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    Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story
    Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story
    Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story
    Ebook160 pages2 hours

    Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story

    By Mary Downing Hahn

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    About this ebook

    Twelve-year-old Molly and her ten-year-old brother, Michael, have never liked their seven-year-old stepsister, Heather. Ever since their parents got married, she's made Molly and Michael's life miserable. Now their parents have moved them all to the country to live in a house that used to be a church, with a cemetery in the backyard. If that's not bad enough, Heather starts talking to a ghost named Helen and warning Molly and Michael that Helen is coming for them. Molly feels certain Heather is in some kind of danger, but every time she tries to help, Heather twists things around to get her into trouble. It seems as if things can't get any worse.

    But they do—when Helen comes.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 21, 2008
    ISBN9780547346038
    Author

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Mary Downing Hahn’s many acclaimed novels include such beloved ghost stories as Wait Till Helen Comes, Deep and Dark and Dangerous, and Took. A former librarian, she has received more than fifty child-voted state awards for her work. She lives in Columbia, Maryland, with a cat named Nixi.

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    Reviews for Wait Till Helen Comes

    4/5

    388 ratings30 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I wanted a little nostalgia in my life so I revisited this one. I loved this book as a child and it definitely holds up, since I loved it dearly back in elementary school. I see parallels between little Amanda's love for this book and the passion for certain fiction and poetry I read now as an adult. It's a spooky ghost story, and the character Molly loves journaling and reading, and her favorite poets are Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson. Whhhat!
    • 2/5
      This was one of the books I gleaned from “Ban This Book” by Alan Gratz. I’m not sure why it was challenged. Maybe someone thought it was too spoopy for the targeted audience. A second-marriage mom and dad move their family to a quaint farmhouse in Maine so they can work on their art (reminds me of the House Hunters joke: I’m a mouse trainer and he’s a toothpick collector; our budget is 2 million dollars). But the littlest girl, the main character’s stepsister, keeps seeing a ghost nearby. A ghost trying to push her into going full Bad Seed.The pacing is poor. I should have lowered my expectations when I saw the cover–one of those mass-market Avon-Camelot numbers that look like they’re part of a series. The kind with the border and standard typeface you saw in the spinning racks in the school library. Being a ghost story it s t r e t c h e s the narration out, trying to provide a spooky atmosphere. Maybe it’s just me, or it could be the times, but I wanted her to stop being such a whiner and show some initiative regarding finding out the truth. Not to keep going back to mom and dad. But it was written in 1987 after all. It goes a little farther than those “for kids” scary shows like “Goosebumps” and “Are You Afraid of the Dark”, but it doesn’t do anything to stand out among the tropes.
    • 5/5
      This was my favorite book as a kid. I read it over and over; I can still recite lines from it. It really lit a fire in my imagination, for whatever reason. Blame this book for my enduring interest in ghost stories and the paranomal. But I wonder what I'd think of it if I re-read it as an adult? I'm almost afraid to try! (P.S: don't you love that girl's sweater on the cover?)
    • 4/5
      Loved this in 5th grade!
    • 5/5
      Great little story. Genuinely scary, a well crafted ghost fantasy. A first rate teen thriller. I have to add this to my favorites, 5 stars...
    • 5/5
      Love this book. Great ghost story but beware - it IS scary. I advice children to NOT read this before bedtime. It is very age appropriate for 4th or 5th grade through middle school. Every year students are comping at the bit to get to the ghost stories by Mary Downing Hahn and this one is always a favorite in my class. When former students come to see me, they always mention this book as one of their favorites.
    • 4/5
      Once I started this book I couldn't put it down. I read the whole thing in one night. It was really scary. Nothing really bad happens in the story but tales of the past are full of death and doom. A very good halloween read.
    • 4/5
      I received this as a secret santa gift and while not my usual type of read I enjoyed it a lot. It's a ghost story aimed at younger readers, but don't let that put you off. It's well worth a read.
    • 4/5
      Scary, well-written: excellent portrayal of a step-family and the painful secrets behind a young child's cruel behavior. Realistic and compassionate. flag
    • 3/5
      For a children's book (and a ghost story) this one had a lot of heart. If I read this as a child I would have probably been frightened by it a bit. It wasn't scary, but it did hold my attention and overall, the ending was alright. Quick children's read for people who like ghost stories. 6.5/10.
    • 4/5
      Very nicely done. I liked this a lot. Very scary. As much as I appreciate good children's books I can't truly erase the effects of the last few decades of living and know what they would have been like had I read them when young but I bet this would have been totally nightmare worthy if I were 10.
    • 5/5
      I'm on a nostalgia kick this morning, finding all these books I loved as a kid. I was really into ghosts when I was in elementary school, and this was one of my favorite books. I can still remember the entire plot!
    • 4/5
      Molly and Michael just can't get along with their new step-sister Heather. Heather's a brat who's always trying to get them in trouble no matter how nice they are to her. Things get worse when they move to a church in the country, because in their backyard is a graveyard and in the graveyard is a mysterious grave with Heather's initials on it. Soon Heather is being even brattier than usual and warning Michael and Molly that they better "wait 'til Helen comes" because then they'll be sorry. Only Molly believes that Heather is seeing a ghost named Helen and is in danger of being possessed. Is there really a ghost? Can Molly convince her family in time? Will she be able to save Heather? Does she even want to save the brat? Curl up with this spine-tingler to find out!

