people think that the sightings of Elvis began in Kalamazoo
around 1987. This is actually not the case. Sightings of The
King started virtually the day he died. The sightings however
only came to public consciousness after the Kalamazoo sighting
by Louise Welling, an incident that was picked up by the tabloid
press and initiated many years of follow up stories/sightings.
interesting element of Elvis sightings is that there are in fact
two distinct types of sightings and they serve much different functions.
There are the 'Live Elvis' sightings and the 'Spirit Elvis' sightings.
It is the former type of sighting that the media and public tend
to focus on.
Strausbaugh in his insightful book, 'E Reflections on the Birth
of the Elvis Faith' (Blast Books, 1995) notes that the function
of 'Live Elvis' sightings is simply to "perpetuate the lore that
Elvis is alive and well."
in this category are typically fleeting and poorly photographed
and as such Strausbaugh draws a reasonable parallel with sightings
and photos of Bigfoot and UFO's. While Elvis sightings are now not
as prolific as they were throughout the 1990s, when he is seen at
places and in situations many find incredulous, at county fairs,
in cafes or restaurants, at the local supermarket, buying petrol
presence being seen in such prosaic situations and places should
not be surprising though. Where else would people see him but in
settings where they live their lives? And as Strausbaugh theorises
in his book, "these familiar settings serve a purpose: their banality
lends acceptability and plausibility to the sightings."
sightings are consistent with the findings of a number of anthropologists,
everyday settings frequently occur in stories of the supernatural
and unusual. Strausbaugh comments:
completely ordinary setting not only makes an incredible tale seem
a bit more credible, it also grounds an extraordinary event in familiar
are obviously psychological forces present in 'Live Elvis' sightings.
While they/we didn't realise it at the time, Elvis Presley in the
1950s and 1960s was incredibly important to youth. His importance
went far beyond just his music...his was a major cultural influence.
Bernstein astutely stated: 'Elvis Presley was the singular most
important cultural identity of the 20th century'.
opened the door to a bourgeoning youth culture, his impact changed
the way teenagers talked, the way they dressed, the way they wore
their hair. Elvis paved the way for the sexual revolution of the
1960s. And when he died the seminal psychological impact he had
made on millions of fans had to manifest itself.
comments: "The day Elvis died people were already insisting they
would never let his memory die. Instinctively they knew in that
instant that they had to preserve his memory and pass it on to future
is the reason for the world's ongoing interest in The King of Rock
& Roll. It is the reason why he is seen at corner drug stores, why
the number of Elvis fan clubs continue to climb 26 years after his
death, why his latest album has alrady sold more than 10 million
copies worldwide, and why Internet sites such as this one exist.
We cannot let him go, nor can we let go of him!
of the most interesting narratives in Strausbaugh's book is his
commentary on the similarity between (or borrowing of) motifs in
Elvis sightings to those present in the conspiracy theories surrounding
the assassination of JFK and the deaths of Marilyn Monroe and Jim
Morrison. Involvement of the CIA, a hoaxed death, possible murder,
post-death sightings etc are all constants in these other deaths
and the lore that has subsequently built up around them. But this
is another story.
Elvis sightings function very differently to Live Elvis sightings.
These experiences "elevate Elvis to a figure of myth and miracle,
and tales of such sightings generally conform to the framework of
folklore." The stories involve elements of magic, moral instruction
1987 Dr Raymond A. Moody, M.D. published a remarkable book, 'Elvis
After Life' (Peachtree Publishing). In it he recounted the findings
of his research into spiritual Elvis sightings. The stories were
to say the least incredible, but each of the people experiencing
them fervently believed their experience was real.
son had gone missing. Elvis came to the father in a dream and told
him to go to a place in Los Angeles where he would find his son.
The father travelled to the place and yes, he found his son!
what do we make of the case of a self-centred Yuppie, fresh out
of a horrendous divorce, who goes hiking alone on the Appalachian
Trail to 'find himself'. During his adventure he meets a stranger
by the name of Jo(h)n Burrows. Under the cover of a starry night
Burrows tells the man of his philosophy, a mixture of Christianity
and Buddhism, tough love and New Age mysticism. With the stranger's
help the man slowly re-evaluates his wasted life and gains a greater
understanding of God. When the man awakes in the morning, Jo(h)n
Burrows (the mythical 'stranger ghost' has vanished. Some time later,
the man sees a television program about Elvis and discovers that
one of Elvis's aliases was...Jo(h)n Burrows.
examples of Spirit Elvis sightings or experiences are the well-documented
'poltergeist' type tales of Elvis records mysteriously melting on
August 16, 1977 and Elvis figurines jumping off mantelpieces and
shattering into a thousand pieces. A further variant is the 'it's
a miracle' incidents where someone is saved from death or great
pain. There are several documented accounts of children in a comatose
state and thought beyond the reach of medical science who miraculously
recover when an Elvis song comes on in their room.
recently published a review of the book, 'Elvis Was My Speech Therapist'
by James Lee Bradley, and the Bradley story is not dissimilar to
the events we are describing here. And in 'Elvis After Life', Dr
Moody includes the moving story of a 10-year-old girl suffering
from Down's syndrome who just before dieing, beamed a big smile
and said: "Here comes Elvis......Here comes Elvis."
essential characteristic of stories such as these is that they are
'vague' and 'beyond empirical proof'. As Strausbaugh states: "They
are a matter of faith." In this context it is not difficult to understand
how many consider the ongoing fascination, devotion to and experience
of Elvis as equivalent to a faith or religion.
some of the structural iconic 'religious' elements: the High Priest/God
(Elvis) ceremonial and symbolic garb/vestments (jumpsuits) worn
by the Disciples/Minister's (impersonators); religious relics (memorabilia;
records); annual pilgrimage to the places of worship (Graceland,Tupelo,
shrines and fan club arranged memorial sites) and rituals (Giving
of the Scarves).
Elvis's death in 1977 several organised churches or religions around
his memory have been formed including The First Presleytarian Church
of Elvis the Divine (now active on at least two continents), The
First Church of Elvis and The 24 Hour Church of Elvis. In addition,
at least six academic books have been published in the past decade
examining the Elvis phenomenon as religion and the motivations of
its followers ('Elvites').
Strausbaugh notes, "Elvis left such a precise schematic for the
Elvii and the faithful...".
it is easy to dismiss the Elvis as religion, sect or cult concept,
it is mindful to note that many other faiths and religions arose
from 'pagan' origins and were also derided in their formative period.
Christainity was once regarded as a "cult menace" while the Mormans
endured much before emerging as a powerful religious movement.
at any one time in history there have always been numerous 'grass
roots' movements operating outside mainstram religion. For instance,
the Roman Catholic church today continues to have to deal with its
own long running, grass-roots bugbear, the 'Cult of the Virgin'
penultimate word should be left to John Stausbaugh: "Who knows what
will become of the Elvis faith? ...it is a religion based on love
of Elvis Presley and rock 'n' roll. Outsiders don't fear it, they
just laugh at it. The fact that outsiders can't take it seriously
may turn out to be its strength and its shield. Maybe by the time
Elvism is taken seriously it will have quietly grown too large and
well established to be crushed like the Branch Davidians."
will the 'mirror Elvis' ego-centric and self-defeating nature of
many fans see the fragmented existence of their worship continually
relegate their set of beliefs to the marginal fringes of contemporary
edition of Spotlight on The King was prepared by Nigel Patterson
- borrowing heavily from the stimulating work of John Strausbaugh