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Another story from Denver International concerns the prominent, 32-foot-tall illuminated sculpture of a cobalt blue, red eyed, raging mustang, which stands on a hill south of the airport along Pena Boulevard and is known by most people by its nickname, “Blucifer.” The garish sculpture was commissioned in 1992 as a public art project, and created by artist Luis Jiménez.
From the beginning the project was plagued by setbacks that continually pushed back its deadline, including a deteriorating cornea transplant in the artist’s eye and other delays, which eventually forced the city to threaten a lawsuit in 2003 if the sculpture was not completed in a timely fashion. In 2006, with the project still not finished, tragedy struck when the sculpture fell from its hoist and onto Jiménez, trapping the artist underneath the massive 9,000 pound object and simultaneously cutting open an artery in his leg. Unable to move or get help, Jiménez tragically bled to death right there on his studio floor.
Despite this tragedy, the sculpture was finished by the artists’ family and finally officially unveiled in late 2007. The fierce looking, garish, and rather ugly sculpture, with its sinister glowing eyes and unsettling devilish appearance, was almost immediately met with public outrage, and people slammed its presence to the point that petitions were launched to get the city to remove it. Making matters worse was its reputation not only as an eyesore, but also as a cursed object, with many blaming it for its creator’s death and claiming it had a malevolent will of its own. The city never did remove it, and to this day its frightening façade is the first thing most people see when they come to the airport. It is also still said to be cursed and haunted. The most popular story concerning “Blucifer” is that the dead artist who made it also haunts it, with many sightings made of the ghostly Jiménez over the years. Apparently the dead artist will often show up in photographs of the sculpture, at times even appearing to pose for the photo op. This paranormal activity that seems to gravitate around the sculpture has over the years attracted various paranormal researchers and ghost hunters. Whether this spooky sculpture is actually haunted, cursed, or both, it certainly does strike a rather jarring, imposing figure. Interestingly, Denver International Airport has been ground zero for a plethora of strange conspiracy theories since it first opened. Among the many, many bizarre claims linked to the airport are that secret Nazi or Masonic messages are hidden throughout the premises, that it houses a vast underground warren of tunnels and bunkers for use by the military, a secret society, or the New World Order, and other even more far out theories say the airport is a haven for reptilian humanoids disguised as humans.
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