Holly Springs, Mississippi: Graceland Too (Closed)

Returned to Graceland Too for first time in ten (10) years and can confirm the following:
1. It is open on Christmas Day;
2. It has been spruced up since the early '90s;
3. It continues to grow; and
4. It's way cooler than the real digs up in Memphis.

If you haven't seen "Graceland Too" as of late it ... it hasbeen uh ... spruced up in the BEST Elvi tradition ... new paint ...cinderblock walls ... fake Christmas trees {with tractor tire and rock basespainted white ofcourse}and oh yeah ... the lions ... yes lions complete with chains to uh ... holdthem back and all painted white ... jeez cheeze! ...

Down a backstreet in this small town is the greatest shrine to one of the greatest performers of our century. The performer? Elvis Presley. The place? Graceland Too. Here, in a century old antebellum home, one fanatic has amassed the greatest collection of Elvis memorabilia known to man. Every inch of the house, including walls, ceiling, staircase, etc., is covered in anything Elvis. Lloyd's of London has insured Mr. Paul McLeod for $11.5 million. Paul, and his son, Elvis Aaron Presley MacLeod (yes, that's his given name) run the place 24/7, every day of the year, even Christmas.

Among the collection are all the lp's and 45's, including the "most valuable record in the world" -- cherished by Paul so much that he has rejected million dollar offers from three presidents, Elvis trading cards, Elvis wine, Elvis' jumpsuits, jungle room carpet, even Elvis' report card where he got an 'F' in music. Paul and his son also catalog every mention of Elvis on tv, radio and in movies. Shelves are packed with paperclip-ridden TV Guides; TVs and VCRs are constantly on a recording. Paul even boasts of beginning to track Elvis online.

The whole tour costs $5, with the "I'll give you your money back and then pay you $5" guarantee. After your first three times you become a lifetime member, and entrance is free from then on. Paul hopes to one day invite all the members back for a "moody blue christmas" get together. So go, any time of the day or night. My personal favorite is after midnight. And if you get lucky, you'll actually get Elvis McLeod, who mysteriously is always gone, getting some new Elvis paraphernalia. No one has seen him for three years now, so rumors are he got fed up, just like Paul's wife, and left. (If you go, ask Paul about his wife. He'll probably volunteer the info.) Even if you're not an Elvis fan, and I'm not, it's definitely worth the $5. In fact, I'm going back for my 10th time tonight.

An Elvis museum in Holly Springs, MS. I last visited it the week of July 14th, this year, and have made at least 4 other visits over the years. It is weird beyond my ability to describe -- they are attempting to build a database of all references to Elvis on TV, ever, and a clipping file (which has begun to refer more to Graceland Too than to Elvis) that will encompass the universe. The proprietors (Paul McLeod and his son Elvis MacLeod) have been part of a couple of "international" academic Elvis conferences.

Graceland Too in Holly Springs, MS, is one strange place. The media museum is in an antique antebellum house run by the father and son team of Paul and Elvis Aaron Presley MacLeod. Yep, the guy named his some Elvis. They spend every waking moment tracking where in the media Elvis has been mentioned. They have hundreds of TV Guides with paper clips where the King is mentioned. Thousands of Newspaper clippings. Their goal is to turn their entire block into Graceland.

But the best part is...you can show up 24 hours a day and they will give you a tour for a very modest fee. The one I took lasted 2.5 hours, though most are shorter. I left and my head was swimming.