Lisa Marie Presley kept her son Benjamin’s body at home for two months after he passed away.

Lisa Marie Presley was so devastated by the loss of her son, Benjamin Keough, that she kept his body in her home for two months after he passed away. She even invited a tattoo artist to see him so she could get matching tattoos.

This is just one of many surprising details in Lisa Marie’s new memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, which was completed by her daughter, actress Riley Keough, after Lisa Marie passed away in January 2023.

Lisa Marie (left) next to her beloved son Ben, along with her third husband, Michael Lockwood, and a guest, at the London premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” in November 2010.
Getty Images

In her book, Lisa Marie shared that she had to fight to stay alive for her other children, Riley and her twin daughters Harper and Finley, who are now 16. She didn’t say goodbye to Benjamin right away because she was torn between burying him in Hawaii or at Graceland, the Memphis estate where Elvis, her father, is buried.

Riley Keough shows off her “Ben” tattoo etched on her collarbone in honor of her late brother.
Instagram/ Riley Keough
Riley and Lisa Marie at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards at the Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Hills on Oct. 16, 2017, in LA.
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Lisa Marie kept the room at 55 degrees to preserve Benjamin’s body and got so used to caring for him and having him there.

Riley and Lisa Marie decided to honor Benjamin by getting tattoos like his. Benjamin had his sister’s name on his collarbone and his mom’s name on his hand. Riley had her brother’s name tattooed on her collarbone, and a tattoo artist was called to Lisa Marie’s home to add Benjamin’s name to her hand. When the artist asked if they had photos of Benjamin’s tattoos to match the font and placement, Lisa Marie said, “No, but I can show you.”

Lisa Marie was laid to rest next to son Ben at Graceland following her death in January 2023.
Getty Images

Riley writes: “Lisa Marie Presley had just asked this poor man to look at her dead son, who was right next to us in the guest house. I’ve had a very strange life, but this moment is one of the weirdest.”

Lisa Marie also knew it was strange. She said, “I think it would scare the heck out of anyone else to have their son there like that. But not me.”

Lisa Marie said she lost her “spark” after her son, seen here as a 10-year-old with his mom and sister Riley, took his own life in July 2020.
AFP via Getty Images

Soon after the tattoo day, Riley remembers that everyone felt like Benjamin wanted to be laid to rest.

Even Lisa Marie said she could feel him communicating with her, saying, “This is crazy, Mom, what are you doing? What the heck!”

The family held a funeral for Benjamin in Malibu, and New Age author Deepak Chopra led the ceremony. Riley said she had to keep her eyes closed the whole time because she was struggling to cope with everything.

Riley finished off her mother’s book after listening to hours of her tapes.
Getty Images

Benjamin was buried at Graceland, next to Elvis, and Lisa Marie would later be buried there too.

Riley writes a lot about her brother’s struggles with mental health and how he often went on drinking binges. She doesn’t believe he truly wanted to die.

After his death, she and her mom went through his phone, looking for answers.

As the only daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie lived her life in the harsh spotlight.
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Lisa Marie is buried at her father’s estate, Graceland, alongside her dad and her son.
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Riley writes, “We found a text he sent to my mom a couple of weeks before he died that said, ‘I think something’s wrong with me mentally. I think I have a mental health issue.’ It’s heartbreaking to me that he only realized he might need help just two weeks before he took his own life.”

Dad Told Me to Take Cold Showers with the Soap He Gave Me — When My Boyfriend Walked into My Bathroom, He Started Crying

When Amelia’s father gave her a soap bar and told her to take cold showers with it, she never thought he had an evil, hidden agenda behind it. Her world turned upside down when her boyfriend told her the horrifying truth about that soap.

I’ve always been Daddy’s little girl, but now I feel like throwing up when I say those words. I’m not his little girl, and he’s not the man I always thought he was. Let me tell you why.

A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

So, I’ve always been close to my father, like REALLY close. I’m 23, and I lived with my parents up until a month ago because Dad never wanted me to move away.

He had given me the second floor of the house where I had my bedroom and a bathroom. Those two rooms of the house solely belonged to me. They were my safe space until the day Dad began to complain.

A man standing near a door | Source: Midjourney

A man standing near a door | Source: Midjourney

My father is one of those people with a personality resembling a coconut. You know, hard on the outside and soft on the inside. He has these strict rules and principles that he abides by, but he also has this empathy inside that makes him the best Dad ever.

“Character is built in discomfort,” he’d always tell me. “You gotta face the worst now if you want a life full of luxuries ahead.”

But he’d also buy me chocolates and ice cream on days I didn’t feel good.

