Alferd Packer - Popular Culture

Popular Culture

In 1968, students at the University of Colorado at Boulder named their new cafeteria grill the "Alferd G. Packer Memorial Grill" with the slogan "Have a friend for lunch!" Students can order an "El Canibal" beefburger as they examine a giant wall map outlining Packer's travels through Colorado.

In 1977 the US Secretary of Agriculture, Bob Bergland, attempted to terminate a contract for the department's cafeteria food service, but was prevented by the General Services Administration (GSA). To embarrass the GSA, Bergland and his employees convened a press conference on 10 August 1977 to unveil a plaque naming the executive cafeteria "The Alferd Packer Memorial Grill," announcing that Packer's life exemplified the spirit and fare of the cafeteria and would "serve all mankind." The event was covered on ABC-TV Evening News by Barbara Walters. The stratagem was successful and the contracts were terminated soon thereafter. In magnanimous victory, Bergland yielded to bureaucratic objection that the plaque lacked official GSA authorization, and removed it. The plaque is currently displayed on the wall of the National Press Club's The Reliable Source members-only bar. It doubles as a memorial to the late Stanley Weston (1931–84), a man who worked at the USDA. The Press Club's hamburger is called the "Alferd Packer Burger."

In 1990, Country artist C W McCall (of "Convoy" fame) recorded a track on his album "The Real McCall," titled "Coming Back for More" which revived the legend and implied his ghost still haunts Lake City.

In 1990 the American death metal band Cannibal Corpse dedicated their debut album, Eaten Back to Life, to Packer.

In 1993, University of Colorado students Trey Parker and Matt Stone, co-creators of South Park, made a film called Cannibal! The Musical, based loosely on Packer's life, with Parker billed as "Juan Schwartz" (a variation of Packer's "John Schwartze"), released commercially in 1996 by Troma Entertainment, and produced as a stage play initially by Dad's Garage Theatre Company and by several other theatre companies since. Lesser known film adaptions include The Legend of Alfred Packer (1980) and the straightforward horror film, Devoured: The Legend of Alferd Packer (2005).

In an episode of Celebrity Ghost Stories, actress Diane Neal recounts an event when, in 1987 at the age of 11, growing up in Littleton, Colorado, that she and two of her classmates were given a history of the events of Alferd Packer, who is buried in Littleton. After class, she and her friends go to the cemetery where Packer is buried and started to mock and dance on his grave. Shortly, the girls felt a chilling presence and decide to run from the cemetery. Neal recalls later that night that Packer paid a visit to her in her bedroom and began to torment her that she had a restless night; her two friends experienced the same thing. Sometime later, Neal and her friends decide to investigate by playing with a Ouija board, which lead to summoning Packer with bad results.