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'{{Short description|Urban legend}} {{About||the horror film|Bunnyman (film)}} {{refimprove|date=July 2013}} {{coord|38.78985|N|77.36225|W|scale:4000|display=title}} [[File:Bunnyman Hatchet.JPG|thumb|Actual hatchet used by the "Bunny Man" in 1970.]] [[File:bunnyman bridge.jpg|thumb|right|The "Bunny Man Bridge" in daylight]] [[File:bunnyman bridge night.jpg|thumb|right|The "Bunny Man Bridge" at night]] The '''Bunny Man''' is an [[urban legend]] that originated from two incidents in [[Fairfax County, Virginia]], in 1970, but has been spread throughout the [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Maryland]] areas. The legend has many variations; most involve a man wearing a rabbit costume who attacks people with an [[axe]] or [[hatchet]]. Most of the stories occur around Colchester Overpass, a [[Southern Railway (US)|Southern Railway]] overpass spanning Colchester Road near [[Clifton, Virginia]],<ref>{{coord|38|47|23|N|77|21|44|W|type:landmark}}</ref> sometimes referred to as "Bunny Man Bridge".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/with-legend-of-the-bunnyman-a-local-band-celebrates-a-quirky-urban-myth/2014/06/02/0252e9e6-ea65-11e3-93d2-edd4be1f5d9e_story.html|title=A tale about a tail: Northern Virginia band explores the bloody Bunny Man myth in a new rock opera|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2017-01-23}}</ref> Versions of the legend vary in the Bunny Man's name, motives, weapons, victims, description of the bunny costume or lack thereof, and sometimes even his possible death. In some accounts, victims' bodies are mutilated, and in some variations, the Bunny Man's ghost or aging spectre is said to come out of his place of death each year on Halloween to commemorate his death. ==Origin== {{refimprove section|date=December 2023}} [[Fairfax County Public Library]] Historian-Archivist Brian A. Conley extensively researched the Bunny Man legend. He has located two incidents of a man in a rabbit costume threatening people with an axe. The vandalism reports occurred ten days apart in 1970 in [[Burke, Virginia]]. The first incident was reported on the evening of October 19, 1970, by [[United States Air Force Academy|U.S. Air Force Academy]] Cadet Robert Bennett and his fiancée, who were visiting relatives on Guinea Road in Burke. Around midnight, while returning from a football game, they reportedly parked their car in a field on Guinea Road to "visit an Uncle who lived across the street from where the car was parked". As they sat in the front seat with the motor running, they noticed something moving outside the rear window. Moments later, the front passenger window was smashed, and there was a white-clad figure standing near the broken window. Bennett turned the car around while the man screamed at them about trespassing, saying: "You're on private property, and I have your tag number." As they drove down the road, the couple discovered a hatchet on the car floor. When the police requested a description of the man, Bennett insisted he was wearing a white suit with long bunny ears. However, Bennett's fiancée contested their assailant did not have bunny ears on his head, but was wearing a white [[capirote]] of some sort. They both remembered seeing his face clearly, but in the darkness, they could not determine his race. The police returned the hatchet to Bennett after examination. The second reported sighting occurred on the evening of October 29, 1970, when construction security guard Paul Phillips approached a man standing on the porch of an unfinished home, in Kings Park West on Guinea Road. Phillips said the man was wearing a gray, black, and white bunny costume, and was about 20 years old, {{convert|5|ft|8|in|m}} tall, and weighed about {{convert|175|lb|kg}}. The man began chopping at a porch post with a long-handled axe, saying: "You're trespassing. If you come any closer, I'll chop off your head."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32013729/the_minneapolis_star/|title=Antics of 'Bunny Man' Start Police Hopping|publisher=The Minneapolis Star|date=October 31, 1970|page=31|access-date=13 August 2018|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> The [[Fairfax County Police Department|Fairfax County Police]] opened investigations into both incidents, but both were eventually closed for lack of evidence. In the weeks following the incidents, more than 50 people contacted the police claiming to have seen the "Bunny Man". Several newspapers, including ''[[The Washington Post]]'', reported that the "Bunny Man" had eaten a man's runaway cat. The {{em|Post}} articles that mentioned this incident were: *"Man in Bunny Suit Sought in Fairfax" (October 22, 1970)<ref name="fairfaxcounty.gov">{{cite web|url=http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/bunny/bunny4.htm|title=The Bunny Man Unmasked - Page 4 - Fairfax County, Virginia|website=www.fairfaxcounty.gov|access-date=21 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170605163420/http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/bunny/bunny4.htm#|archive-date=2017-06-05|url-status=dead}}</ref> *"The 'Rabbit' Reappears" (October 31, 1970)<ref name="fairfaxcounty.gov" /> *"Bunny Man, Strikes again" (November 1,1970) *"Bunny Man Seen" (November 4, 1970) *"Bunny Reports Are Multiplying" (November 6, 1970) In 1973, Patricia Johnson, a student at the [[University of Maryland, College Park]], submitted a research paper that chronicled precisely 54 variations on the two incidents. Many maintain the basic plot in some shape or form, but vary in details like location and specific events. A handful even mention the Bunny Man committing murders, a detail at odds with the two documented sightings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/bunny/bunny3.htm|title=The Bunny Man Unmasked - Page 3 - Fairfax County, Virginia|website=www.fairfaxcounty.gov|access-date=21 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824121902/http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/bunny/bunny3.htm#|archive-date=2016-08-24|url-status=dead}}</ref> Conley cites this as evidence of how the original Bunny Man story had mutated through various retellings, and that the story would be taken to new heights during the early days of the internet.