A woman holding an ice cream cone | Source: Pexels

A woman holding an ice cream cone | Source: Pexels

Meanwhile, my mother has always been the typical loving mom. She’s always ready for hugs and kisses and never says no whenever I ask her to cook my favorite pasta. She has always been a sweetheart.

However, I recently felt that my parents were not the same anymore. Over the past few months, they had grown cold, and the love and care had suddenly vanished.

A woman sitting in her living room | Source: Midjourney

A woman sitting in her living room | Source: Midjourney

Honestly, I sometimes felt like I was living with two strangers in the house. It felt like we had lost the connection we always had.

Then began the unnecessary complaints and nitpicking from Dad’s side.

“You and your friends were too loud last night!”

“You’re staying out too late, Amy.”

“You’re spending too much on unnecessary things!”

Then came the complaint that really snatched my self-confidence.

A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

“You smell horrible, go take a cold shower and use the soap I gave you!”

I smell horrible? What? I thought. Where did that come from?

That was the day when Dad handed me this soap I had never seen before. It was a green, chunky soap bar that smelled a bit weird, but Dad had asked me to use it, assuring it would help get rid of the unpleasant body odor.

A woman holding a soap bar | Source: Pexels

A woman holding a soap bar | Source: Pexels

His words made me feel so self-conscious that I had even stopped hanging out with my boyfriend, Henry.

I often found myself smelling my skin, clothes, hair, and even my breath, just to check what made my father feel so uncomfortable around me.

I followed his advice and used that soap whenever I took a shower. Or, if I may put it correctly, I took five showers a day just to use that soap and get rid of the smell that had apparently been haunting my father.

A woman taking a shower | Source: Pexels

A woman taking a shower | Source: Pexels

I scrubbed my skin so hard that I stripped it of the moisture it needed. My skin had begun to look dry, scaly, and so rough.

Even then, my father said I still smelled like rotten onions.

“Did you use that soap, Amy? I don’t think you did,” he’d say. “You smell so bad.”

What shocked me even more was that my mother didn’t say a word when Dad humiliated me like that every day. She didn’t say anything in my defense or stop me from being so hard on myself.

A woman sitting on a chair, looking down | Source: Pexels

A woman sitting on a chair, looking down | Source: Pexels

Mom and I had always been close. She was the only person I shared everything with since I was a kid. I’d always tell her about my latest crush, my new boyfriend, and even the new slang I’d learned at school.

I couldn’t believe it when she stood silently, avoiding my gaze, while Dad kept grilling me. I won’t ever forgive Mom for not being there for me when I needed her the most.

A woman looking down | Source: Pexels

A woman looking down | Source: Pexels

I kept showering with the soap, and my clothes always clung to me because they were damp from the frequent showers.

Besides, I began avoiding my father. I’d always scurry up to my room and lock the door whenever he returned home from work. I didn’t want him to see me. Or, more specifically, smell me.

The turning point came when my boyfriend, Henry, came over. We had been dating for a few months, and he was the one bright spot in my increasingly bleak days.

A woman talking to her boyfriend | Source: Midjourney

A woman talking to her boyfriend | Source: Midjourney

Henry has always been the supportive boyfriend, the green flag we all look for. He’s always been kind to me, and he came over that day because he had noticed I had been avoiding him.

“Where have you been, Amy?” he asked as he held me by my arms.

“I was… I was just busy with some stuff, Henry,” I faked a smile. “I’m fine.”

“Really? You don’t look fine, babe,” he said.

“I’m okay, Henry,” I said as I held his hand. “Tell me one thing… Do I smell bad?”

A woman smiling | Source: Midjourney

A woman smiling | Source: Midjourney

He laughed, thinking I was kidding.

“No, babe. You smell fine. Why?”

“Nothing. I just…” I mumbled. “Forget it.”

“I’ll be right back,” he said before going to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, I watched him step out of the bathroom with the soap bar in his hand. I could see he wasn’t too happy about it.

“Who gave you this?! Are you taking cold showers with this?!?” he asked with eyes wide open.

A man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

A man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

How did he know this? I thought.

“Yeah, my Dad. Why?” I asked, trying my best not to panic.

“They didn’t tell you, did they?! Baby, this isn’t soap! It’s used to strip industrial machinery of grease and grime.”

“Wait, what?” I was shocked.

“This stuff is toxic, Amy. It causes chemical burns.”

I can’t explain how betrayed and heartbroken I felt at that point. How could my father do this to me? To his daughter who he loved so much?

A woman looking straight ahead, shocked | Source: Midjourney

A woman looking straight ahead, shocked | Source: Midjourney

That’s when it all started to make sense to me. The dry, itchy skin and the weird texture of the soap bar. It also made me wonder if my mother knew about this.

“I think we need to go to the hospital to get you checked,” Henry said. “And then, we’re going to the police. This is abuse, Amy.”

