The Bunny Man is an urban legend derived from two incidents in Fairfax County, Virginia, in 1970, but has spread throughout Washington, D.C. Legends have many variations; most involving a man dressed in a rabbit costume who attacks people with axes or axes.
Most of the story takes place around Colchester Overpass, a Southern Railway bridge stretching Colchester Road near Clifton, Virginia, sometimes referred to as the "Bunny Man Bridge".
Versions of legends vary in name, motif, weapon, victim, description of Bunny Man rabbit costume or lack thereof, and sometimes, even death possibilities. In some accounts, the ghost of Bunny Man or the aging ghost is said to be out of place of his death every year on Halloween to commemorate his death. In some accounts, the victim's body is mutilated.
Video Bunny Man
Origin
Fairfax County Public Library Brian A. Conley's historian is extensively researching the legend of Bunny Man. He has found two incidents of a man in a rabbit costume that threatens people with axes. The vandalism report took place a week apart in 1970 at Burke, Virginia.
The first incident was reported on the night of October 19, 1970 by the US Air Force Academy Cadge Robert Bennett and his fiance, who visited relatives on Guinea Road at Burke. Around midnight, when returning from a soccer match, they reportedly parked their car in a field on Guinea Road to "visit Uncle who lived across the street from where the car was parked". As they sit in the front seat with the motor running, they see something moving outside the rear window. Moments later, the front passenger window was destroyed, and there was a white-clad figure standing by a broken window. Bennett spun the car as the man yelled at them about unauthorized entry, including: "You're in a private property, and I have your tag number." As they drove on the road, the couple found an ax on the floor of the car.
When the police asked for the description of the man, Bennett insisted he was wearing a white suit with long rabbit ears. However, Bennett's fiancee had a fight with the assailant they did not have rabbit ears on his head, but wore a white captain like that. They both remember seeing his face clearly, but in the dark, they could not determine his race. The police returned the ax to Bennett after the hearing. Bennett was asked to report the incident after he returned to the Air Force Academy.
The second reported sightings occurred on the night of October 29, 1970, when construction security guard Paul Phillips approached a man standing on the terrace of an unfinished house, in Kings Park West on Guinea Road. Phillips said the man wore a gray, black and white rabbit costume, and was about 20 years old, 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall, and weighed about 175 pounds (79 kg). The man began to cut up on the porch pole with a long ax, saying: "Everyone you pass here. If you do not get out of here, I'll beat you in the head."
The Fairfax County Police opened an investigation into both incidents, but both were eventually closed for lack of evidence. In the weeks after the incident, more than 50 people contacted the police who claimed to have seen "Bunny Man". Some newspapers reported the "Bunny Man" incident eating a runaway cat from a man, including the following article on The Washington Post :
- "Man in Bunny costume Sought in Fairfax" (October 22, 1970)
- "The 'Rabbit' Reappears" (October 31, 1970)
- "Bunny Man Seen" (November 4, 1970)
- "Multiple Rabbit Report" (November 6, 1970)
In 1973, University of Maryland, College Park student Patricia Johnson submitted a research paper that recorded 54 variations on both events.
Maps Bunny Man
Legend
Legends have been in circulation for years in some form. A version that named a suspect and a particular location was posted to a website in the late 1990s by "Timothy C. Forbes". This version states that in 1904, an asylum prison in Clifton, Virginia was closed by a successful petition from a growing population in Fairfax County. During the transfer of inmates to a new facility, one of the fifteen transport falls; most, including the driver, were killed, ten fled. A search group finds everything but one of them.
During this time, locals allegedly began to find hundreds of dead and half eaten rabbit carcasses from trees in the surrounding area. Another search in the area was ordered, and the police found the remains of Marcus Wallster, who was left in the same way as a rabbit carcass hanging on a nearby tree or under a bridge bridge - also known as the "Rabbit Man Bridge" - along the railroad tracks on Colchester Road. Officials named the last missing prisoner, Douglas J. Grifon, as their suspect and called him a "rabbit man".
In this version, officials eventually manage to find Grifon but, during their attempts to catch him on the overpass, he almost runs away before being hit by an oncoming train where the original transport falls. They said after the train passed, police heard laughter coming from the site. Eventually it was revealed that Grifon was instituted for killing his family and children on Easter Sunday.
Years after the death of the "Human Rabbit", upon approaching Halloween, the carcass was supposedly found hanging on the overpass and surrounding areas. A figure is reported to be seen by passers-by walking through a single bridge tunnel.
Conley said this version proved wrong. Among other inconsistencies, Conley notes "there is never asylum for a madman in Fairfax County", that "Lorton Prison did not become there until 1910, and even then it is the arm of the District of Columbia Correction system, not Virginia." In addition, court records do not show Grifon or Wallster.
Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, through his Cryptomundo blog and Weird Virginia book, in the section on Bunny Man, writes about the direct connection between Bunny Man legend and that of Goatman from nearby Maryland.
Pedestrians, trains and cars at Colchester Overpass
Due to its relationship with legend, Colchester Overpass is a popular destination for paranormal fans (ghost hunters) and seekers of curiosity (legend trippers). The Colchester Overpass was built around 1906 near the Sangster's Station site, a Civil War-era railroad station on what used to be the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. Interest increased around Halloween, and started in 2003, local authorities began to control access to the area during that time. During Halloween 2011, more than 200 people, some from as far as the state of Pennsylvania/Maryland, were turned away during a 14 hour traffic checkpoint to the area. Non-local visitors may be unaware that Colchester Overpass is an intersection of railways and active traffic. The railway line above is used by Norfolk Southern Railway, Virginia Railway Express (VRE-Manassas Line), and Amtrak train. VRE-Manassas Line and Amtrak own traffic accounted for 90 trains using flyovers every week. Around Colchester Overpass, Colchester Road is narrow and windy, with limited visibility. In Fairfax County, Virginia, it is illegal to enter without permission on railroad lines or to roam the public roads.
In popular culture
In 2010, rhythmic noise/industry artists, C/A/T (Chaos and Terror), released a compilation of material from 2005-2010, "Music To Piss You Off."
The last song, "Bunnyman", centered around the legend of Bunny Man.
Slasher 2011 Movies Bunnyman is the style of exploitation of the story.
In 2017 Badwolf Brewing Company in Manassas Virginia released their red hoppy beer known as The Bunny Man in a can of tunnels, a character in a rabbit suit and a kid holding a red balloon.
The original Amazon series 2011 Lore , based on a podcast of the same name, uses the Bunny Man legend to introduce the second episode of Season 1.
In the episode "Let's Get Scared" from The Chris Gethard Show, host Chris Gethard's dress as Bunny Man for a full episode.
See also
- Donnie Darko
- Raymond Robinson (Green Man)
References
Further reading
- The Human Bunny Not Revealed: The Origin of the Real Life of the City Legend from Fairfax City Public Library
- Bunny Man: Artist Rendition from Braddock Heritage
- Map: Braddock Historic Site from Braddock Heritage showing the location of the Bunny Man incident
- Mark Moran and Mark Scuerman (2004). Weird US. Barnes and Noble. ISBN 0-7607-5043-2. â € <â € <
- The description of "bunny suit" is removed, because it refers to what people wear to protect from biological contamination, cleanroom settings.
External links
- Long Live The Bunnyman by Jenny Cutler Lopez at Northern Virginia Magazine (October 2015)
- The Bunnyman of Northern Virginia Stories from WeirdUS.com
- The Clifton Bunny Man from Castle Of Spirits
- The Legend of the Bunny Man from YouTube.com
- Interview with Bennetts from YouTube.com
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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