Elvis Presley crypt pulled from auction block

The crypt in which Elvis Presley was first buried after his death in 1977 has been pulled from an auction in Los Angeles after outraged fans around the globe argued it should be kept as a shrine to his memory.

Julien’s Auctions announced in May that it would sell off the private tomb at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee, in which Presley’s body was interred alongside his mother for two months before the pair were reburied at the rock & roll legend’s Graceland home, according to the Associated Press.

The crypt has been empty since then, and was due to go under the hammer Sunday with bids opening at $100,000, according to the BBC.  The proposed sale included the right to open and close the vault and crypt for burial; a memorial inscription; and the use of the the cemetery's chapel for a service, according to The New York Times.

But on Friday Julien’s Auctions said it would not auction off the tomb until the cemetery “finds a plan that best suits the interests of the fans while respecting and preserving the memory of Elvis.”