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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

20 Pairs of People Who Made Us Believe That Time Travel Is Already Possible

Although each person is born with a unique set of genes, when kids are born, it’s impossible to avoid conversations about who they look the most like. And some people are lucky enough to find resemblances to their older ancestors, like a bolt from the blue. With children looking like an exact copy of their parents and grandparents, we’re almost ready to believe that it’s a result of some kind of reincarnation or wizardry.

And while scientists are still scratching their heads about our genes, we at Bright Side simply can’t help but wonder about what miracles nature is really capable of.

1. Princess Diana and her grandmother, Cynthia, made us wonder whether time travel already exists.

2. “A side by side of my 3x great-grandmother and my mother”

3. “I think I might be a clone and no one told me.”

4. This family’s genes are so strong.

5. “My dad and me, 1980 vs 2020”

6. “This is me in the mid-’90s and my son in 2020, not quite the same pose, but I like seeing the similarities!”

7. “My grandmother (1940) and me (2005) — I feel grateful to carry on her lovely genes.”

8. “I think it’s fun to look at my dad at 12 vs me at 12.”

9. “Me vs my mom’s yearbook photo (1977)”

10. “My son at a year old in 2004 and his great-great-grandfather at the same age in 1882”

11. “My whole life people have told me I look just like my mom when she was my age. I never saw it until I found this old picture of my mom.”

12. Nature’s miracles with genes will never cease to amaze us.

13. “My dad and me, both at the age of 14”

14. “Found this old picture of my great-grandma. I was amazed at how much I look like her!”

15. This mom and daughter look almost identical.

16. Seems like sometimes nature works like a 3D printer.

17. This granddaughter has features similar to her grandmother, and they both look so beautiful.

18. “My ancestor from the 1700s next to my dad — apparently my family’s looks haven’t changed much.”

19. “My dad’s mother and me, 70 years apart”

20. This bright smile passed through at least 2 generations.

Bonus: Princess Charlotte and Queen Elizabeth might not look alike, but the princess is surely the queen’s mini-me.

Have you seen this kind of resemblance in real life? Do you know any relatives that look like you?

Preview photo credit JUSTIN TALLIS /AFP / Getty Images, Max Mumby/Indigo / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images