I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the conspiracy theory-filled Denver Airport to see its 'secret' tunnels and 'cursed' horse

Some conspiracies are off the rails, like people thinking Denver Airport is where the world's elite will go for protection when the apocolypse starts.

• Denver Airport is riddled with creepy conspiracy theories that have gone viral on social media.
• The airport's diverse artwork and underground tunnels fuel myths of secret societies and aliens.
• I visited the airport to check out the bizarre claims, but the theories were easily debunkable.

I was doom-scrolling TikTok a few months ago when a video of someone walking around empty terminals at Denver International Airport popped up. The video, posted at the end of May, had about 25 million views and 3.7 million likes as of this month.

Any other US airport probably wouldn't garner the same attention, but Denver Airport is riddled with conspiracy theories and ghost stories that date back decades.

The most famous myth is that a giant horse statue sitting outside the terminal killed its creator in the early 2000s. There's also the theory that the airport hides aliens and lizard people in secret underground tunnels, while some believe demon gargoyles haunt the halls.

I've always known about Denver's urban legends but never really believed in them, mostly because the stories are pretty outlandish and easily debunkable.

The runways being a Swastika, for example, is a nasty conspiracy, considering the shape simply compensates for wind and optimizes traffic, as planes can land and take off in several different directions.

But a trip down the TikTok and Reddit rabbit holes tells me there are plenty of people who think the airport is hiding something sinister — so I decided to fly out and see for myself.

The airport's marketing and communications team — which has leaned into the lore in its alien-themed gate events and talking gargoyle — gave me full access, including an up-close encounter with the "haunted" horse, a look at those empty hallways from TikTok, and a ride around its "secret" bunkers.

Secret societies aren't infiltrating Denver airport

Much of Denver airport's lore started in March 1994, when a capstone was placed ahead of the airport's 1995 opening to house a time capsule dedicated to the people of Colorado.

The capstone features the Freemasons' Square and Compass symbol and mentions a group called the "New World Airport Commission."

This snowballed into the idea that secret societies like the Freemasons, the Illuminati, and the New World Order were operating from within the newly built airport with the goal of world domination.

Other artwork around the airport supposedly supports the theory. One mural, for example, has a man in a gas mask with a sword, who people say represents the New World Order's plan for genocide and destruction.

Another, no longer there after remodeling, was a floor inscription of a mining cart with the atomic symbols "Au" and "Ag" for gold and silver, respectively. Theorists said they stood for "Australian antigen" and exposed how the Illuminati planned to take out humanity.

While some of the airport's diverse collection of artwork is big and bold, Stacey Stegman, the airport's SVP of communications, marketing, and customer service, who has worked there for almost 13 years, told Business Insider that people are reading too much into it.

After seeing the "cryptic" works in person, I can confirm it really is just art. Stegman said the "commission" inscribed on the capstone didn't exist and was temporarily created for the airport's grand opening. Further, the masonry symbols are a nod to the stonemasons who, by trade, crafted the airport's capstone.

Meanwhile, I see the mural as a representation of how war decimates society, not a warning about how secret societies plan to kill children. Yes, people think that.

And the mining cart? It symbolized Colorado's history of mining both gold and silver, nothing more.

The giant horse is not a cursed killer

Although the towering 32-foot-tall cast-fiberglass horse standing outside Denver Airport is officially recognized as "Mustang," theorists nicknamed it "Blucifer" for its blue color and devilish-looking red eyes.

Mythmakers suggest the rearing horse is cursed after killing its creator, Luis Jiménez, in 2006. Jiménez was a famed artist who did, in fact, die building the statue — but not in the way conspiracists think.

Stegman said Jiménez was killed in his New Mexico studio after a piece of the sculpture fell on his leg and severed a vital artery and noted the glowing eyes didn't come about because of it.

"The artist's father was a neon sign maker, so the red eyes were a tribute to his father," she said. "It's really a beautiful story, not something demonic."

Jiménez's family and friends completed the statue and unveiled it in 2008, and I was lucky to see Mustang up close. It's truly a beautiful and fierce sculpture, but I had to be escorted by airport officials — police don't like random people parking nearby to see it, so stick to a drive-by.

The gargoyles aren't demonic creatures cursing passengers

To embrace its conspiracy theories, Denver Airport once hosted an animatronic talking gargoyle, voiced live by a comedian, to entertain travelers.

The temporary gimmick complemented two grinning gargoyles situated on the walls of baggage claim.

Theorists say the gargoyles — named "Notre Denver" after Notre Dame in Paris — are demons haunting the halls. However, Stegman said people are missing the point: gargoyles are there to protect a place from evil spirits, not harm it.

Stegman said that although the airport leaned into the fun with the animatronic gargoyle, some people on social media were unhappy.

"Some people thought we were intentionally doing something evil, which concerned me," she said. "We didn't do it to antagonize anyone; we did it to embrace the airport's personality, but I underestimated how strongly people believe in all of it."

The tunnels aren't secret and have nothing to do with the supernatural

My Denver airport tour was sparked by the viral TikTok. It turned out to be just Frontier Airlines' ground-loading gates, where people walk out to the plane via the tarmac, not jetbridges. Stegman said they simply weren't operating at the time of the video.

But it's not the only "hidden" place in Denver Airport where theorists believe something nefarious is going on.

When the airport was constructed, few aerial photos of the project existed, and the ones that did exist showed a labyrinth of underground tunnels being built.

Stegman said this caused people to think they were secret chambers to host things like the Illuminati's headquarters, a lair for lizard people, laboratories for alien experiments, and bunkers for the rich.

The fact that construction was years behind schedule and millions over budget further fueled the conspiracy theories because people assumed it was due to some sinister plot, she said.

"People have picked out this theme of death and destruction and think Denver Airport is the place where the world's elite will come for protection when the government or an apocalypse wipes out society," Stegman said.

The truth is the airport property is more than twice the size of Manhattan (yes, it's that big) and requires miles and miles of underground infrastructure to protect its baggage system from Denver's snowy winters.

The terminal train also runs through its own underground corridor.

I took a golf cart ride all around the tunnels, which you need special access to, and it's set up like a proper road system with stop and yield signs and lanes. There are random doors, but they're for things like storage or emergency exits — there were no little green people casually walking around.

"We served almost 78 million passengers last year, do people think we can hide secret bunkers and alien testing from them, as well as the 40,000 people who work here?" she said. "That's pretty brilliant if we could."