Party animals ride to Hell for 666

Michigan: The road to Hell, Michigan was crowded with curious onlookers on Tuesday as well as devils-in-disguise, hearse enthusiasts, Christian protesters and merchants trying to cash in on the apocalypse.

Hell, a tiny town about 60 miles west of Detroit, threw itself open for a once-in-a-millenium party to mark the passage of June 6, 2006 — or 6-6-6, a number long associated with the Antichrist.

Home to only about 70 people on an average day, Hell's population swelled to the hundreds by Tuesday afternoon, with dozens waiting in line to buy T-shirts emblazoned with "666."

"We can't even keep those in stock," said Chad Wines, an employee at Screams Ice Cream, working to keep up with demand for souvenirs and ice cream on what proved to be a hot day in Hell.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I couldn't pass it up," said a biker who rode to Hell for a street party, Paul Groenendal said.

Groenendal, who wore devil horns glued to his bald head as well as a skull and crossbones rings and matching necklace, joked he was in Hell to "make deals and collect."

Auto worker Ken McKeny, 43, pulled his customised, casket on wheels into town with the "4MLDHYD" license plates, part of a Michigan-based hearse enthusiasts group that call themselves "Hearsin' Around."

"I went to work this morning but my boss told me to get out and go to Hell," he said. A crowd gathered as Gabrielle Olney, a college student, visiting Hell with her mother and grandmother, crawled into McKeny's green metallic casket.

"It was just something to do," said Olney, a college student. "I figure you've got to try everything once," she said.

"Nearby a handful of Christian protesters were righteously indignant to the revelry. "I'm here to tell people that they don't have to go to hell," one woman said.

"Hell is not a joke," she added. Paradise, after all, is only a day's drive away — less than 300 miles north in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Paradise is a small town with a history of shipping, logging, fishing, blueberry and cranberry harvesting.