      I read this when I was in grade school, but this was much spookier than I remember it being. I'm actually surprised I read it considering how much I've always avoided scary movies and books. Re-read for 4th-6th Grade Book Club at the Algonquin Library - October 2008 selection.
    • 5/5
      Molly and her brother, Michael, are not thrilled to be leaving Baltimore to live out in the country in a renovated church. Molly really is not excited to be sharing a bedroom with her stepsister, Heather. Heather is a sullen child who resents her new step-brother and sister and especially her new step-mother. When Molly finds out their new home includes an old cemetery, she is less than thrilled, but Heather seems to be drawn there. Molly soon discovers that Heather has a friend in the cemetery and she does not think it is the imaginary kind. Molly is convinced that this friend, Helen, is a ghost. After doing a bit of research, she is also convinced that Helen plans to kill Heather and she is determined to stop the ghost, no matter what.This is a good ghost story. It is just scary enough. And there is an excellent story about blended families and their issues as well as a lesson about the power of forgiveness. I am glad that I finally read this kid's ghost story. I will certainly be recommending it in the future.
    • 3/5
      I finally got around to reading this book that my students who are love ghost stories have been recommending to each other. It was a winner. Molly’s family including her mother, brother, Michael, her mom’s new husband, and bratty stepsister, Heather, move into an old church in the country. Her stepsister claims to talk to Helen, the ghost of a seven year old who died a hundred years ago. Heather insists that when Helen comes she will get even with Molly. Although she tried to help Molly’s mother and stepfather believe that she is trying to cause trouble for Heather. Mary Downing Hahn’s books are the perfect blend of terror and family problems. The characters are likeable and realistic. Several of my students have read every one of her books in our collection. This might be a fun book club choice a special scary book for Halloween.
    • 5/5
      This book is about a 13 year old girl who moves into a haunted house. Her mom gets married and she then has a little sister. Her little sister sneaks around to try to find rocks to collect when they find that their new house has a graveyard in the back. At that momennt the 10 year old sister meets a ghost named Helen. Helen then tries to drown her when the big sister saved her. This book is a really good scary book. I love all of the books Mary Downing Hahn writes. This book happens to be one of my favorite ones. If you want to read a scary book about ghosts, then i think you should read this book. Mary Downing Hahn writes alot of scary books so if you like this one, then you will like all the rest of hers too! I rate this book a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. I rated it like that because there are some parts that are left hanging, and some that can be lead for a long time and not make sense.
    • 4/5
      This book is a quick read because it is certifiably scary. The story is told through the eyes of Molly, who does not get along at all with her creepy stepsister, Heather. When Molly's mother and father move the family (which includes Molly's brother Michael) out to the country, strange, paranormal events start to happen. Molly insists the series of events are taking place due to the fact that Heather communicates with ghosts, namely Helen, who happens to be the same age and have the same initials as Heather. Nobody believes Molly until things take a turn for the worst and she alone is left to save her stepsister's life.
    • 5/5
      Wait Till Helen Comes is a ghost story about a family that moves into a house connected to an old church. The cemetery behind the church holds the grave a young girl whose spirit is haunting one of the children which causes problems for the troubled new family. This novel was highly entertaining and a real page turner! The characters have a deep back story that is woven into the main storyline. The ghost story builds throughout the novel and leads up to a chilling ending. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys ghost stories and young adult novels!
    • 5/5
      I think this book is scary, strange, some sweet part but it has very nice part and scary ones to I give it 5 stars!!!!
    • 5/5
      The book was okay but it could have been a little bit better. The story has a feeling that something like it happened before. It was a pretty played out thing
    • 5/5
      This is about a little girl and her dad who marrys 2 kids mom but the little girl has a secret a really horrible secret that will drive you crazy as she goes along she annoys the butt out of her 2 siblings
    • 4/5
