MASON, Ohio -- Its twisted body is rising from the ground.
Construction has been underway on the record-setting Banshee roller coaster at Kings Island for nearly three full months.
Since the first pieces of track arrived at the Cincinnati-area scream park on Aug. 16, crews have already installed the ride's lift hill, first drop and two loops.
Work on the station has also started.
Banshee, which is taking up the land once held by the troubled Son of Beast wooden roller coaster, made national headlines when Kings Island announced the ride in early August.
When it debuts in April 2014, Banshee will become the world's longest inverted roller coaster with 4,124.1 feet of twisted track.
Off-ride animated footage of Banshee in action:
An inverted coaster (like Raptor at Cedar Point) is one where the riders are suspended below the track with their feet dangling freely.
Banshee will scream through seven inversions and reach speeds up to 68 mph throughout its 160-second journey.
In addition, Banshee -- which is the largest investment in Kings Island's 41-year history -- will feature several unique elements that distinguish the ride from others.
The roller coaster begins with a lift taking riders up to the maximum height of 167 feet. After plunging down 150 feet, riders will go through a dive loop, followed by a vertical loop, zero gravity roller, two batwing inversions, a second vertical loop and a 170-foot long heartline finale.
Take a front-seat ride on Banshee:
Two of the most unique features about Banshee are the massive size of every loop, and unlike other roller coasters, the top speed isn't reached until halfway through the ride's course.
Since Banshee's lift hill is on a higher elevation of terrain than the other side of the ride that goes down into a valley, the total elevation change is 208 feet from the highest point at the top of the lift hill to the lowest point, which is the bottom of the batwing between loops four and five.
A close-up glimpse at Banshee's ride vehicles:
Passengers will be seated in cars four across. A total of three trains, each containing eight cars, will enable Banshee to accommodate approximately 1,650 riders per hour.
Banshee will be the 15th roller coaster at Kings Island, which is home to some of the top-ranked roller coasters in annual industry and enthusiast polls including the Beast and Diamondback.
Banshee construction cam: See the ride rise from the ground
It marks the first new roller coaster to be introduced at Kings Island since the park unleashed Diamondback in 2009.
In 1995, Cedar Point announced a stand-up roller coaster named Banshee, but quickly changed its moniker to "Mantis" after complaints that "Banshee" carried negative connotations.
Teaser video that introduced Banshee coaster to park fans:
Bolliger and Mabillard of Switzerland is the company behind Banshee's design. It's the same company that also created GateKeeper, which debuted earlier this year at Cedar Point in Sandusky.
