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3rd out of 68 books
—
56 voters
Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story
by
Mary Downing Hahn (Goodreads Author)
Since its publication in 1986, the deliciously frightening novel Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story has not only haunted countless readers, but has also won eleven state book awards. The spine-chilling tale begins when twelve-year-old Molly and her ten-year-old brother, Michael, learn that they’ll be moving to a refurbished old church in rural Maryland with their mother’...more
Paperback, 184 pages
Published
April 21st 2008
by Sandpiper
(first published January 1st 1986)
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Sigh...the good ghost stories that somehow passed me by as a kid...well, better late than never! This is a bone-chilling goodie, too. Everything I love in a ghost story: creepy little girls, hidden graves, faces in windows, crumbling ruins in the woods, even a dark and murky pond. Brrrrr!! A bit dated, but none-the-less, a gem of a read right before Halloween.
Feb 02, 2009
MEREDITH :)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
EVERYONE
I loved this book! It was really creepy! I think all of you should read it! ......
Michaeal & Molly have to move to an old church (now a house) with their mom and new stepfather. They are not happy at ALL & will miss all of their friends! Unfourtunatly Molly has to share a room with her new step sister, Heather! She is really rude & creepy. One day Heather wanders off to the graveyard behind the house. She soon creepily comes attached to this one grave in particular. Then one day Heat...more
Michaeal & Molly have to move to an old church (now a house) with their mom and new stepfather. They are not happy at ALL & will miss all of their friends! Unfourtunatly Molly has to share a room with her new step sister, Heather! She is really rude & creepy. One day Heather wanders off to the graveyard behind the house. She soon creepily comes attached to this one grave in particular. Then one day Heat...more
2 likes · like · see review
I thought it was great book because there was a lot of tention exciment and thrilling scenes i would reccomend this book to a lot of people. This book is about a family who move their children out of Baltimore for a better life. They move into a church they had three children Heather is the adopted one, Molly, and Michael they didnt like the idea of moving out of Baltimore. Just one day all of the three had their own activities to do during the day michael went out looking for bugs Molly just st...more
1 like · like · see review
Molly and her brother have a stepsister Heather which they don't like. They move to the a church which has a graveyard in the back. Heather finds a grave and starts to talk to imagined friend Helen ... Or is she? Well Heather get killed by Helen? Why does Heather hate her new family? What secret is she keeping? Is Helen real?
I really liked this book for the most part. The writing was great and the plot was pretty good for the most part. At first it's pretty boring but in the last quarter of it i...more
I really liked this book for the most part. The writing was great and the plot was pretty good for the most part. At first it's pretty boring but in the last quarter of it i...more
1 like · like · see review
Read this one aloud to my students again.
Nothing gets the blood chilling like ghost children. Shiver...
Nothing gets the blood chilling like ghost children. Shiver...
i liked it a lot , but it was scary that is why i kept reading on .
Dec 30, 2007
Ibby
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes sort of scary books
Wait Till Helen Comes is a good scary story. I liked it a lot, even though I don't read a lot of scary stuff.
what it's about: a girl and her new younger stepsister move to the countryside, and they fight all the time. the younger stepsister is suddenly drawn in by a tombstone in the graveyard next to their house; the initials on the tombstone matches the little girl's. (sorry, I don't remember what the initials were!)
and so the story continues on as the stepsister uses her ghost friend for REVEN...more
what it's about: a girl and her new younger stepsister move to the countryside, and they fight all the time. the younger stepsister is suddenly drawn in by a tombstone in the graveyard next to their house; the initials on the tombstone matches the little girl's. (sorry, I don't remember what the initials were!)
and so the story continues on as the stepsister uses her ghost friend for REVEN...more
I prayed for a captivating read, and while this book compelled me enough to read to the end, I had major issues. Am I spoiled much-better written ghost stories and children books? Perhaps, but it never did do the trick.
