Wait Till Helen Comes

The novel’s setting contributes significantly to its frightening atmosphere. Setting is a novel’s sense of time and place—its “world.” Setting can influence the plot and how the characters act. In an interview with Tattle, Hahn explains that most of her story ideas stem from physical locations, saying, “I go somewhere and I see something and it starts me thinking. And an idea gradually grows out of the setting” (Cosyn, Erin. “Author Interview: Mary Downing Hahn, Part 2.” Tattle, 7 October 2014). Wait Till Helen Comes was inspired by Hahn's visit to an overgrown cemetery. Hahn imagined how frightened she would have been to live there as a girl, especially if the cemetery were haunted. Hahn admits that she, like Molly, was a “scaredy cat” as a child. In Wait Till Helen Comes, the graveyard plays a large role in establishing the novel’s spooky setting, as does the dilapidated, isolated Harper House and its deep, murky pond. All three locations add to the ominous atmosphere, which inspires feelings of fear in the reader.

Hahn makes use of foreshadowing to build readers’ feelings of suspense and dread. Foreshadowing occurs when the author hints at something that will happen or appear later in the story. From the start of the novel, Molly suspects that Heather holds “dark secrets,” and that certainly proves true when Heather’s role in the fire emerges. Similarly, local stories about the graveyard being haunted, children drowning in Harper Pond, and Mr. Simmons’s dark warnings to stay away from these dangerous spots all presage events to come, including Helen’s manifestation and Heather’s possession and near death.