Tag: ghost story

Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn (J Horror)

Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story

Mary Downing Hahn (J Horror)

“YOU’VE BOUGHT a church?” That was Molly’s reaction when she found out that her mother and stepfather were planning to move their blended family to a renovated church with a cemetery in the backyard. Making matters worse is her new seven-year-old stepsister, Heather who is mean, lies, tattles, and is an overall troublemaker. Soon after they arrive, Heather discovers the grave of a girl named Helen who shares her initials AND was her age when she died. Over time, Heather begins to turn even more hateful and diabolical towards her new siblings and as Molly and her brother Michael uncover the tragic events surrounding them, things begin to get worse and more dangerous…especially when Helen comes.

Hahn delivers an eerie and suspenseful ghost story that’s spooky yet spares readers the gore that authors sometime rely on to raise the hairs on our neck. Hahn psychologically preys upon her readers’ fear of death and delves into feelings of isolation, loneliness, guilt, and jealousy through Heather’s possessive and protective relationship with her father. Heather harbors some deep-seeded trauma that is never fully resolved and this spills over into her relationship with her new siblings. Young readers won’t think twice about the obvious parental negligence of not providing Heather with the therapy she clearly requires, but they will most certainly see how unfairly Molly and Michael are castigated (especially by their own mother) for things that are clearly not their fault. In this respect, the siblings’ dislike for their parental figures is clearly warranted and make them even more sympathetic.

This is the second book that I’ve read by Hahn (the first being The Old Willis Place) and I understand why young readers are drawn to her books when desiring a good old-fashioned ghost story. The characters are well established, the story has a nice momentum and never lags, and Hahn effectively increases the tension and heightens the fear as Heather’s dependency on Helen grows stronger and more resolute. I really like how the author reverses predictable roles to create a sense of chaos and unpredictability as family members become untrustworthy or unreliable allies and antagonists turn out to be more than meets the eye. This flip really jostles the reader and keeps things uncomfortably off balance as Molly fights to separate fact from fantasy while struggling to nurture a relationship with a stepsister that clearly despises her and even threatens her with death. And you thought Cinderella had it tough!

As an adult reading this book, I thought the parents were selfish, neglectful, and terrible role models; however, young readers will overlook these self-centered people and instead delight in a heart-pounding, thrilling read that will have them anxiously flipping pages toward a rollercoaster ending. So, buckle up, hold on tight, and just wait till Helen comes.

Rating: 4/5

* Book cover image attributed to: www.abebooks.com

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The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn (J)

The Old Willis Place

The Old Willis Place  

Mary Downing Hahn (Juvenile Fiction)

There are just two rules that siblings Diana and Georgie Eldridge have to follow: don’t let anyone see you and do not leave Oak Hill Manor.  But after the terrible thing happened, there would be many more rules to come.  All of these rules were easy enough to abide by until the new caretaker of the old Willis place arrived with his daughter.  Things would quickly get a lot more complicated.  Caretakers came and went (there were too many to count), but this one had a daughter—a daughter the same age as Diana.  Diana wanted a friend so badly, that she was willing to break any rule just to have one.  But at what cost?

This is a ghost story with some surprisingly heavy themes given that it is written for ages 7 to 12.  Besides dealing with theft, trespassing, and murder, we are given an older sister who, by selfishly putting her own wants and needs above all else, puts both herself and her younger brother in danger.  She lies to her sibling not once, but several times and flirts with severing the bond of trust that the two share.  Once trust is broken, can it ever be fully restored again?

This book is filled with plenty of action and suspense and, despite some scary and disturbing bits at the end, younger readers will become enthralled and immersed in this wonderfully spooky ghost story.  What I like most about this book is that Hahn delivers a powerful moral message that readers of any age can appreciate.  Despite suffering from separation, grief, loneliness, and fear, Hahn gives us two children who demonstrate the importance and value of extending mercy to the unworthy and offering forgiveness to the undeserving.  And that isn’t scary at all.

