A Cedar Rapids liberal arts college where student Helen, who died in the 1918 influenza pandemic, is said to play piano in the parlor at night and disturb students in their rooms.
1220 First Avenue NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Campus grounds publicly accessible; no fee
Access
Wheelchair OK
Urban campus with paved walkways
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1851 · 1918 Influenza Pandemic Campus Impact · Iowa Private Liberal Arts History
Coe College was founded in 1851 and is one of Iowa's oldest private liberal arts institutions. Its Cedar Rapids campus has accumulated more than 170 years of institutional history, including the period of the 1918 influenza pandemic, which killed an estimated 675,000 Americans and devastated college campuses across the country as young adults were disproportionately affected by the H1N1 strain.
According to campus tradition, a student named Helen died at Coe during the 1918 pandemic. Her parents, in their grief, donated a grandfather clock to the college as a memorial. The specific dormitory or building where Helen lived and the clock's current location are not specified in available sources.
The legend of Helen has persisted at Coe for more than a century, likely strengthened by the pandemic's extraordinary impact on campus communities and the emotional weight of the parental memorial gift. The story represents a documented campus folk tradition rather than a verified paranormal claim.
Sources
The campus ghost tradition at Coe College centers on Helen, identified as a student who died during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Two specific behaviors are attributed to her: playing the piano in a college parlor after dark, reportedly heard by students in adjacent spaces, and entering student rooms at night to disturb them while they sleep.
The grandfather clock donated by Helen's parents is a material anchor for the legend, giving it an unusual specificity — a physical object with a known provenance tethered to a tragic loss. The clock's location on campus and its current condition are not specified in available sources.
Neither the Iowa Haunted Houses listing nor the regional aggregator source identified in research provides documentation that would independently verify Helen's death in institutional records. Her full name and the specific dormitory involved are not recorded in the available accounts. The legend is treated here as campus folklore with a historically plausible anchor in the 1918 pandemic.
Notable Entities
Walk the Coe College campus and hear the legend of Helen, a student who died in the 1918 influenza pandemic. Her parents donated a grandfather clock to the college; Helen is said to play the piano in the parlor and wander student rooms at night.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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