      Molly and her brother Michael have just moved to the country to live in a converted church with their mother, step father and their horrible new step sister Heather. Trying to get along with Heather is not easy, as the youngest of the family she constantly fights, lies, cries and tries to pressure her father into thinking that her new step-siblings are horrible to her when it’s really the other way around. When Molly finds out there is an old graveyard on the property she is uneasy, but when Heather starts going into the graveyard to talk to one of the graves and strange things start to happening, Molly is forced to confront her fears to protect her family from Heathers spooky new friend. This book is a really great ghost story designed for younger readers. The characters and family dynamics are very realistic, which makes the things they do and how they react to the various developments seem perfectly natural. The details that go into fleshing out the characters and the plot really make this story enjoyable, and when you add in the ghost, well, you’ve got yourself the prefect read for a dark and stormy night. This book was a YRCA winner in 1989.
    • 5/5
      This book is about a 13 year old girl who moves into a haunted house. Her mom gets married and she then has a little sister. Her little sister sneaks around to try to find rocks to collect when they find that their new house has a graveyard in the back. At that momennt the 10 year old sister meets a ghost named Helen. Helen then tries to drown her when the big sister saved her.
    • 5/5
      Heather hates Molly and Michael. Heather has no friends.Then she mets Helen the ghost and be friends with her. Because Heather hates Molly and Michael she use Helen to kill Molly and Michael. AND guess what happens????????? 
    • 5/5
      I fell in love with Mary Downing Hahn in the 90s, with Doll in the Garden and Time for Andrew. As fantastic as those are, they fall a bit short of Wait Till Helen Comes. It's possibly more of a young adult book because it is, simply, very scary! And so well written that it leaves most children's/YA books in the dust--or should I say in the grave? Here's the blurb:Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her father, we're stuck with her...our "poor stepsister," who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire. But now something terrible has happened. Heather has found a new friend, out in the graveyard behind our home--a girl named Helen who died with her family in a mysterious fire over a hundred years ago. Now her ghost returns to lure children into the pond...to drown. I don't want to believe in ghosts, but I've followed Heather into the graveyard and watched her talk to Helen. And I'm terrified. Not for myself, but for Heather....
    • 5/5
      After Mollie's Mother remarried, the family, including Mollie's brother Michael and new sister Heather, moves into the country so that the parents have studio room. Heather, however hates the idea and decides to make Mollie and Michael's life a horrible nightmare. Although she is the one causing the problems, since she is much younger and still trying to get over her mother's tragic death, the blame always seems to fall on Mollie and Michael. To make matters worse, Heather claims to see a ghost named Helen, and she is out for Mollie. This book would excite any reader, giving them a nice fright.
    • 4/5
      This was my favorite book when I was younger. I've read it more times than I can count. I love how the two unwilling sisters become friends in the end, and learn to trust eachother. The ghost part is scary and sad. The idea of a little girl seeing a ghost, and that ghost is trying to lead the girl to her death so the ghost won't be alone. Ah, so sad. But, in the end, everything is worked out
    • 3/5
      This was a fairly satisfying ghost story, sure to provide thrills and chills to intermediate-level readers. Molly and Michael have a new stepsister, Heather, who is making their lives unpleasant. When Molly discovers Heather may be possessed by a ghost, she's got to figure out how to help her - before it's too late!I enjoyed it for what it was; I have to say that the blended-family dynamics probably played out more realistically than your average Brady Bunch episode; but the parenting still really bothered me in this book - Heather's dad is outright mean to Molly and Michael. I'd have a very hard time accepting his behavior from my spouse or from any interloping stepdad! But it sure ratcheted up the tension in the book, which I'm sure was the author's purpose.
    • 5/5
      Finally a copy of my own. Very well-written, remarkably scary book for the intended age group. Involves a not-so-happily blended family, and the struggles Molly has trying to adjust to a younger stepsister who is manipulative and spoiled. Hard enough to do with the interference of a ghost.
    • 5/5
      This book is "below" my reading level, but I've read it five times and love it every single time. It's creepy and suspenseful.

