Elvis died 15 years ago, but it's obvious from graffiti covering the stone wall surrounding Graceland that his fans haven't let go. Perhaps no piece of property short of the Berlin Wall has held as many scrawled messages - some sentimental, some silly, some sacrilegious. "Dear Elvis: You're dead. Live with it," wrote one wiseacre, to which a fan scribbled underneath: "No he's not, so you live with it." Others hail the King with: "Elvis, you ole hound dog! We miss you!"; "Elvis, just say `no' "; and the inevitable, "I love the King . . . and the Braves." Graceland, opened to the public in 1982, was added to the National Register of Historic Places last year. But while the mansion is kept in meticulous condition befitting a national landmark, little is done to discourage the graffiti writers. "We knew 10 years ago that there was nothing much we could do about it other than put snipers on the fence," said Graceland communications director Todd Morgan, who added that people have inked the wall around the 14-acre Graceland estate since Elvis had it erected in 1957. It gets so blotted that maintenance workers have to pressure wash it a couple of times a year, Mr. Morgan said. A tribute from rocker Billy Idol was erased that way not long ago.

Graffiti, such as this, covers up the walls at Graceland.