Never do I use reviews to tell you about books, something that could spoil or something you can see already a few clicks away, so let's get to it:
The characters: whiny, annoying, flat. I can understand these in the stepsister. Hahn does a great job in making me hate this little g...more
Never do I use reviews to tell you about books, something that could spoil or something you can see already a few clicks away, so let's get to it:
The characters: whiny, annoying, flat. I can understand these in the stepsister. Hahn does a great job in making me hate this little g...more
The main characther in the story is Molly. Including her brother Michael, her mother, stepsister Heather, and her stepfather. Her mother gets married so they all move in the same home. When they move in, they find out their home was once a church, and they live on a graveyard. Molly and her brother have never got along with Heather because she always gets them in trouble by lying. Heather finds the graveyard very interesting because one the graves has the same initials as her own. The family sta...more
Title: Wait till Helen comes
Author: Mary Downing Hahn
Year: 2008 Pages: 184
Intended Audience: anyone who loves ghost stories
Main Issue: A little girl brings up a ghost from the grave.
Setting: The sitting at the old church just adds to the creepiness of the story
Description: Molly - 12 years old, oldest child; Michael - 10 years old, loves the outdoors; Heather - 7 years old, has psychopathic problems.
Summary: A family moved into the country in an old church with a graveyard in the backyard. One...more
Author: Mary Downing Hahn
Year: 2008 Pages: 184
Intended Audience: anyone who loves ghost stories
Main Issue: A little girl brings up a ghost from the grave.
Setting: The sitting at the old church just adds to the creepiness of the story
Description: Molly - 12 years old, oldest child; Michael - 10 years old, loves the outdoors; Heather - 7 years old, has psychopathic problems.
Summary: A family moved into the country in an old church with a graveyard in the backyard. One...more
I wasn't a fan of ghost stories as a kid--not at all--because I was easily scared and didn't like to intentionally creep myself out. But if a book hangs around your house long enough--as this one did because my sister had it--you eventually read it if you're a bookworm kid. That's what happened to me. This author is pretty good at bringing young people's issues up front and portraying realistic though unfortunate family situations, and that's what you see in this book as protagonist Molly has to...more
Wait Till Helen Comes is your classic ghost story with a more modern twist. Molly and her younger brother, Michael are forced to go live with their Mom's new husband and they are the least bit of thrilled. Their new stepfather Dave, will do anything for his daughter Heather. Molly and Michael are having trouble getting along with Heather because of her mean and twisted personality. As they move into their new home, Heather encounters a spirit by the name of Helen, in the graveyard near their hou...more
Heather Elizabeth Hill, spoiled and willful since her mother burned to death in a fire when she was 3, openly loathes her new stepmother, stepbrother, and stepsister. When her father and stepmother move the blended family from Baltimore to the lonely countryside in order to help matters, the tense family situation doesn’t improve at all. Instead, Heather discovers a century-old grave behind their new home with her same initials, H.E.H. — the grave for a girl who died at age 7, just Heather’s age...more
Wait Till Hallen Comes
Mary Downing Hahn
Pages:192
fiction
mystery
Molly and her brother, Michael, are forced to move out to the country with their mother, step-father, & step-sister. Their new home is a converted church with grave yard in the back yard. Over the summer, they are forced to watch over their bratty five-year-old step sister,Heather. Heather begins to act a little crazier than normal. One afternoon Molly finds her in the graveyard, talking to someone. Molly hears Heather referring...more
Mary Downing Hahn
Pages:192
fiction
mystery
Molly and her brother, Michael, are forced to move out to the country with their mother, step-father, & step-sister. Their new home is a converted church with grave yard in the back yard. Over the summer, they are forced to watch over their bratty five-year-old step sister,Heather. Heather begins to act a little crazier than normal. One afternoon Molly finds her in the graveyard, talking to someone. Molly hears Heather referring...more
Wait Till Helen Comes
Mary Downing Hahn
Horror
192 pages
Being in a new family is tough. Especially if you have a new little sister who is a complete brat. She blames everything on her new brother and sister Molly and Michel. Their new family is going to move into an old church outside of town. As many people know churches have grave yards. The graveyard there is different though. This one is haunted by a young girl named Helen. Helen is a sad little girl in much need of a friend. Heather befriends...more
Mary Downing Hahn
Horror
192 pages
Being in a new family is tough. Especially if you have a new little sister who is a complete brat. She blames everything on her new brother and sister Molly and Michel. Their new family is going to move into an old church outside of town. As many people know churches have grave yards. The graveyard there is different though. This one is haunted by a young girl named Helen. Helen is a sad little girl in much need of a friend. Heather befriends...more
Molly and her family have just moved from the city of Baltimore to the rural town of Holwell, Maryland. To her surprise her new home is a renovated church surrounded by acres of woods. Although her little brother, Michael, cannot wait to go on scientific explorations in the woods, Molly is shocked when she discovers that there is a cemetary in their backyard! Molly’s stepsister, Heather, continuously teases her for being afraid of the cemetery. This only adds stress to an already uneasy relation...more
Molly's mom married her step-sister's dad which is why she and her brother are forced to move to an old church. This book follows Molly on her adventure with a ghost that wants her new step sister to come with her to the other side. When Molly finds out that Heather thinks Helen ,the ghost, wants to be her friend. Molly's does everything in her power to stop this new friendship. Now that she is the only one to have seen Helen she must fight to save her step sister.
