Son of Beast was a wooden roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, United States.

It was also the first wooden coaster in the modern era to feature a vertical loop and reached a record-breaking maximum speed of 78 mph (126 km/h).

The Roller Coaster Corporation of America (RCCA) discussed the idea of building the world's first wooden hypercoaster with Kings Island in 1997.

[2] Montel Williams, acting as Director of Thrills, announced that a record-breaking wooden coaster named Son of Beast would open for the 2000 season.

[3] Problems plagued the ride from the beginning, and Paramount Parks – who owned and operated Kings Island at the time – made the decision to fire RCCA before construction was complete.

[9] The sign at the ride's entrance featured a large wooden crate covered with chains, rope, and metal straps, resembling the one on display during the public reveal in 1999.

[5] Kings Island filed a lawsuit in November 2000 against the three companies involved in the design and manufacture of the roller coaster, claiming defects that delayed the initial opening and resulted in multiple closures.

[18] The ride experienced its first major incident on July 9, 2006, during which a train passed over a structural track failure that severely jolted riders.

[19] Son of Beast closed for the remainder of the 2006 season while repairs were made, and Kings Island decided to replace the original trains with lighter models.

[21] Kings Island purchased two Gerstlauer-designed trains from the demolished Hurricane: Category 5 coaster at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion to serve as lighter replacements.

[28] Another major incident occurred in May 2009 involving a non-contact head injury, and Kings Island voluntarily closed the ride two weeks later upon hearing feedback from the injured rider.

[34] In March 2010, Kings Island's general manager, Greg Scheid, stated that the park had spent nearly $30 million on the ride to date and that it would not reopen for the 2010 season.

[37] By late July 2012, following a thorough evaluation of the roller coaster, Kings Island announced that Son of Beast would be removed from the park to make room for future expansion.

[44] A tombstone with a plaque honoring Son of Beast was placed in a mockup graveyard near Banshee's line queue entrance.

[46] In 2018, Kings Island released posters that referenced Son of Beast's station, Outpost 5, leading some to speculate that a possible revival might be announced by the park.

[47] After loading the train, riders left the station making a 51-foot (16 m) left-hand drop into a series of short hops before turning into the 218-foot-tall (66 m) lift hill.

After leaving the helix, trains crossed over a smaller hill, then made a three quarter right hand turn before diving under the previous drop and rising up into the final brake run.

In addition, 225,000 21-inch (530 mm) steel bolts and over 22 short tons (20,000 kg) of nails were used to secure the roller coaster's superstructure.

[65] In the evening of July 9, 2006, a structural failure in the 'Rose Bowl' section of the ride formed a "slight dip" in the track that created a "pothole effect".

[68] The ride was shut down for an extended period of time, while the park worked with the State of Ohio to complete a full investigation.

[70][31][71] Forensic investigator Rick Schmizze testified that Kings Island had known since 2000 that the ride had major issues with swaying, but that park officials had not done enough to fix the problem.

[70] On June 16, 2009, a woman claimed to have suffered a head injury from riding Son of Beast during her visit to the park on May 31, 2009.

She claimed to have suffered from a burst blood vessel in her brain, after riding Son of Beast, that required admission to an intensive care unit at a nearby hospital.