We all know him, we have all heard his music, and we have definitely not forgotten him: Elvis Presley, the King of Rock, movie star, US Army veteran, and father, is an international household name. He now even has a long-awaited and deserved movie about his life that will be in theaters on June 24. Elvis’s death shook the world, but is his iconic drug-induced death a hoax? 

Elvis Presley is said to have died on August 16, 1977, after he collapsed in his bathroom and was rushed to hospital. The cause of death was heart failure from years of cocktails of drugs to keep him up and going on tour. I am a huge Elvis enthusiast and visited his estate in Memphis, Tennessee. Naturally, as soon as I heard about this conspiracy after learning and walking through his house, I had to do research of my own and see if I believed that Elvis did not actually die on August 16 of 1977.

There are a couple of different aspects to consider; sightings, witness protection, and his gravestone. Some of the sightings are far stretches, such as the Home Alone sighting. People actually believe that a man that is/was supposed to have faked his death in order to not be killed, popped up into one of the most-watched movies ever. The man believed to be Elvis is in the background of one of the airport scenes, and admittingly, he does resemble Elvis; however, it just doesn’t make sense. Out of all the sightings, one sticks out from December 31, 1977. A man named Mike Joseph snapped a picture of what looked to be Elvis in his pool house. The picture was heavily debunked immediately claiming it was Al Strada, who Elvis had hired to watch over the house, Priscilla, and Lisa while he was gone. The picture is very convincing considering how Elvis looked when he died. Also, Elvis and Priscilla divorced in 1973, so why would Al Strada just be hanging out in the pool house when the only family that is allowed in those parts of the house is Priscilla and Lisa? Also, that photo was taken before people were able to doctor photos, but this is not the only evidence for this theory.

Elvis Presley had a love for law enforcement and appreciated their work, especially the FBI. It is said that in some of the FBI’s files, Elvis went undercover for them in order to find out more about a group called “The Fraternity.” He had a connection with one of the members because of a plane he had bought. Then, when it was discovered he was a mole, his life was in imminent danger and he had to be put in the witness protection program. What’s interesting about this one is that it is not widely known that he was affiliated with the FBI in any way. This theory oddly makes the most sense to me on a sanity level. What superstar doesn’t have a few skeletons in their closet or at least know a couple of bad apples. Maybe that was part of the reason Al Strada was hired. However, some theories are a little more light-hearted.

Elvis was survived by his father, Lisa, her children, and Priscilla. Elvis’s final resting place on his estate was not his original resting place. He was buried by his mother until his father decided to move them to Graceland for the safety of their graves. Elvis, his parents, still-born brother, grandmother, and most recently, his grandson are all resting in Graceland. With thousands of people seeing Elvis’s flat gravestone (he has two), oddly enough, his middle name is spelled wrong. His birth-given name is Elvis Aron Presley, the gravestone reads “Elvis Aaron Presley.” It is firmly believed it’s a sign that Elvis is alive since his real name wasn’t put on the grave, hinting he was not dead. This is true, I went and paid respects to the Presley family graves and saw the grave, but of course, there are reasons to debunk this evidence. It was understood Elvis wanted to change his middle name spelling to the bible spelling with two A’s so his father was respecting his wishes when the grave was being made.

Tons of people think that these conspiracies need to come to a stop out of respect for Elvis’s remaining family. I think that’s a very good point, but the family has never spoken out about the theories directly whether they are hurtful or truthful. To be real, Elvis would be in his 80s by this point, and with all the traveling and drugs he had consumed in his life, it’s doubtful that he would be alive today if he had faked his death that day. One thing is clear, Elvis had the hearts of thousands that did not or could not even believe he had died and would come up with anything possible to make themselves feel better about his death. If you would like to explore these theories, visit  https://time.com and https://www.smoothradio.com. What do you think? Did he die that day, or was Elvis living amongst us all this time?