Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story

Mary Downing Hahn

Apr 2008 · Sold by HarperCollins

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.

Ratings and reviews

FINALLY! A scary ghost story that doesn't revolve around serial murders and hauntings. Nope, no blood in this book. You start out with your regular 12 year-old girl, and her younger brother. Their mother is divorced, but remarried to a nice man with an evil daughter. They move to a farm away from their beloved home, which neither Molly, or Micheal like the idea of. The truth is, they don't care about Heather in the least. But, then, Heather gets involved with a ghost that has quite a few things in common with her, and when Heather tries to tell her parents and Michael, all she gets is the cold shoulder from Michael, and ignorance from her parents. But, when Helen starts destroying property of their parents, Molly is framed. And before you know it, Heather is at the hands of death and Molly is the only one there to help. In the end, though, they're the best of friends after staking out in the freezing rain with barely a shelter.

This was the first novel I've ever read. I was 10. I fell in love with this book as well as Mary Downing Hahn, the author. Over the years as I grew up, this book still remained my favorite. I stopped counting how many times I read it after the 9th time, but I'm guessing it's close to 20 times easily. I kept it with me through my early adult years always going back to the one book that caused me to fall in love with reading. I just recently found out a movie was made and I found myself that excited little girl all over again for I had always wished it would one day be a movie. I was Molly, I admired her strength, courage and each time I read it, I could feel her strength in me all over again. This book shaped me into the strong person I am now. So thank you Molly, and Ms. Hahn, for being my strength and teaching me that no matter what fears I face, I will always have the strength to overcome them, the way Molly did.

This book brings back so many childhood memories. When I first read it, I didn't realize it was a ghost story. I'm not sure why I chose the book on library day, but it didn't take me long to finish it. I hope to be able to write scary stories that aren't too scary for children.

About the author

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.