The Raven (roller coaster)

The Raven is a wooden roller coaster at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari's Halloween section in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States. It was designed and built beginning in 1994 by the now-defunct roller coaster manufacturer Custom Coasters International, with the help of designers Dennis McNulty and Larry Bill; it opened on May 6, 1995. The Raven takes its name from Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" and features sudden drops and turns which mimic the flight of a raven. From 2000 to 2003, The Raven was voted the world's "Best Wooden Roller Coaster" at the Golden Ticket Awards, which are presented annually by Amusement Today magazine. It was named an "ACE Roller Coaster Landmark" by American Coaster Enthusiasts on June 23, 2016.HistoryDevelopmentPlans for a new wooden roller coaster were first conceived by park President Will Koch. Koch contacted Custom Coasters International and plans for the then-unnamed roller coaster began to form. The roller coaster remained unnamed until August 1994, when Koch invited magazine editor and fellow amusement park lover Tim O'Brien to tour the site of the future roller coaster. During that tour it was O'Brien who first suggested the name The Raven, deriving the idea from Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven". The name was soon made official and construction on The Raven began.