Elvis Presley’s Crypt Pulled from Auction
One of the creepier stories to pass through our desks recently was the news that the crypt that briefly housed Elvis Presley after his death was going to be auctioned off. However, Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, which was slated to sell the crypt on Sunday (June 24) as part of their "Music Icons" collection, has decided to pull the item.
According to Rolling Stone, the decision to sell the crypt prompted an outcry from Presley fans around the world. They felt the site should remain empty and preserved as a shrine to Presley, who died on Aug. 16, 1977.
Presley's body was contained in the crypt at Memphis' Forest Hill Cemetery next to his mother, Gladys, who died in 1958, shortly before Presley's was to be stationed in Germany during his stint in the Army. Their bodies were moved two months later, after Presley's father, Vernon, received permission from the State of Tennessee to inter their bodies in the Meditation Garden at Graceland.
Bidding for the crypt was expected to begin at $100,000. The winning bid would have included the use of a chapel for a service, the opening and closing of the vault and crypt for burial, and a memorial inscription.