ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!

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ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!
? Hepworth 2005
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Is death the end?

• 'Man is mortal and death is the end'.
• All people die this is the law of
• nature. Known as 'The King', Elvis
• Presley was a singer who had millions
• of fans across the world during his
• career which spanned the 1950s
• to 1970s. So why should there be
• questions about the death of Elvis?
• He was after all - despite his
• enormous talent - just a man.
• What makes people react so much about Elvis's
  death and why has his
• death created so much intrigue? The answer is
  that people all over the
• world have claimed to see him after his death and
  many believe that
• the King is still alive.

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Elvis in his younger days
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The King is dead!

• Elvis had been taking drugs
• for years to balance his
• moods and to maintain the
• energy he needed to perform,
• eventually his heart gave out.
• He was found lying
• unconscious on his bathroom
• floor of Grace Land, his
• Memphis mansion by his
• girlfriend. He was rushed
• into hospital but all attempts
• to revive him were futile.

• At 3-30 P.M. on August
• 16, 1977, Elvis Aaron
• Presley was pronounced
• dead by Dr. George
• Nichopoulos. It was
• disclosed at a press
• conference later that the
• cause of death was
• "severe cardiovascular
• disease."

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Some of Elvis stage outfits
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Shock / Disbelief

• The pronouncement was final
• Elvis was dead. Yet, for the
• thousands of souls thronged
• outside the hospital it
• brought shock and disbelief.
• They could not accept that he
• had died - refused to believe
• what the doctors were
• saying. They claimed it was
• a cover-up by the
• Government and that he was
• still alive.

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• In 1956, when Presley came crackling out of
  every radio and speaker in the land, young
  Americans notions about independence -- from
  parents, from religion, from the values of the
  time -- were forming. Elvis became "The King" of
  rock 'n roll, but also of the emerging youth
  culture. He was a young, hip-thrusting, white
  singing music that was essentially black. Part of
  his attraction was that the '50s teenagers viewed
  him as epitomizing everything they thought their
  parents feared they would become -- cocky, slick,
  brash, tough, black-leatherclad, motorcycle
  straddling, stiletto-shoed.

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Denial

• This disbelief is still
• being nurtured by many
• across the world today.
• Fans cannot believe that
• death brought such an
• abrupt end to their so
• beloved idol - a man of
• remarkable talent who
• gave so much to so
• many.

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A sad day indeed
Death is so cruel. It parted the King from the
hearts of the millions and deprived them of the
sight and sound of their 'heart-throb and hero!
It was, to them, a loss that could never be
repaired. Tens of thousands of people gathered
outside his Memphis mansion to bid farewell to
the King of Rock 'n' Roll. There were thousands
of flowers and bouquets from the fans - after
the initial shock of the news came denial and
disbelief. Surely this couldnt be the end
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Elvis sightings

• This mass-denial that
• Elvis had actually died
• and the yearning to see
• him again meant that
• he became one of the
• most frequently sighted
• men - even years after
• the official
• pronouncement
• of his death.

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• Reports of Elvis sightings started to pour in
  from various
• parts of America soon after his death. People
  were
• convinced that they had seen him and sometimes
  even
• spoken to him. Elvis sightings are still reported
  today.
• Maybe many of these are for sheer fun and most of
  them
• lack rationality, but they are enough to gauge
  the depth of
• love for Elvis from his admirers even so many
  years after
• death.

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• Elvis look-alike contests still attracts people
  of all ages and
• many people still make a living from
  impersonating him.
• All this points to one single thing Elvis
  death, though
• sad, couldn't part him from the hearts of
  millions.
• Elvis is (in one sense)
• alive today through
• all these bids to
• Recreate and
• reincarnate him.

Impersonators in Kuala Lumpur enter a contest
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Some genuine sighting stories found on the net

• I swear that I saw Elvis Presley while I was
  fishing
• on the Salmon River in Idaho. The King looked
  older,
• obviously, but I could tell it was him. He was
  walking away
• from the river and disappeared into the bushes.
• I swear that at that moment Heartbreak Hotel
  started
• playing on my radio. The experience was scary,
  almost like
• the feeling one gets from surviving a car
  accident. It was
• scary but exhilarating.
• A military pilot from Italy, 1987

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Elvis still the king, fans say
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Two spotters were browsing the Elvis Spotter's
Page on the internet when a power surge shut down
the building for a few moments. Looking up, they
both saw the hallway emergency lights
illuminating a man with side burns wearing
a janitor's jump suit with the name Elvis on
the lapel. He was seen only briefly and then
when power was restored there was no sign of
him. The regular janitor was sought out
and was found to have
the day off. Oct. 18,
1995, Rider University
HMV in Oxford Street is displaying rare Elvis
photos
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• I saw Elvis at his house in Graceland. We all
  know
• that the curators of the house keep the upstairs
• closed off. Well I really believe that he is
  still living
• upstairs of Graceland and wanted to disappear
• from public life so he faked his death and paid
• doctors to lie. I was looking closely up the
  stairs
• when I saw a movement in the curtains. I saw a
• man with dark hair and sideburns. We even made
• eye contact! He is still alive!
• Jan. 30 2002, At Graceland, Kristy

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A British couple had an Elvis-style wedding in
Blackpool, UK

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Visitors have been arriving at Graceland all week
At the queue for the check-in-desk, it was
obvious that the King's home was not far off. Six
Japanese teenagers, all with huge quiffs and long
thick sideburns, were standing in line behind a
man with a white suit, complete with flares and
silver sunglasses. When we touched down the
captain, in a well practised Elvis voice, said,
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Memphis, I'd
like to thank you for your custom."
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So whats Elvis got to do with Jesus?

• People loved Elvis so much that they couldn't
  believe this great man's career had ended with
  his sudden death.
• Stories sprang up - and continued for many years
  - about people who saw Elvis alive - after others
  said that he was dead.
• People today still believe that Elvis is alive.

• Jesus disciples and followers couldnt quite
  believe his career had ended with his sudden
  death.
• Stories sprang up about people who said that they
  saw Jesus alive after his death.
• CHRISTIANS today still believe that Jesus rose
  from the dead and is alive in their hearts.

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Resurrection

• 3 days after Jesus death the women came to put
  oils on his body as is the Jewish custom.
• When they arrived at the
• tomb the stone in front of
• it had been rolled away.
• Inside the tomb lay the
• bloodstained cloths wrapped around Jesus body
  when he was crucified but his body had gone!

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Why do you seek the living among the dead?

• The women saw a gardener who asked why they were
  crying and looked panicked.
• Mary replied, They have taken away my Lords
  body.
• The man replied, Why do you look for
  the living
• among the dead?
• The man then said gently, Mary in a
  familiar voice and at that moment she
  recognised that the man in front of her
  was Jesus but his appearance was slightly
  altered. Rabbi, she gasped.

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• He said to Mary, You cannot touch me yet because
  I havent yet ascended but tell the others what
  you have seen.
• Meanwhile the disciples were walking along the
  road to Emmaus when a stranger joined them on the
  road. He could see that they were sad and asked
  what they were speaking of.
• They were amazed that this
• man hadnt heard about the
• crucifixion of Jesus. They
• invited him back for a meal
• so that they could tell him
• all about it.

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Jesus appears to the disciples

• Later that evening as they were eating, the
• stranger gave thanks for the
• meal and broke the bread.
• At the very moment they
• realised this man was Jesus
• he seemed to vanish before
• them. It is true, the
• disciples said with joy,
• our Lord is not dead
• he is still alive.