This book reminds me of the Ou...more
This book reminds me of the Ou...more
Sep 07, 2012
Christy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
middle-grade,
mystery
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 wi
...more Beware of Helen...Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her fat...more
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 wi
...more Beware of Helen...Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her fat...more
4 1/2 stars. 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...more
I did not realize when I picked this up on playaway at the library that it is an older tale. It was given a more modern day spooky cover. When I looked it up on GR and saw the vintage look cover, I could immediately see this had been around for a while.
My favorite thing to read lately is a good ghost story. This one was spooky enough to do the job! It's a great story, I enjoyed it!
Super fast and fun read I would definitely recommend!
One final observation...what I know of today's young adult tit...more
My favorite thing to read lately is a good ghost story. This one was spooky enough to do the job! It's a great story, I enjoyed it!
Super fast and fun read I would definitely recommend!
One final observation...what I know of today's young adult tit...more
I have NEVER liked anything with horror and/or gore in it. The only reason why I had to read this was that I'm supposed to screen through whatever my little sister borrows from the school library. Even she herself didn't know it was a GHOST STORY. And she's scared of ghost stories herself! How ironic -_- One look at the cover and I went, "Oh no. Oh no no no no. Is that what I think it is? A children's horror story?!"
Anyway. I was creeped out by Heather instead of Helen - yes you read that right...more
Anyway. I was creeped out by Heather instead of Helen - yes you read that right...more
Plot Summary:
This book is about two families that become one when their parents marry. Together they have moved into a new house in the middle of the country that isn't just any house- it's a former church that is beautiful. There is a graveyard on their property. In this graveyard there is a mysterious grave of a seven year old girl. The initials on the grave are the same as Molly's seven year old stepsister Heather. Heather hates how she now has to share her father's love with everyone but wha...more
This book is about two families that become one when their parents marry. Together they have moved into a new house in the middle of the country that isn't just any house- it's a former church that is beautiful. There is a graveyard on their property. In this graveyard there is a mysterious grave of a seven year old girl. The initials on the grave are the same as Molly's seven year old stepsister Heather. Heather hates how she now has to share her father's love with everyone but wha...more
I haven't read this book for almost twenty years, but when my dad came across it and sent it to me, I had to check it out again.
As a child, I found this book terrifying. I remember reading it in bed at night with chills, even though I knew exactly what happened after the first time through.
As an adult, I found the book sort of annoying. The parents act like selfish fools (I would never forgive a stepparent who asked me what kind of little monster I was, for example), and the little girl at the c...more
As a child, I found this book terrifying. I remember reading it in bed at night with chills, even though I knew exactly what happened after the first time through.
As an adult, I found the book sort of annoying. The parents act like selfish fools (I would never forgive a stepparent who asked me what kind of little monster I was, for example), and the little girl at the c...more
The book wait till Helen comes is a good book because it keeps you wanting to read more. This book is about about a ghost named Helen. Molly & Micheal (main characters) have a step sister named Heather, ( also a main character)& Molly and Micheal hate Heather hates them to.