    Book preview

    Wait Till Helen Comes - Mary Downing Hahn

    Text copyright © 1986 by Mary Downing Hahn

    All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to trade.permissions@hmhco.com or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

    hmhbooks.com

    Cover photographs © Getty Images (landscape), Shutterstock (hand) | Photo illustration by David Field/Caterpillar Media

    Cover design by Karina Granda and Sharismar Rodriguez

    The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

    Hahn, Mary Downing.

    Wait till Helen comes.

    Summary: Molly and Michael dislike their spooky new stepsister Heather but realize that they must try to save her when she seems ready to follow a ghost child to her doom.

    [1. Ghosts—Fiction. 2. Stepchildren—Fiction]

    I. Title.

    PZ7.H1256Wai 1986

    [Fic] 86-2648

    ISBN 978-0-89919-453-0 hardcover

    ISBN 978-0-547-02864-4 paperback

    eISBN 978-0-547-34603-8

    v6.0320

    A Ghost Story for Norm

    1

    YOU’VE BOUGHT a church? Michael and I looked up from the pile of homework covering most of the kitchen table. I was in the middle of writing a poem for Mr. Pelowski’s English class, and Michael was working his way happily through twenty math questions.

    Mom filled a kettle with water and put it on the stove. Her cheeks were pink from the March wind, and so was the tip of her nose. You and Molly will love it, she promised. It’s exactly the sort of place Dave and I have been looking for all winter. There’s a carriage house for him to use as a pottery workshop and space in the choir loft for me to set up a studio. It’s perfect.

    But how can we live in a church? Michael persisted, refusing to be won over by her enthusiasm.

    Oh, it’s not really a church anymore, Mom said. Some people from Philadelphia bought it last year and built an addition on the side for living quarters. They were going to set up an antique store in the actual church, but, after doing all that work, they decided they didn’t like living in the country after all.

    It’s out in the country? I frowned at the little cat I was doodling in the margin of my notebook paper.

    Mom smiled and gazed past me, out our kitchen window and into Mrs. Overton’s window directly across the alley. I had a feeling she was seeing herself standing in front of an easel, working on one of her huge oil paintings, far from what she called the soul-killing life of the city. She has a maddening habit of drifting away into her private dream world just when you need her most.

    "Where is the church?" I asked loudly.

    Where is it? Mom poured boiling water into her cup and added honey. It’s in Holwell, Maryland, not far from the mountains. It’s beautiful. Just beautiful. The perfect place for painting and potting.

    But what about Molly and me? What are we supposed to do while you and Dave paint and make pottery? Michael asked.

    You promised I could be in the enrichment program this summer, I said, thinking about the creative writing class I was planning to take. Will I still be able to?

    Yes, and what about Science Club? Michael asked. I’m already signed up for it. Mr. Phillips is going to take us to the Aquarium and the Science Center and even to the Smithsonian in Washington.

    Mom sighed and shook her head. I’m afraid you two will have to make other plans for summer. We’ll be moving in June, and I can’t possibly drive all the way back to Baltimore every day.

    But I’ve been looking forward to Science Club all year! Michael’s voice rose, and I could tell he was trying hard not to cry.

    You’ll have plenty of woods to explore, Mom said calmly. Just think of all the wildlife you can observe and the insects you can add to your collection. Why, the day Dave and I were there, we saw a raccoon, a possum, a woodchuck, and dozens of squirrels. Mom leaned across the table, smiling, hoping to convince Michael that he was going to love living in a church way out in the country, miles away from Mr. Phillips and Science Club.

    But Michael wasn’t easy to convince. Slumping down in his chair, he mumbled, I’d rather stay in Baltimore, even if I never see anything but cockroaches, pigeons, and rats.

    Oh, for heaven’s sake, Michael! Mom looked exasperated. You’re ten years old. Act like it!

    As Michael opened his mouth to defend himself, Heather appeared in the kitchen doorway, responding, no doubt, to her built-in radar for detecting trouble. Her pale gray eyes roved from Mom to Michael, then to me, and back again to Mom. From the expression on her face, I imagined she was hoping to witness bloodshed, screams, a ghastly scene of domestic violence.

    Why, Heather, I was wondering where you were! Mom turned to her, infusing her voice with enthusiasm again. Guess what? Your daddy and I have found a new place for us to live, way out in the country. Won’t that be fun? She gave Heather a dazzling Romper-Room smile and reached out to embrace her.

    With the skill of a cat, Heather sidestepped Mom’s arms and peered out the kitchen window. Daddy’s home, she announced without looking at us.

    Oh, no, I forgot to put the casserole in the oven! Mom ran to the refrigerator and pulled out a concoction of eggplant, cheese, tomatoes, and bulgur and shoved it into the oven just as Dave opened the back door, bringing a blast of cold March air into the room with him.

    After giving Mom a hug and a kiss, he swooped Heather up into his arms. How’s my girl? he boomed.

    Heather twined her arms possessively around his neck and smiled coyly. They were fighting, she said, darting a look at Michael and me.