I don’t know why, but I stopped him.

A man sitting in his girlfriend's house | Source: Midjourney

A man sitting in his girlfriend’s house | Source: Midjourney

I knew he was telling the truth, but I couldn’t put the words “abuse” and “Dad” together. I had never seen Dad in a negative light, and I didn’t like how those words fit in the same sentence and made so much sense.

In short, I couldn’t accept that my father had tried to hurt me.

“We can’t do that,” I told Henry. “We can’t go to the police.”

“But why?” he asked.

“I’ll explain that later,” I said. “Please just help me get out of here. I’ll confront my parents later.”

A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

He agreed, and we moved into a small apartment a few days later. It was cramped and barely furnished, but it felt like a safe haven compared to what I had endured.

Then, it was time for me to confront my parents. I drove back to their house the next day.

When I arrived, Dad was in his usual spot, watching TV in the living room, and Mom was in the kitchen. I walked in with the soap bar in my hand and stood in front of my dad.

A man holding a remote | Source: Pexels

A man holding a remote | Source: Pexels

“I never thought you’d do this to me, Dad,” I said as I held the soap bar high enough for him to see. “This is toxic. It’s poison. It ruined my skin. Why did you do this?”

“Oh, so you finally found what it is, huh?” he smirked. “You needed to learn a lesson.”

“A lesson?” I laughed. “You nearly killed me. For what? Because you thought I smelled bad?”

“Please stop this!” My mother finally intervened. “Amy, yo—”

“You knew, Mom, didn’t you?” I cut her off. “You were a part of this ridiculous plan, right?”

A woman in her parents' living room | Source: Midjourney

A woman in her parents’ living room | Source: Midjourney

I watched tears trickle down her cheeks, but she didn’t say a word.

“Why did you do this to me, Dad?” I confronted my father. “I need to know!”

I wasn’t ready for his response. I had no idea it would turn my world upside down.

“You want to know why?” he said, almost to himself. “Fine. When your mother and I went on that vacation last year, we had a little too much to drink. We ended up in a crowd, where a fortune teller told me that your mother had been unfaithful.”

A man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

A man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney

“What are you talking about?” I asked as my heart flipped.

“That’s true,” he continued. “When I confronted your mother the next morning, she told me the truth. She told me you weren’t mine. You’re the result of an affair she had while I was working hard for us in another country.”

I looked at my mom, who couldn’t meet my gaze. Then, I looked back at Dad as he continued to speak.

A sad woman looking down | Source: Pexels

A sad woman looking down | Source: Pexels

“Your mother begged me not to leave her because she didn’t want to break our family apart,” he shook his head. “So, I agreed. But on one condition. I had to make her pay, and you too. Because YOU ARE NOT MY DAUGHTER!”

My heart shattered into a million pieces that day. I couldn’t believe my father had this evil side. The evil personality that was so hungry for unjust revenge.

A close-up shot of a woman, shocked | Source: Midjourney

A close-up shot of a woman, shocked | Source: Midjourney

“You mean you gave me that toxic soap because you were angry at Mom? Because you thought I was not your daughter?” I asked as the tears in my eyes blurred my vision.

“You’re not my daughter,” he said and turned around. “You’re not my blood.”

For the next few seconds, I stared at his back in silence, wondering why he punished me for something that wasn’t my fault.

“Alright, I’m done with you,” I said as I wiped away my tears. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”

A woman about to leave her parents' house | Source: Midjourney

A woman about to leave her parents’ house | Source: Midjourney

And with that, I stepped out of the house that was once my haven. Over the next few days, I visited the hospital multiple times for my skin treatment and talked to my lawyer regarding how I could file a case against my parents.

Soon, my father received a notice of the restraining order and the impending lawsuit. With that, his smug confidence was shattered, and his reputation was in ruins. His entire circle was disgusted by his actions.

A man reading a legal notice | Source: Midjourney

A man reading a legal notice | Source: Midjourney

Meanwhile, Mom tried to get in touch with me, but I didn’t reply to any of her calls or texts. If she couldn’t take a stand for me, why should I even bother talking to her? I was done.

Now, living with Henry, I feel a sense of peace that had been missing from my life for ages. I don’t remember the last time I had laughed this much in my own house. I can’t thank fate enough for blessing me with a man like Henry. I have no idea what I’d do without him.

A man sitting in his apartment | Source: Midjourney

A man sitting in his apartment | Source: Midjourney

If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might like: Bobby discovered a hidden stash of expensive gifts in his teenage daughter’s closet, along with a photo of an unknown older man and a note about a café meeting. He discreetly followed her to the café, unaware he’d uncover a secret that would tear his family apart.

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.

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