In 1981, Six Flags Over Georgia debuted its dark boat ride, The Monster Plantation. Set in a flooded mansion, human riders are welcomed to a monster picnic filled with colorful, friendly monsters. Guests are warned to stay out of the Marsh (a warning that is ignored), a dark swamp filled with scary monsters. As a kid, I was obsessed with this ride, and still have dreams about it to this day. In 2009, the ride was mercifully refurbished, and re-opened as The Monster Mansion. I decided to make a figure of the ride's mascot, Buzby, using rocks and sea junk from the beach. Buzby's teeth and horns are made out of shark teeth. He was painted using Sharpie paint pens.
Mizzy Scarlett and her monster dog, Tatty-Too welcome guests to the flooded mansion.
Tatty-Too's name comes from a character named Tattoo featured on a popular (in 1981) TV show called Fantasy Island.
Guiding humans through Monster Mansion is Marshall Billy Bob Fritter, and his dog, Fritter Bitter.
Billy Bob warns visitors to stay out of the Marsh. Unfortunately, riders have no control of their boats.
Among the many characters visitors see is the Kissing Booth monster named Honeysuckle.
This particular monster has giant animated kissing lips that have terrified generations of children.
The resident popular strongman is known as The Big Monster on Campus.
The BMOC is proud to be from Georgia.
The Chili Contest monster is named Spurgeon.
Spurgeon was named after the late Spurgeon Richardson, who was a manager at Six Flags Over Georgia when the Monsters debuted in 1981.
The Tennis Monster is named Thurston Dinwiddie III. This character was changed to a gardener when Monster Plantation became Monster Mansion in 2009.
The Tennis Monster bears a striking resemblance to the Crows in the 1978 movie The Wiz.
Despite warnings, the boats enter the Marsh and encounter the scary monsters.
One of the first character encountered is the ogre-like Gengenbacher.
The boats pass monsters with treasure, led by a gruesome fellow named Nero.
Allegedly, in the backstory for Monster Plantation/Monster Mansion, the treasure was stolen from the Mansion.
The hissing Swamp Serpent sneaks up on riders in their boats.
The Marsh is full of spooky monsters and tree creatures.
The biggest monster in the Marsh is the dragon-like E Rategator.
The E-Rategator terrorizes riders, but he is thwarted by Marshall Billy Bob Fritter, who fires a cannon at the creature and leads the boats back to safety.
For many years, a puppet character named Buford Buzzard lived near Monster Plantation/Monster Mansion.
Buford was an insult-comic character, who frequently targeted visitors from Alabama.
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