Elvis Presley memorabilia lines the walls, floors and ceilings of Graceland Too, the home of the late Paul McLeod. (Photo / Logan Kirkland)
Last Wednesday, journalists flocked to the town of Holly Springs to set up cameras on the front lawn of the home that once belonged to Elvis Presley eccentric Paul McLeod.
The night before, he shot and killed a man inside his front door.
The following day, McLeod was found dead inside his home.
As the news of his sudden death spread, the number of cameras that sat in front of the white, barbed wire lions multiplied. The mysterious circumstances that surrounded the 161-year-old antebellum tourist attraction known as Graceland Too allured media outlets from across the nation.
Soon after, social media erupted with comments of disbelief, dismay and grief. Perhaps the most shocked were the students of The University of Mississippi.
A midnight pilgrimage to Graceland Too was often described as a rite of passage for Ole Miss students – something everyone should experience before they graduate.
Students would arrive by the busload at all hours of the night to visit McLeod and his vast collection of Elvis oddities. He’d let them in with open arms.
His attorney Phillip Knecht said McLeod regarded students of the “Ole Miss school” as his own family.
“Those are the people that came every single time,” Knecht said. “Those are the people that Paul loved.”
Many Ole Miss students mutually shared the feeling of adoration. They didn’t take the 35-minute drive from Oxford to be wowed by the massive collection of TV Guides that mention Presley. They came to be amused by the owner.
Andrew Chase, senior banking and finance major, paid his homage to Graceland Too in the first semester of his sophomore year. He recalled McLeod as being an animated storyteller and impressionable entertainer.
“If you’re wanting to go see Elvis stuff, you’re going to go to Memphis to the real Graceland, or to Tupelo to his birthplace,” Chase said. “You went to Graceland Too to see Paul and experience that side. It’s something everybody wanted to experience, especially people at Ole Miss.”
Chase said he was hoping to pay McLeod a second visit sometime this summer. After finding out about the death of museum’s owner, he realized this desire would no longer be fulfilled.
“All of my roommates this year have never been,” Chase said. “We just kept saying, ‘We’ve got to go before we graduate.’ Now we don’t have that opportunity anymore.”
On Aug. 12, however, students who did not visit Graceland Too while McLeod was alive will have another opportunity to walk its halls. In partnership with the City of Holly Springs the museum will be hosting a memorial event, Graceland Too Forever: A Celebration of Paul McLeod during the Elvis Presley Week.
For the first time since McLeod’s death, Graceland Too will again be open to the public for tours. Despite the increased novelty that now surrounds the museum, Knecht said admission will be $5 as always.
“Everyone thought I was crazy when I said $5,” Knecht explained. “They said, ‘Everyone will be paying $20, $30 to come in here.’ I said, ‘No. Paul charged $5, and we’re going to be charging $5 too.’”
Proceeds from the event will go towards Paul’s funeral, burial and estate expenses. The night will end with a midnight candlelight vigil at Graceland Too, “to help send Paul onwards to meet the King of Rock and Roll.”
Presently an investigation into the July 15 death of Dwight David Taylor Jr. is underway. Findings from the investigation will be presented to the Grand Jury of Marshall County on Oct. 1.