Helen is a lonely ghost that Heather can see. Helen & Heather end up getting attached to each other.
They become BEST FRIENDS & Molly knows about it. Mollys mother knows that she hates Heather so her mom tells...more
Helen is a lonely ghost that Heather can see. Helen & Heather end up getting attached to each other.
They become BEST FRIENDS & Molly knows about it. Mollys mother knows that she hates Heather so her mom tells...more
1 like · like · see review
This was one of my favorite books when I was little. It's actually probably the book that got me reading scary stuff (this to Christopher Pike and RL Stine to Stephen King. It's a slippery slope).
I remembered it being intensely creepy. What I DIDN'T remember is that the story opens in Baltimore. (Yay!)
Molly and Michael live with their mom, stepfather and stepsister, Heather. Heather's a complete pain (honestly, sort of like a young Kevin in We Need to Talk About Kevin). She's always trying to st...more
I remembered it being intensely creepy. What I DIDN'T remember is that the story opens in Baltimore. (Yay!)
Molly and Michael live with their mom, stepfather and stepsister, Heather. Heather's a complete pain (honestly, sort of like a young Kevin in We Need to Talk About Kevin). She's always trying to st...more
This book is based on a true ghost story and the way this story is told will thrill you and will keep you thinking about it for hours.
Heather had become Michael and Molly's sister after their mom married her dad. Heather is usually a brat to Michael and Molly and hardly has any friends. Until they move to a new place and Heather finds a new friend out in the graveyard. She has been dead for about a hundred years and her name is Helen. Her ghost is still around and she tries to get kids to go in...more
Heather had become Michael and Molly's sister after their mom married her dad. Heather is usually a brat to Michael and Molly and hardly has any friends. Until they move to a new place and Heather finds a new friend out in the graveyard. She has been dead for about a hundred years and her name is Helen. Her ghost is still around and she tries to get kids to go in...more
Nov 17, 2011
Asharia Calderon
added it
This book was EXTREMELY intense ! It all started when Heather's dad married Ashley's and her brother's mom . Heather's mom had died a few years ago and Heather was only about 8 or 9 so it was hard for her to except that her dad's attention wasn't just for her anymore. Ashley always tried to be nice to Heather , but Heather was very to herself and she would always lie to her dad saying how bad her new brother and sister were treating her. They moved to a house by a an old burnt down abandoned ho...more
Wait Till Helen Comes is a story that has supernatural elements in it. Heather is the new step-sister, and their parents are just trying to get the kids to get along. Heather meets a ghost named Helen who possesses her and tries to lure her into drowning in the same lake she did, so they can be eternal friends. This book intrigued me right from the get go. It is a scary story, even as an adult, but ends nicely with the family getting along nicely and they are happy.
I think it would be interesti...more
I think it would be interesti...more
Goodreads describes the book as follows:
Beware of Helen...
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...more
Beware of Helen...
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...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Would you have saved Heather? | 2 | 5 | 4 hours, 6 min ago | |
| Are you looking for a good thriller? | 3 | 13 | May 09, 2013 06:46pm | |
| Goodreads Librari...: page number is incorrect | 9 | 177 | Aug 30, 2012 12:52pm | |
| Why this was a wonderful book? | 15 | 49 | Jul 25, 2012 12:52am |
I grew up in a small shingled house down at the end of Guilford Road in College Park, Maryland. Our block was loaded with kids my age. We spent hours outdoors playing "Kick the Can" and "Mother, May I" as well as cowboy and outlaw games that usually ended in quarrels about who shot whom. In the summer, we went on day long expeditions into forbidden territory -- the woods on the other side of the t...more
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“WHEN YOU'RE READING YOU SHOULD PRETEND YOU'RE REALLY THERE BECAUSE IT WILL MAKE THE BOOK MOR INTERESTING!”
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Feb 02, 2009 03:45pm