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From lizard people and space aliens to secret underground bunkers and a cursed horse, Denver International Airport has been a magnet for myths and legends since it opened in 1995. Find out what's true and what's not.

Music, Art & Culture Myths and Legends Behind Denver International Airport By Visit Denver staff | Mar. 05, 2026 From lizard people and space aliens to secret underground bunkers and a cursed horse, Denver International Airport (DEN) has been a magnet for myths and legends since it opened in 1995. Secret Societies Underground Bunkers, Endless Tunnels, Lizard People Apocalyptic Artwork Grinning Gargoyles A Cursed Horse Marketing Mythology Secret Societies Back to Top of List One of the most pervasive legends about the airport is that it was built by members of a secret society. Which secret society? Well, that depends on who you ask, but believers variously point to the Freemasons (one of the world's oldest secular fraternal organizations, dating back to the stonemason lodges of the 14th century), the Illuminati (a short-lived Enlightenment-era secret society that some insist is still active) or the New World Order (an alleged cabal of global elites conspiring to overthrow existing governments and rule the world). Or perhaps all of the above, since the three groups are often said to be linked. In any case, Little Man Ice Cream, a local icon, created a boozy milkshake called the Illuminati Shake that's only available at the airport. Legend has it that the ice cream shop is located at Concourse C near Gate C27. The most persuasive piece of “evidence” for this theory is a dedication capstone at the airport’s south entrance dated March 19, 1994. Sealed beneath the stone is a time capsule containing “messages and memorabilia to the people of Colorado in 2094.” The granite marker depicts the Square and Compasses symbol of the Freemasons and the names of two grand lodges and their grandmasters. While some have made much of this, airport officials say it’s only evidence of the generosity of the local Masonic lodges that crafted and laid the stone. After all, that’s what stonemasons do. The capstone also mentions a group called the New World Airport Commission. Unlike the Freemasons, this group doesn’t actually exist, making its inclusion a little tougher to explain. And, as some like to point out, the name is suspiciously close to that of the so-called New World Order. But, according to a 2007 Westword article, the name is likely a reference to Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s “New World Symphony,” and the New World Airport Commission was simply a temporary commission created to arrange the new airport’s opening festivities. And the time capsule? It’s supposedly filled with coins, a baseball from Coors Field, a pair of former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb’s sneakers (a nod to his famed "Sneaker Campaign," during which he campaigned door to door throughout the city), a few Black Hawk casino tokens, and other memorabilia. We’ll have to wait quite a few years to find out for sure — although some have already tried. One popular theory is that the braille tablet above the dedication stone is actually a keypad and that if you touch the raised dots in the correct sequence, you’ll be able to open the time capsule. Even some current Masons seem to buy into the myth — one airport employee says she’s heard reports of Masons visiting the capstone and trying to swipe their Masonic membership cards near the time capsule, just in case. Underground Bunkers, Endless Tunnels, Lizard People Back to Top of List Another related legend is that there are miles of underground tunnels and layer upon layer of secret buildings and bunkers beneath the airport, which the members of the aforementioned secret societies plan to use to ride out the coming apocalypse. Some claim there’s a tunnel that runs all the way from DEN to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which is located 100 miles away near Colorado Springs. Others suggest the underground lair may be home to something supernatural — like extraterrestrials or lizard people. After Jordan Peele’s 2019 horror film “Us” premiered, some even posited that the tunnels beneath the airport could house a community of murderous doppelgangers, ready to rise out from under the earth and take over the surface. Although the airport acknowledges that there are several subterranean levels beneath the main terminal (including the trains that carry passengers to and from different concourses and a long-defunct automated baggage system), they say the tunnels only extend out to the perimeter of the airport, less than two miles. They also insist that you’re much more likely to meet mundane office workers than billionaires in ceremonial robes, since some of the underground levels host work and office spaces. And they’re adamant that any purported evidence of space aliens is just graffiti from mischievous employees, some of whom have been known to don lizard masks to prank unsuspecting coworkers and members of the media. Apocalyptic Artwork Back to Top of List Alex Sweetman’s "Art Chronicles" While many of DEN’s supposed secrets are encased in granite or buried deep underground, others are right ou...

Myths and Legends Behind Denver International Airport | Visit Denver Blog