Abita Springs, Louisiana: Abita Mystery House

The owner/creator has put his experience in the circus to wonderful use. He has assembled a collection of freak show curiosities, nostalgia kitsch, and assorted junk (often donated by visitors) into a sum total that is a brilliant work of art. I am so glad I turned off the freeway to see it. The town itself is quite picturesque too.

The only place that this can be compared to, that I have seen, would be the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City, CA, and the similarity is probably more in spirit.

It's really kind of indescribable, a cross between a fun house, folk art museum and general oddity.

The UCM Museum - Abita Mystery is better than ever. John Preble was steadily working on new inventions when we stopped by and was also very friendly and courteous along our journey through the museum. This museum is simply amazing and you should definitely visit if you are in the Abita Springs area. This was one of the greatest highlights of our recent vacation.

The UCM Museum [Home of the Bassigator Monster] is now calling itself the Abita Mystery House. Or to be more formal, the "Abita Mystery House at the UCM Museum." The UCM Museum is not changing or anything, it is just that the owner decided too many people were being chased away by using the 'M' word (museum). What the mystery is around the Abita Mystery House, I am not sure.

Hurricane Katrina hit the historic town of Abita Springs. It knocked out power for a few weeks, along with knocking down a lot of tall pine trees. But this wacky museum was open for business after a few weeks. The only damage to the museum was a few fences - this has been fixed. While the museum was closed, a few extra oddities and fun stuff were added.