Wait Till Helen Comes

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Hahn based the title of her novel on the short horror story, “Wait Till Martin Comes,” a traditional tale retold in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz (1981). Read “Wait Till Martin Comes” aloud. How does the author create suspense in the story? What do you think will happen when Martin arrives? Why might Hahn have titled her novel after this story? Make a prediction regarding what might happen when Helen arrives in Hahn’s novel.

Teaching Suggestion: Suspense, foreshadowing, atmosphere, and allusion are key elements in Hahn’s novel and the horror genre. Reviewing these literary devices will help students to think critically about the novel.

• Rather than reading the story aloud, consider listening to a version of “Wait Till Martin Comes” on YouTube.

2. Horror novels rely on the use of several literary devices to create a “scary” story. In a brief journal-style paragraph, discuss what makes a story “scary.” Next, watch several short clips from a variety of horror films. With your class, review the definitions of literary elements and techniques such as mood, setting, atmosphere, and suspense.