On September 8, 1995, Cedar Point announced plans to build a newroller coaster, which would open as the tallest, fastest, and longest stand-up roller coaster in the world. The ride was to benamed Banshee after the mythical wailing ghost in Irish folklore. In the days following the announcement, therewas some negative reaction from the public regarding the term Banshee, which inthe dictionary is described as a female spirit that warns of an impendingfamily death. On November 14, 1995, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company filed a trademark forthe name Mantis, which later became the ride's official name. As aresult of the name change, its logo was also changed to resemble a mantis. The discarded name would later be reused for an inverted roller coaster that opened at Kings Island in2014.

Construction on the new roller coaster began during the1995-1996 off-season and was completed on January 9, 1996. More than 20% of thetrack was built over water. Cedar Point held a "Media Day" for Mantison May 9, 1996, and the ride officially opened to the public on May 11, 1996.

Over the years, Mantis became known as a rough ride and itspopularity began to decline. On September 2, 2014, after weeks of leaking cluesthat a major announcement was forthcoming, Cedar Point released a statementthat Mantis would close on October 19, 2014. According to the park, the rollercoaster had given over 22 million rides since its debut. However, Cedar Pointrevealed on September 18, 2014, that Mantis would not be removed, but insteadwould be converted into a floorless roller coaster complete with new trains, newcolors, and a new theme. It reopened as Rougarou, the name of a legendarycreature in French folklore that draws comparisons to the mythical werewolf, on May 9, 2015.