Wait Till Helen Comes

Wait Till Helen Comes (also known as Little Girl's Secret) is a 2016 Canadian film directed by Dominic James and written by Victoria Sanchez Mandryk. It is adapted from the book by Mary Downing Hahn. It stars Maria Bello with real life sisters Sophie Nélisse and Isabelle Nélisse, who play stepsisters in the film. The film was released in multiple Canadian cities on 25 November 2016. Plot Set in 1982, Molly is a teenage girl living in Michigan with her widowed mother Jean, and younger brother, Michael. When Jean marries Dave, a writer and widower, the new family moves to an isolated rural church, converted into a house, outside the small town of Detroit. On the way, they stop at a psychiatric hospital to pick up Dave’s preadolescence daughter, Heather, who has lived there for three years, suffering the trauma of seeing her mother die in a house fire. While exploring, Heather is attracted by a blue butterfly, following it deeper into the woods. Later, when exploring the graveyard adjoining the churchyard; cared for by kindly old Mr. Simmons; they find a memorial plaque (not a grave) for a six-year-old girl with the initials H.E.H., the same initials as Heather. Molly and Michael follow up with Mrs. Williams, the local librarian, who finds records and photos explaining that the plaque commemorates Helen Harper, who died with her parents in a fire in 1886, none of whose remains were found. Heather makes friends with the ghost of Helen. Helen leads her to the ruins of her former house beside a river, and the two play there regularly. Besides Heather, Molly is the only one who can see Helen– a gift that Molly shares with her dead father, who had been considered mentally unstable for his visions. When Molly tries to tell the rest of the family about Helen, they think she's crazy. Only Mr. Simmons believes her, as his departed wife Rose shared the same gift when she was alive. He also warns Molly to be careful, as a number of young girls have gone missing over the years after befriending Helen’s ghost (a girl is seen walking into the river during the opening credits).