Jim Morrison had it all...or so it seemed to most. The poetic front man of the 1960's rock group, "The Doors" had money, fame and a bevy of beautiful young groupies at his disposal at any given moment. He was adored by many and respected by fellow artists for his dramatic and almost surreal vocal abilities. That all changed on July 3, 1971 in Paris, France. Supposedly, Morrison was found unresponsive in the bath tub by his long time love, Pamela Courson, in the apartment that the couple shared. According to Courson, she had went to bed the previous evening and Morrison had told her he was going to take a bath. Courson claims that she awoke at around 5:00 am and realized that he was not lying next to her. After looking for him throughout the apartment, Courson stated that she found Morrison's lifeless body in the bathtub, apparently after having died while bathing.

Had it been left at that, the world would have been no less shocked and saddened, but that would have been the end of it. Jim Morrison would have went on to have been just another sad statistic. Rock star dead at only 27 with his entire life ahead of him. However, that was not how it happened. There were questions that went unanswered and almost immediately, conspiracy theories began to rise. This was due in large part to the bizarre series of events that began almost immediately after Morrison was supposedly discovered.

Jim Morrison, despite his enormous success, was truly a tortured man. He was deeply addicted to drugs and had an obsession with death. He had clearly battled what would be clinically diagnosed as deep stages of depression for several years and had sought the comfort of various narcotics and alcohol in an attempt to self medicate. He was trapped in a vicious cycle of fame, sex, loneliness and self loathing. He considered himself a poet and was tortured by the attempts of the music industry to turn his works into fodder for screaming teen age girls. The pressure would at times get to be too much for him and at times Morrison would speak to others about his fantasies of faking his own death and living in seclusion in the mountains. These facts only add fuel to the fire of conspiracy theories that have raged since his reported "death". Some of the most telling oddities that have went unanswered is why there was a delay in announcing his death in the first place. After supposedly finding Morrison's lifeless body, Courson not only did not disclose the death to the public but openly denied it, stating that Morrison was "not dead, but very tired and resting in the hospital." The truth was that his body had already been buried in the Pere-Lachaise cemetary in Paris. No one other than Courson ever saw the body itself with the exception of a single physician that signed the death certificate, listing the deceased as James Morrison-Poet.

There are so many details that just don't fit...that make no sense. Why did Courson repetedly deny his death? Why was his body never autopsied? Why was he laid to rest before his family was even notified of his supposed passing? The coffin was sealed and not even family was allowed to view the body. Even his personal physician was kept at bay. Why? When Doors drummer John Dinsmore arrived in Paris to pay respects to Morrisons grave he was shocked and stated that there was no way Morrison was in there because, as he put it, "the grave was too short." The most shocking of all claims that has circulated through the years involved horror writer Stephen King. It is said that years after Morrison's death King picked up a hitch hiker that he realized only afterward was Jim Morrison himself. According to his closest friends, Morrison once said that if indeed he ever did work up the nerve to fake his own death, he would leave a clue. Are these clues found in his final lyrics? In the so many questions he left unaswered? Was he trying to tell us something by leaving so many things left unsaid? That is something we will never know. One thing is known. In the days before his supposed death, Morrison had sunk into yet another deep state of depression and began drinking heavier than ever before. Was he tortured by his decision? According to witnesses, several people saw Morrison at a local airport on the day of his supposed demise. Was he making his get away into the world of anonimity? The only two people who knew for sure were Pamela Courson and the french Doctor that signed his death certificate...Courson died of a heroine overdose on April 25, 1974. She had maintained her silence on his death with the exception of occasional varying stories of the offical version. When asked about the physician that signed his death certificate, Pamela stated that she "could not remember" who he was...The Doctor maintained his silence and refused to speak on Morrison's death.

If, in fact, Morrison faked his death...and even if the stories are true that he passed away that summer evening in Paris...either way, he lives.