Recently, more than 600 roller coaster enthusiasts gathered in Santa Claus to ride a famous coaster for hours on end.

VOA-TV's Craig Fitzpatrick has the story of these night riders, who some say are "stark raven mad."

NARRATOR
It's quiet now in these Indiana woods, but hold on. This is The Raven, rated by those who know, as the number one wooden roller coaster in the world. Six hundred fifty roller coaster fans have come to ride The Raven at Holiday World, an amusement park in the little town of Santa Claus, Indiana. This park has been closed to the general public so that these diehards can get exclusive ride time late into the night. David Escalante is the public relations director of their organization, American Coaster Enthusiasts.

DAVID ESCALANTE
"We're here at the annual "Stark Raven Mad," which is one of the most crazy, most popular coaster events in the entire world."

NARRATOR
Eric Snow is a ride operator at the park.

ERIC SNOW
"Tonight they're going to go to at least one o'clock in the morning, they started about five--that's when they came in here--so they're getting a lot of time. "

NARRATOR
Georgeann Hallenbrook is one of the riders who loves the risk.

GEORGEANN HALLENBROOK
"Because it's one of the best parties you could come to. A bunch of people with the same interest at heart. We all like to live life on the edge."

NARRATOR
These coaster fans come from all over America. Some are old timers, and some are looking forward to their first ride. All are looking for the thrill of a lifetime.
There are some restrictions to riding The Raven: you must be a little more than a meter tall and maybe just a little crazy.

NATURAL SOUND - ROLLERCOASTER ENTHUSIAST
"Nothing like the bugs hitting you right in the face, it's excellent!"

NARRATOR
Words like "enthusiast" and "fan" have been used to describe people who like riding roller coasters, but this group is obsessive.

JAMES RAIMER
"I've ridden The Raven over 100 times in one single day."

MARGENE DERKS
"It's 9:35, we've been on it six times so far tonight."

BRIAN DERKS
"Starting at seven o'clock and we'll be here until one (a.m.)."

NARRATOR
After riding for hours they may sound a little off balance, but in their other lives many of them hold responsible, grown-up jobs.

NATURAL SOUND -
"I'm a bank examiner."
"I'm an engineer."

SCOTT AKERMAN
"I work with a major pharmaceutical company."

NARRATOR
Why this roller coaster? It's not the highest or the fastest.

DAVID ESCALANTE
"It's wood, which for us purists who like the classical clackity-clack of the old style coasters, that's definitely a draw. But it's also the fact there are no trim brakes, it has tons of air-time and they let this thing run wild from start to finish."

NARRATOR
Tons of airtime - an unfamiliar term to the neophyte.

JOHN GASPER
"Air time is when the coaster goes down and the body goes up in the air and floats above the seat until it comes down and hits, lands on the seat again."

ALEX CONDI
"It's like when you're out of your seat."

NARRATOR
When night falls, things get even crazier.

J. RAIMAR
"At nighttime you can't see a thing back there. Track drops out from under, you're flying up in the air, you're out of your seat, you're screaming, having a blast. You can ride the thing over and over and never get sick of it."

NARRATOR
So with a quick safety check and a slap on the hand for good luck, they're off - disappearing into the blackness.

GEORGEANN HALLENBROOK
"Blind as a bat and out of control, it's great, it's very thrilling."

NARRATOR
In 90 seconds they're back with faces freshly slapped with cool night air and a look of exhilaration. Then it starts to rain, and this only makes the ride more exciting.

ART and CHRISTIE
"It felt like needles poking you in the face, it was pretty exciting, actually. It added a new dimension to the ride."

NARRATOR
So they continue to ride, drunk with excitement, overdosing on adrenaline, and each gets their fix until one a.m. But they want more, so Holiday World stays opened for another hour, until two a.m., trying to satisfy the desires of these infatuated coaster crazies.

Craig Fitzpatrick, VOA-TV in Santa Claus, Indiana.