The Soundtrack to My Life

Mojo Rising?

Do you believe in ghosts or spirits? Have you ever had a paranormal experience? I have had an interest in reading and watching theories and films about ghosts and hauntings since I was a child. My parents never understood why I wanted to watch Poltergeist and The Exorcist every time they aired on television. The past few months, my TiVo has been recording reality shows in which psychics, mediums, and ghost hunters tell about their experiences through actual video and audio footage, and in some cases re-create the astonishing events. By now, you are probably wondering what this blog has to do with music.

 

Last month, I found a program titled Dead Famous re-running on the Biography channel. Its premise is based on a psychic, Chris Fleming, and a skeptic, Gail Porter, and their adventures investigating famous celebrities that have passed on. They research the celebrities’ favorite hang-outs and visit their previous homes to see if their spirit is still residing there. Past episodes have focused on John Lennon, Janis Joplin, Frank Sinatra, and James Dean.

 

The episode that stuck with me was the one in which they claim to make contact with the spirit of Jim Morrison. Morrison was the lead singer and songwriter of the 1960’s band The Doors. He died in Paris of a heart attack and possible drug overdose in 1971. Morrison often wrote in his songs about an experience he had as a child with the spirit of an Indian. Morrison and his parents were driving past a car accident in the desert where an Indian had gotten hit by a car. He believed the spirit of the Indian had entered his soul. Morrison often alludes to this life-changing experience in his songs. For example, in The Doors’ song, “Peace Frog,” Morrison sings, “Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding / Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind.”

 

In the beginning of the episode, Fleming visits rock journalist Brett Meisner who had a picture taken by Tom Petty of himself posing beside Morrison’s grave in Paris in 2000. A few years went by and upon closer inspection of the photo, Meisner noticed what appears to be a faint figure in the center of the picture, between two graves. The figure resembles a shirtless male figure wearing dark pants. Its arms are spread out like a bird ready to take flight. The figure bears a striking resemblance to Morrison, who frequently took the stage wearing only a pair of leather pants. Fleming inspected the photo carefully and even held up the negative to the light. Upon seeing this for the first time, I was shocked. It was the first time I had seen a photograph that could very well be the spirit of a famous celebrity that had passed on.

 

Later on in the episode, Fleming, Porter, and a psychic travel to a hotel that Morrison lived in for most of his career. His former room is now a tourist attraction, with many messages and pictures scattered on the walls. The psychic makes contact with Morrison and reveals personal facts to both Fleming and Porter that no one else should know. Watching this on television is astonishing, but the skeptic in me wonders if it’s actually authentic. My mom always told me, “Jackie, they can do anything on TV.”

 

Watching Dead Famous has only increased my curiosity about the paranormal and the connection it makes to the singers I can now only dream about seeing in person. I don’t know exactly what my future has in store for me, but I know I would love to have an experience like Fleming and Porter had in this episode. Even though a part of me is still skeptical, I can’t help but put all the connections together. The Doors’ music is sometimes described as “psychedelic,” and often times it seems as if Morrison were channeling someone else in his live performances, a spirit perhaps. He would often improvise lyrics and poetry during his concerts, and at one point in his career, he managed to get himself arrested for his outrageous behavior on stage. In “My Eyes Have Seen You,” Morrison hauntingly sings, “My eyes have seen you let them photograph your soul.” Could this have been a prediction on his part? Is the photograph genuine? What do you think?