Natural Bridge, Virginia: Enchanted Castle Studios

Visited the remains of the castle. The gate was open and Mr. Mark Cline was great about letting us look around at all the stuff. Three of his attractions have now been destroyed -- two of them by arson (the Haunted Monster Museum and Dinosaur Kingdom. If you get a chance and are out that way and the gate is open, he's in the work shop and will gladly let you walk around and take pics of whats left of his attractions.

Gates were closed so we didn't get inside but could see just above the fence, a set of fingertips reaching up to the sky. Would have loved to see what they were attached to! Ten Commandments tablets were attached to the front gate. I wish I had read them more closely. Are they the real deal or a sly commentary from the owner about the mysterious fire?

Mark Clines' studio may not be officially open to the public, but when I stopped and walked onto the property, he welcomed me to look around while he was working on a Candy Train. It looked like a graveyard for used roadside attractions, but for any fangirl, it was heaven. I turned left -- there were the two hands from his most recent April Fool's Joke. I turned right, there was a monster. Going straight, I walked right up to a half-chicken half-Frankenstein.

After I looked around, I stuck my head back into the shed to say thank you, and Mark stopped what he was doing to talk to me for a bit, show me some pictures, and talk about different upcoming projects. I love roadside attractions, but meeting him is at the top of the list. He is exactly how I would want any roadside artist to be. A family guy, talking a mile a minute, sweet as can be, whimsical and extremely generous.

I can't wait for the Enchanted Castle to be finished rebuilding from the fire of hate. I can't wrap my head around why anyone would hate Mark or his work. All he wants is to make people smile, and he succeeds.

While checking on the Ice Cream Muffler Man at Mark Cline's Enchanted Castle Studios, we came upon a greatly modified Muffler Man head. At some point in its past, it was part of a Paul Bunyan. Mark has promo photos of the head when it adorned a 20+ ft. tall Battle Mech. He still wears his helmet and star goggles -- but for now, he's only a head.

April 10, 2001, The Enchanted Castle Studio was burned to the ground. A few of the whimsical fiberglass sculptures at the gates escaped the blaze, but the workshop and attraction are gone. Arson is suspected, due to a recent barrage of religious tracts left in artist and entrepreneur Mark Cline's truck and mailbox, including a note saying he had "a one-way ticket to Hell" and for doing Satan's work, would be visited by God's wrath. Cline has plans to rebuild, but in the meantime it's a big loss for roadside America.