    Dave glanced at Mom, and she smiled and shook her head. "We were just discussing our big move to the country, that’s all. Nobody was fighting, Heather." Mom turned on the cold water and began rinsing lettuce leaves for a salad.

    I don’t like it when they fight. Heather tightened her grip on Dave’s neck.

    Come on, Michael. I stood up and started gathering my books and papers together. Let’s finish our homework downstairs.

    Dinner will be ready in about half an hour, Mom called after us as we started down the basement steps.

    As soon as we were safely out of everybody’s hearing range, I turned to Michael. What are we going to do?

    He flopped down on the old couch in front of the television. Nothing. It’s too late, Molly. They’ve bought the church and we’re moving there. Period.

    Grabbing a pillow, he tossed it across the room, narrowly missing one of Mom’s paintings, a huge close-up of a sunflower. Why did she have to marry him? We were perfectly happy before he and Heather came along.

    I slumped beside him, nodding my head in agreement. They’ve ruined everything. Glancing at the stairs to make sure Heather hadn’t sneaked down to spy on us, I said, If only Heather was a normal kid. She acts more like a two-year-old than a seven-year-old. And she’s mean; she tattles and lies and does everything she can to get us in trouble with Dave. Why do they always take her side—even Mom?

    Michael made a face. You know what Dave says. Making his voice deep and serious, he said, Heather is an unusually imaginative and sensitive child. And she has suffered a great loss. You and Molly must be patient with her.

    I groaned. How long can we feel sorry for her and be nice to her? I know it must have been horrible to see her mother die in a fire and be too little to help, but she was only three years old. She should’ve gotten over it by now, Michael.

    He nodded. If Dave would take her to a shrink, I bet she would get better. My friend Martin’s little brother goes to some guy out in Towson, and it’s helped him a lot. He plays with dolls and draws pictures and makes things out of clay.

    I sighed. You know perfectly well what Dave thinks of shrinks, Michael. I heard him tell Mom that all they do is mess up your head.

    Michael got up and flipped the TV to Speed Racer. With one eye on the screen, he set about doing the rest of his math while I sat there doodling more cats instead of finishing my poem.

    After a few minutes, I nudged Michael. Do you remember that movie we saw on TV about the little girl who did horrible things to her enemies?

    "The Bad Seed?"

    Yes, that was it. Well, sometimes I think Heather’s like that girl, Rhoda. Suppose she burned her mother up on purpose the way Rhoda burned up the janitor?

    Michael peered at me over the top of his glasses. You’re crazy, Molly. No three-year-old kid could do anything like that. He was speaking to me as if he were a scientist explaining something to a child instead of a ten-year-old boy addressing his twelve-year-old sister.

    Realizing how ridiculous I sounded, I laughed and said, Just kidding, but I really wasn’t. There was something about Heather that made me truly uncomfortable. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t even like her, let alone love her as Mom kept urging me to. It was hard to feel pity or anything but dislike for her.

    It wasn’t as if I hadn’t tried. When Heather had first moved in, I’d done everything I could think of to be a good big sister, but she’d made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with me. If I tried to comb her hair, she pulled away, crying to Mom that I was hurting her. If I offered to read to her, she’d yawn after the first sentence or two and say the story was boring and dumb. Once I made the mistake of letting her play with my old Barbie dolls, the ones I was saving for my children; she cut their hair off playing beauty parlor and ripped their best outfits. She even tore up a family of paper dolls I made for her, taking great pleasure in beheading them right in front of me. Then she dropped them disdainfully in the trash can and walked out of the room.

    To make it even worse, she told lies about Michael and me, making it sound as if we tormented her whenever we were alone with her. Dave believed her most of the time, and sometimes Mom did too. In the six months that Mom and Dave had been married, things had gotten very tense in our home, and, as far as I could see, Heather was responsible for most of the bad feelings. And now we were moving to a little church in the country where there would be no escape from her all summer. Was it any wonder that I was depressed?

    I glanced at Michael, still hard at work on his math. My own poem was now almost obscured by the cats I’d drawn all over the notebook paper. I stared at it sadly, no longer in the mood to continue writing about unicorns, rainbows, and castles in the clouds. Tearing it out of my notebook, I crumpled it into a ball and tossed it at Speed Racer as he zipped past in his little car. Then I began writing a poem about real life. Something depressing dealing with loneliness and unhappiness and the misery of being misunderstood and unloved.

    2

    ON THE FIRST DAY of summer vacation, Dave and a bunch of his friends loaded everything we owned into a U-Haul truck and headed toward our new home in

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