Rating: 4/5

* Book cover image attributed to http://www.goodreads.com

 

 

 

 

 

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

It’s Throwback Thursday where we review a Classic from literature.  In honor of Halloween, we’ll be reviewing ghoulishly scary and spooky books throughout the month of October.

The Turn of the Screw

The Turn of the Screw  

Henry James (Adult Fiction)

It’s Christmas Eve and, as is ancient tradition, ghost stories are being told by a group of friends sitting around a fire.  Now a ghost story with one child in it would be—as everyone might agree—horrible, gruesome, and terrible even.  But a ghost story with two children?  Well, that would be just an inexcusable and abominable turn of the screw.  Wouldn’t it?  This is such a story.

Contrary to popular belief, just because a story is labeled a “classic”, doesn’t mean that you are automatically inclined to love it, rave about it, or recommend it.  Sometimes old doesn’t instantly equate to great.  The Turn of the Screw is one such book.  Written in 1898, Henry James’ gothic novella is considered one of literature’s most famous ghost stories…but perhaps not the best.  The story is verbose, inordinately descriptive, and James throws about commas like strings of beads during Mardis Gras (“They moved slowly, in unison, below us, over the lawn, the boy, as they went, reading aloud from a story-book and passing his arm round his sister to keep her quite in touch.”).  Adding to the tedious reading that awaits even the most patient of readers, we are presented with an unlikable and unsympathetic  heroine (a governess) who puts her own need for vindication and legitimacy above all else.  As a result, she fails her employer, she fails her friend, and she gravely fails her two small charges.  Those around her pay the ultimate price for her incessant need to claim victory and prove her sanity.  The fact that she did it despite the ongoing harm she constantly inflicts upon two young children ultimately proves to be one too many turns of the screw.

Sometimes, when a story is exceptional, you got lost in it.  Other times, the story just simply loses you.  The Turn of the Screw is regrettably an example of the latter.

Rating: 3/5

* Book cover image attributed to www.goodreads.com

 

 

 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (J)

It’s Throwback Thursday where we review a Classic from literature.  In honor of Halloween, we’ll be reviewing ghoulishly scary and spooky books throughout the month of October.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow   

Washington Irving (Juvenile Fiction)

About two miles past the village of Tarry Town, there is a little village which is perhaps one of the quietest places in all the world.  It’s known as Sleepy Hollow and is thought to be bewitched.  Residents have been known to see strange sights or to hear voices in the night air.  There is never a shortage of ghostly tales or haunted spots, but the dominant spirit that holds dominion over all is the lone headless figure on horseback.

If you think Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is similar to Disney’s 1949 animated Halloween staple, think again.  Irving gives us three characters (Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van Tassel, and Brom Van Brunt a/k/a Brom Bones) with three very different desires (to be the boss, to be the bride, and to be the best).  First, we have Ichabod Crane who, contrary to his appearance and demeanor, is quite the adept opportunist.  He woos old Baltus Van Tassel’s daughter, Katrina, motivated not by his passion, but rather by her purse for Ichabod realizes that she is the natural heir apparent to her father’s estate.  Then there’s the charming Katrina Van Tassel who is as manipulative as she is beautiful.  She leverages Ichabod’s feelings for her merely to motivate her apathetic suitor, Brom, toward matrimony.  Lastly, we have Brom Van Brunt who is nothing more than a jealous and possessive man-child with a penchant for childish pranks and an aversion to adult responsibility.

Irving gives us an emotionally charged and haunting tale of ghosts, legends, love, greed, and jealousy…all tightly wrapped within a thick, black cloak and sitting high atop a powerful, red-eyed steed.  All is not what it seems to be in the tranquil hamlet of Sleepy Hollow, and master storyteller Washington Irving reminds us that appearances can be deceiving and fear only has the power we give it.

Rating: 5/5

* Book cover image attributed to http://www.scholastic.com