A well-timed surge of adrenaline can save your life, or at the very least make you faster and stronger than before… temporarily, of course. This could be the reason why people like horror movies, extreme sports, and roller coasters. If something makes you feel alive again it probably means your brain is being showered in endorphin, or in layman’s terms – you feel happy.
I don’t know about you but to me some roller coasters are just too much. They’re crossing the line between “fun” and “insanity”, but adrenaline junkies don’t seem to mind. Here are the 9 world’s scariest roller coasters!
1. Colossus, England
850 meters of unbelievable loopty-loops will scare the literal crap out of you if you’re not ready. The Colossus goes from zero to 65 km/h in mere seconds, and after that it’s all a blur.
Height: 121 ft (37 m)
Length: 4,990 ft (1,520 m)
Max vertical angle: 80°
Speed: 57 mph (92 km/h)
Duration: 3:40
2. White Cyclone, Japan
The white Cyclone goes up to 100 km/h and is nearly twice as long as the previous coaster (1.7 km). Let’s see if anyone can beat that.
Height:139 ft (42 m)
Length: 5,577.42 ft (1,700.00 m)
Speed: 63.4 mph (102.0 km/h)
Duration: 2:38
3. Son of Beast, Cincinnati, USA
At 66 meters high, Son of Beast was once a record-breaking wooden roller coaster, but in 2006 something even more horrifying took its title.
Height: 218 ft (66 m)
Length: 7,032 ft (2,143 m)
Max vertical angle: 55.7°
Speed: 78.4 mph (126.2 km/h)
Duration: 2:20
4. Silver Star, Rust, Germany
If you’re ever near EuropaPark in Germany, take a little detour and take a ride on the Silver Star. This beast is 73 m high, 1500 m long, and will hurl you at the speed of 100+ km/h.
Height:240 ft (73 m)
Length: 5,315 ft (1,620 m)
Max vertical angle: 67.5°
Speed: 80 mph (130 km/h)
Duration:2:53
5. Drop Tower: Scream Zone, Ohio, USA
Imagine climbing up a 26-story building (around 100 m) only to then plummet all the way down at 100 km/h. You gotta have nerves of steel to ride this demon.
Height:315 ft (96 m)
Length: 5,315 ft (1,620 m)
Speed: 67 mph (107.8 km/h)
6. Steel Dragon 2000, Nagashima, Japan
It’s like riding a dragon’s back only the said dragon is 2500 m long, and goes up to a 30-story building! This is currently the longest roller coaster on the planet.
Height: 97 m (318 ft)
Length: 2,479 m (8,133 ft)
Max vertical angle: 68°
Speed: 153 km/h (95 mph)
Duration: 4:00
7. Do-Donpa, Fujiyoshida, Japan
“It’s like being shot out of the cannon” – claim the visitors who were brave enough to try this roller coaster. Here’s a little scary fact for you: Do-Donpa goes from 0 to 170 km/h in 2 seconds. You do the math and tell me how many G’s that is.
Height: 49 m (161 ft)
Length: 1,244 m (4,081 ft)
Speed: 180 km/h (110 mph)
8. Kingda Ka, New Jersey, USA
It’s faster than Dodonpa (3.5 seconds to 205 km/h), goes higher than the Steel Dragon (139 m), and is the biggest metal roller coaster in the entire world. If that doesn’t terrify you – go ride it!
Height: 456 ft (139 m)
Length: 3,118 ft (950 m)
Max vertical angle: 90°
Speed: 128 mph (206 km/h)
Duration: 0:28
9. Insanity, Las Vegas, USA
On the roof of the “Stratosphere” casino in Vegas, at the dizzying 350 meters above the street level, there are 3 attractions straight out of this world: Insanity, Big Shot, X Scream. While all 3 of them are stupefying, the Insanity carousel has to be the craziest attraction in the whole world. Remember that you’re 300 meters up there and this monster swings you around at 3 G’s, oh an you’re upside down in an open seat… Just imagining this horror makes my skin crawl.
Height: 1,149 ft (350.2 m)
