December 13, 2014
DOES ELVIS HAUNT THE WEST PALM SHERATON? – by Edward Glenn, Investigative Reporter for Palms News Service
The appearance by Elvis Presley in our town on February 13, 1977 would sadly be part of his final tour. That night, the entire fourth and fifth floors of the West Palm Beach Sheraton served as a suite for the 42-year-old King of Rock n’ Roll and his entourage. The motor lodge on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard was a stone’s throw from the West Palm Beach Auditorium, the site of the concert. The temperature was in the low 30’s when at 6AM the next day the tour bus departed West Palm Beach for the next show in St. Petersburg. A few hours later Presley was driven to the airport to board his private plane, the Lisa Marie.
Six months later he was gone, never to be seen again. Until about five years ago — according to some recent claims in West Palm Beach.
Numerous guests of the historic Sheraton have reported seeing apparitions they describe as “Elvis’ ghost”. A recently-published column in the Palm Beach Post described the ‘ghost sightings’. Questions arose when several readers called and wrote confirming their own spooky experiences at the hotel. Further interest generated when a video interview of one of the ‘witnesses’ went viral on YouTube. I decided to investigate.
I met this week with Jack Bartleson, General Manager of the Sheraton property, the site where Presley stayed 37 years ago. “We’ve had people tell us some strangely similar stories, that’s a fact,” he told me. “I’d say a good 25 people or so claim to have seen Elvis in the past five years– for some reason it’s always in the elevator, and always after midnight.”
The ‘appearances’ began in January, 2010, according to Mr. Bartleson. As a new manager he had organized a “75th Birthday party” for Elvis, who was born in 1935. “It was basically a publicity thing and a fun time; we invited dozens of local rock musicians, the Channel 5 TV crew was here and a writer from the paper as well.” The lobby was decorated with Elvis memorabilia and photos taken on the hotel property and the Auditorium back in 1977. Bartleson had hired an Elvis impersonator to be the ‘guest of honor’ at the party. The impersonator was dressed in a white jumpsuit identical to the suit worn by Presley at the Auditorium.
“The party ran late that night, and just before we wrapped things up – it was just after mid-night – a middle-aged couple came running across the lobby from the elevator. I could see they were shaken. They go up to my impersonator guy and the gent says: ‘How the hell did you do that? Are you like David Copperfield or something?’ “
Puzzled, the Elvis mimic inquired as to what it was that he had supposedly done. Mr. Bartleson continued: “The couple described coming back to the hotel from a Palm Beach benefit, arriving shortly before midnight. Upon entering the lobby, they noticed the Elvis party and lingered to observe for a few minutes before getting on the elevator to go up to their third floor room. They entered the elevator, and as soon as the door closed, there they saw another ‘Elvis’ at the rear of the lift. They hadn’t noticed him when they got on, but as soon as the door closed, there he was.
Bartleson: “They said he looked more like Elvis than my impersonator did — a lot fatter. They said he was dressed in black, not white like the fellow I’d hired. They naturally figured it was another person who was part of the party, and just smiled at him. But when they got to their floor, and the door opened, they turned to say goodbye. Whatever it was was gone – there was nobody else in the elevator. Strange, wasn’t it?”
After going to their room, the couple “decided to come back downstairs to see what this was all about”, Bartleson continued. “When the elevator door stopped at the third floor, they got on to the empty elevator, and according to them, no sooner had the elevator door closed, than ‘Elvis’ with them again. At that point, they became petrified. The elevator descended to the lobby and when the door opened, just as before, ‘Elvis’ wasn’t there anymore. “
Bartleson is emphatic his ‘Elvis’ impersonator was no illusionist. “I could never have paid for any David Copperfield. And I can verify, the couple was sober, not crazy. But they were very frightened”.
Concerning later sightings, Bartleson was equally emphatic. “The same thing seems to keep happening, always after midnight, and usually but not always in the first week of January, around his birthday. People get on the elevator, the door closes, and they see Elvis, dressed in black. Then the door opens at their floor and he’s not there anymore. He never speaks, and people say he just looks sad.”
Until recently the hotel had not gone public about the reported ‘appearances’, for fear of scaring away potential guests, Bartleson told me. “We haven’t talked about this. I can see how it would be disturbing, obviously – it would bother me if I ever saw a ghost – but what are we supposed to do about it? We kept it quiet. So it’s not like the people who claim to have seen him since then are copy-cats,” Bartleson explained.
“But then somebody talked to a fellow at the paper, who wrote a column about their freaky experience, and then the video – and then others started coming forward. We know most of those people, from when they first told us about it when it supposedly happened – they aren’t just coming out of the woodwork looking for attention. Like I say, between me and the staff, we’ve heard from a couple of dozen people over the past four years, usually right after New Years. So now the cat is ot of the bag.”
The General Manager expressed his dismay that, contrary to his earlier fears that the ‘sightings’ would frighten people away, the opposite has been the case. “Since this has gotten out, our parking lot around the midnight hour is jammed. Curiosity seekers just walk in and want to ride the elevator, just hoping to see the ghost. I admire people who still remember Elvis Presley – He was very loved and still is, my own mother listens to his songs all day long. But this sort of thing on the property can cause paying guests inconvenience.”
Bartleson had this disclaimer about the first week of January 2015, leading up to January 8.. “The 8th would have been Presley’s 80th birthday. Only people with room reservations will be allowed access to the elevators until the following morning. I’ll have a security guard stationed to take care of that. And I may hire a counselor to be on call during the night-shift to boot — to help calm someone down in the event Elvis makes an appearance.”
Asked about rumors that guests checking into fourth and fifth floor rooms report hearing Elvis music in the middle of the night, Bartleson replied: “Yes, we had a joker working the midnight shift at the front desk, who we had an idea was piping ‘Heartbreak Hotel” through the vents. He never admitted it, but he did quit — and we haven’t heard that complaint nearly as much since.”
Nearly as much?
Palms News Service 