The Blue Angel, Greenwood Cemetery

Iowa · United States · Cemetery

A statue in a cove of trees at Muscatine, Iowa. She held a rose, and if she dropped it while you were looking, the story went that you were doomed.

The Blue Angel stands alone in a cove at Greenwood Cemetery in Muscatine, Iowa, set back from everything else.

The statue held a rose. The rule attached to her was simple and cruel: if she dropped it while you were looking at her, you were going to die.

At some point people cut off her hand, which is described locally as an attempt to stop her being able to hurt anyone. The story adapted rather than ending. At night, according to the accounts, the hand is back and glowing, still holding the rose she might yet drop.

Visitors also describe the sky above the cove turning red as they approach, and changes in the trees around her.

The vandalism is the real event here, and it is worth stating plainly. Someone took a tool to a memorial in a working cemetery because of a story. That is how a great many of the damaged statues in American burial grounds ended up damaged.

FAQ

Where is The Blue Angel, Greenwood Cemetery located?

The Blue Angel, Greenwood Cemetery is in Iowa, United States.