A mini red-light district, zombies and a beacon for aliens are some of the theories in Cocoa Beach for an eternal red light that emanates from a ninth floor office building.
Curious residents called police and city hall while social media buzzed for months over the illumination of a single window in the Cape Royal building on State Road A1A.
"Everybody is wondering what the heck is that," said Mayor Dave Netterstrom, who offered a week's free vacation to the first alien family to visit Cocoa Beach a year ago.
Turns out the mysterious light shines from a company called Ward Photonics, which is developing and testing a weight-loss device that uses simple red light to trick fat cells in the body.
"A profound effect occurs when you have the right amount of this particular type of light shine on human skin," said owner Terry Ward. "It causes the underlying fat to respond as if it was a time of famine."
He has been amused with speculation of the light's origin as he follows the "Wake Up Cocoa Beach" Facebook group page with more than 3,600 members
"I find it very entertaining that people have found such creative things to fantasize about when they look at our office," Ward said.
The light remains on day and night to test the longevity of the light bulbs. He said the lights in the room are not aimed at the windows but rather at the floor and ceiling.
Ward said the red light stands out because of it contrasts with its surroundings but is no brighter that a traffic stop light. The red light does not break any laws, according to city officials.
Although the company has created a stir in the community, it fits into Cocoa Beach's vision to attract high-tech and innovative companies to bolster the economy.
"That is exactly what we are looking for, clean technology utilizing business space," said Melissa Byron, city economic development director. "We hope it would encourage other clean technology businesses to come our way."
Not far from UCF, Florida Tech, Orlando and the Kennedy Space Center, Netterstrom believes Cocoa Beach, with available commercial space in a beach town, could provide perfect atmosphere for small high-tech companies.
The mayor hopes the red light in the Cape Royal building can become a beacon to attract other creative companies to town.
"Something that is creative like software development, web applications, video games can certainly fit in Cocoa Beach," Netterstrom said.
"It would be fun to attract some start-up businesses to Cocoa Beach where we have a fun, creative lifestyle."
More Stories:
PHOTOS: Cat terrorizes Texas neighborhood
