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Abita Springs, Louisiana: Abita Mystery House

Bassigator Monster and UFO Crash Site -- two of many strange exhibits in "Louisiana's most eccentric museum."

Visitor Tips and News About Abita Mystery House

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Abita Mystery House

This was our third trip to this fantastic place. There is so much stuff - old arcade machines, two-headed alligators, and things like that. New on this visit was an abandoned gold mine. While we were there the owner let us see his private studio.

[Jackie Tank, 03/02/2012]
UCM Museum - Bassigator Monster

If you loved the movie "Big Fish," you will definitely enjoy finding this small town with its small mystery museum. I enjoyed getting off the highway and venturing into this small, delectable town.

[Jolynn, 07/07/2011]
Abita Mystery House

This was our second visit in 12 months. He has added a lot more stuff since then -- or maybe we just didn't see it all the first time. Our children also enjoyed it. While we were there we met locals who said that they come monthly to see the latest creations. We were lucky to meet the owner this time, and he showed us some "behind the scenes" things. We spent about an hour there and it was well worth it.

Both times we were there we could not help but notice how beautiful the cashiers were. What are super models working at a place like this? We thought that maybe they were robots.

[Timmy Wood, 01/19/2011]

Curator John Preble says that he was inspired to create the UCM Museum/Mystery House after a family visit to Tinkertown in New Mexico. He realized that his personal collection of oddball clutter was just as worthy of a museum.

Abita Springs Mystery House

Awesome mix of junk and genius. First, you walk through a literal maze of paint-by-number paintings interspersed with walls of bottle caps, popcorn boxes, celebrity light-up beer signs, and old radios. You then come to a hall of dioramas, made with popsicle stick furniture and sculpted figures depicting life on a plantation, a mardi gras parade, turn of the century toy shop, a jazz funeral, and a hurricane ripping a part a trailer park. Some of this have been rigged to move with a push of a button which makes them even more amazing.

This guy has a lot of time on his hands, and the mix of crudeness, ingenuity and humor make it unlike anything else you've seen before. Our favorites were the taxidermy exhibits, such as The 23-foot Bassigator, a fiji mermaid and all kinds of critters that have been dismantled and re assembled to make something else. In The far back he has a bunch of old fortune telling machines, one of which works and hands out custom fortunes like "Your lucky color is squashed banana brown" and "You will move to Canada with twelve cats and one dog named Goober."

[Dukey Flyswatter, 10/25/2010]

Elvis shrine at UCM Museum.

UCM Mystery House

Amazing collections and just lots of funny stuff. A 3D cartoon of the South. I took a bunch of people here last weekend, all ages, and everyone liked it.

The owner gave us a short "behind the scenes" tour. They had a good gift shop with some very strange stuff.

[Harry Steadman, 01/30/2010]

Abita Mystery House

Address:
22275 Hwy 36, Abita Springs, LA
Directions:
I-12 exit onto Hwy 59, then four miles north to town. At the traffic light (the only one in town), turn right (southeast) for one block. In the downtown historic district.
Hours:
Daily 10-5 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
985-892-2624
Admission:
$4 if your are over 4 years old.
RA Rates:
The Best
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

Abita Brewery Tours and BeerAbita Brewery Tours and Beer, Abita Springs, LA - 1 mi.
World's Largest Ronald Reagan StatueWorld's Largest Ronald Reagan Statue, Covington, LA - 4 mi.
Insta-Gator RanchInsta-Gator Ranch, Covington, LA - 3 mi.
In the region:
End of the Jefferson Highway, New Orleans, LA - 36 mi.

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