All The Doors' songs that reference a traumatic incident that haunted Jim Morrison for life

The Doors are one of the most famous classic rock bands of all time, but they had some pretty bizarre inspirations. Frontman Jim Morrison witnessed a horrific incident that haunted him for years, and he alluded to it not only in one of The Doors' songs but several.

The Door's Jim Morrison witnessed a horrible incident as a child that scared him for life

Years before becoming the Lizard King, Morrison had an uncomfortable childhood. His family moved around a lot because his father was in the military. According to the Washington Post, Morrison's childhood worsened after witnessing a horrible incident at the early age of four.

He was traveling through Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his parents and grandfather when they passed an accident involving Pueblo Indians. Several were dying along the road, and Morrison saw everything. After the family left the scene, Morrison became hysterical. He later claimed the souls of one or two dying Indians entered his body, which was "like a sponge, ready to sit there and absorb it."

"A truckload of Indians had either hit another car or something—there were Indians scattered all over the highway, bleeding to death," Morrison said (per Mental Floss).

The encounter changed Morrison forever and haunted him until the end of his life. He even incorporated it into several of The Doors' songs.

The Doors' songs that reference Jim Morrison's haunted memory

Morrison references the horrific scene he witnessed as a child on The Doors' song "Peace Frog"—off The Doors' 1970 album Morrison Hotel.

The repetition of the lyrics "There's blood in the streets" reflect Morrison's haunted memories of the incident. Then, he explicitly calls back the moment when he sings, "Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleedin'Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind."

Morrison repeats a similar line in the spoken-word performances "Dawn's Highway" and "The Ghost Song," which both appear on the posthumously released 1977 Doors LP An American Prayer.

Morrison's life became a mystery

No one knows for sure if Morrison actually witnessed the grisly incident as a child. The frontman wasn't always honest when it came to his upbringing. He often claimed his parents were dead when they weren't.

Horrible incident aside, Morrison had a pretty mysterious life and death. Only a few people saw his body after he died. Even stranger, the first reports of his death came almost a week after it happened. Officially, though, authorities ruled that Morrison died of natural causes while bathing. There are many theories about how he died or didn't. Some claim Morrison faked his death.

Whatever happened on that road in Albuquerque or in any of the singer's stranger moments, Morrison is undeniably one of the most intriguing rock stars ever.

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