and bizarre events they’ve experienced. According to the town of Grand Tea, their misfortune is clearly the result of witchcraft–that of which is attributed to Madeline, the supposed “Witch of Willow Sound.”

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I found myself immersed in Penney’s vivid descriptions of the eerie and mysterious Nova Scotia landscape. Hailing from Newfoundland herself, Penney constructs a world that is informed by her self-proclaimed desire to “...live in a cozy cottage in the woods, surrounded by creaking trees and wild pansies and piles of books to read through the steam of blackberry tea” (The Nerd Daily). The result is the queer small town of Grand Tea, perilously situated beneath a massive boulder, and surrounded by mysterious locations that lend themselves as the backdrop to which the locals paint most of their lore against. One such place is Madeline’s cottage in the Willow Sound forest. 

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Madeline’s cottage provides a sense of isolation from the rest of the novel and the primary plot. It’s here where Fade uncovers many of her estranged aunt’s odd practices and dark family secrets, creating a secondary story-line that provides a rich background to the Luck family’s furtive traditions. Based on real historical beliefs about witchcraft practices and  accounts of poorhouses and their practices to erase “undesirable” populations from Nova Scotia, Penney reinvigorates the traditional gothic tale to explore how multigenerational trauma, mistrust of defiant women, and suspicion of pre-existing power-structures all lend themselves to modern iterations of the witch trope.

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Much of the information regarding Nova Scotia’s sordid past and North-American traditions of witchcraft are divulged through Dr. Nish Chaundry, a local historian that teams up with Fade to help uncover the mystery of her missing aunt. Though there were times I felt their interactions read as repetitive, I enjoyed the pair’s dynamic as they gradually began to trust each other throughout their perilous journey. Nish’s insight into Madeline’s practices were exceptionally interesting, and were probably some of my favorite descriptions throughout the novel. While themes of dark magic pervade the text, Nish’s knowledge on the subject offers an alternative lens to view witchcraft through–one that is informed by a deep-rooted appreciation for nature and an expertise in how its abundance can be utilized. 

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Overall, I recommend The Witch of Willow Sound to any fan of the gothic novel. Though I was surprised by its general levity throughout most of the text, I found Penney’s exploration of the witchcraft tradition in Nova Scotia to be exceptionally intriguing. Her funny and accessible authorial voice render the novel a teasing foray into the world of Grand Tea and Willow Sound, and one that I am excited to see her develop in future projects. Reach for this book if ever you find yourself alone on a wind-whipped autumn night, ideally surrounded by myriad lit candles and with a purring beast at your foot. 

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–Reagan Oliveira

CSU Stanislaus