Digger's Dungeon

Digger's Dungeon sits on Caratoke Highway in Poplar Branch, in Currituck County on the North Carolina mainland. It serves as the official home of Grave Digger. Dennis Anderson built the first truck in 1982 as a mud bogger, assembling it from salvaged parts. When rivals mocked the junk, he promised to dig them a grave with it, and the name stuck. The truck went on to become the flagship of the Monster Jam series. Several Grave Digger trucks now run so that one can appear at every event. Anderson drove his final show in January 2017 and announced his retirement that September. The team today includes three of his children. The Dungeon is the store attached to that history. It sells official Grave Digger merchandise and keeps several of the retired trucks on display outside. Among them is Grave Digger 1, the machine rebuilt in 1985 from a 1951 Ford panel van and nicknamed Grandma. Beside it stands a replica of the original assembled for the truck's 25th anniversary in 2007. Grave Digger 2 was restored in 2016 with its original steel body, and Grave Digger 7 was retired in 2005. Both are on display. Inside, pieces torn from other trucks in accidents hang from the walls and ceiling. Visitors can see the trucks up close and photograph them before browsing the shelves of the store.