<ref name=":0">{{cite web | url=http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/bunny/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030185642/http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/bunny/ | archive-date=2011-10-30 | title=The Bunny Man Unmasked - Fairfax County, Virginia }}</ref> The Bunny man is said to have died after being hit by a train while trying to escape the police the officers have reported it was an accident but some officers say they heard laughter when the bunny man was hit by the train. Conley further stated that the most widely circulated version of the story was posted to the website Castle of Spirits in 1999.<ref name=":0" /> In it, user "Timothy J. Forbes" claimed the Bunny Man was a convict named Douglas J. Grifon, who escaped to a railroad overpass while being transported to a new facility by bus in 1904. The story proceeds to chronicle a series of grisly, almost supernatural murders committed at Bunny Man Bridge, most occurring decades before the officially documented sightings.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.castleofspirits.com/clifton.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113120154/http://www.castleofspirits.com/clifton.html | archive-date=2011-11-13 | title=The Clifton Bunny Man }}</ref> According to Conley, "all of the specifics given in the Forbes version are false".<ref name=":0" /> Not only did the stated murders never happen,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/bunny/bunny2.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101045845/http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/bunny/bunny2.htm | archive-date=2011-11-01 | title=The Bunny Man Unmasked - Page 2 - Fairfax County, Virginia }}</ref> but key institutions mentioned - such as the Old Clifton Library, allegedly the source of the author's information - never existed in the first place.<ref name=":0" /> ==Colchester Overpass== Colchester Overpass was built in about 1906<ref name="fairfax">{{cite book|last1=Netherton|first1=Nan|last2=Von Lake Wykoff|first2=Whitney|title=Fairfax Station All Aboard|year=1995|publisher=Friends of the Fairfax Station|location=Fairfax Station, Virginia|asin=B0006QCTP2|pages=41–42}}</ref> near the site of Sangster's Station, a Civil War era railroad station on what was once the [[Orange and Alexandria Railroad]].<ref name="fairfax"/> Because of its association with the legend, the overpass is a popular destination for paranormal enthusiasts ([[Ghost hunting|ghost hunters]]) and curiosity seekers ([[legend tripping|legend trippers]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Varhola|first=Michael J.|title=Ghosthunting Virginia (America's Haunted Road Trip)|year=2008|publisher=Clerisy Press|location=Covington, Kentucky|chapter=Bunny Man Bridge (Fairfax Station)|isbn=978-1-57860-327-5|pages=15–22}}</ref> Interest increases around Halloween, and starting in 2003, local authorities began controlling access to the area during that time.<ref>{{cite news|title=Legend Lives on at Bunnyman Bridge|url=http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2003/nov/04/legend-lives-on-at-bunnyman-bridge/|access-date=May 8, 2012|newspaper=Connection Newspapers|date=November 4, 2003}}</ref> During Halloween 2011, over 200 people, some from as far away as the Pennsylvania–Maryland state line, were turned away during a 14-hour traffic checkpoint into the area.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stachyra|first=Mary C.|title=Neighbors Find 'Bunnyman Bridge' an Unwelcome Attraction|url=http://centreville.patch.com/articles/on-halloween-neighbors-find-bunnyman-bridge-an-unwelcome-attraction|access-date=May 8, 2010|newspaper=CentrevillePatch|date=November 17, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122182228/http://centreville.patch.com/articles/on-halloween-neighbors-find-bunnyman-bridge-an-unwelcome-attraction|archive-date=November 22, 2011}}</ref> ==London== A variant of the story appeared as an urban legend in [[England]]: some detainees in [[Wembley]] police station were said to have been beaten up in their cells by an assailant dressed in a bunny mascot costume. In one version, when the station was closed, an old locker was forced open and the costume with blood stains was discovered inside.<ref>Noel Smith, ''The Criminal Alphabet'' p. 127</ref> == See also == * ''[[Donnie Darko]]'' * [[Raymond Robinson (Green Man)]] *[[Madam Koi Koi]] ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==Further reading== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20111030185642/http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/bunny/ The Bunny Man Unmasked: The Real Life Origins of an Urban Legend] from [[Fairfax County Public Library]] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080920023346/http://braddockheritage.org/resources/item/26/ Bunny Man: Artist's Rendition] from Braddock Heritage *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080920023342/http://braddockheritage.org/resources/item/179/ Map: Braddock's Historic Sites] from Braddock Heritage showing location of Bunny Man incidents *{{cite book | author=Mark Moran and Mark Scuerman | title=Weird U.S. | publisher=Barnes and Noble | year=2004 | isbn=0-7607-5043-2 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/weirdus00mark }} *the description of "bunny suit" was removed, because it refers to what people wear to protect from biologic contamination, [[Cleanroom suit]]. ==External links== *[http://www.northernvirginiamag.com/entertainment/entertainment-features/2015/10/01/long-live-the-bunnyman/ Long Live The Bunnyman] by Jenny Cutler Lopez in [[Northern Virginia Magazine]] (October 2015) *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080225143350/http://www.weirdus.com/stories/VA01.asp Tales of The Bunnyman of Northern Virginia] from WeirdUS.com *[https://web.archive.org/web/20170912234902/http://www.castleofspirits.com/clifton.html The Clifton Bunny Man] from Castle Of Spirits *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Bk4CXebP0 The Legend of the Bunny Man] from YouTube *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QubDmzS7wv8&index=4&list=PL6cgtmyikyYl3wD927iso5qCSAttBKzHx Interview with the Bennetts] from YouTube *{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29963310/ames_daily_tribune/|title=Bunny man protects territorial imperative|publisher=Ames Daily Tribune|location=Ames, Iowa|date=January 2, 1970|page=4439|access-date=13 August 2018|via=newspapers.com}} *{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29963225/the_monitormcallen_texas/|title="Bunny Man" Strikes Again in Virginia|publisher=The Monitor|location=McAllen, Texas|date=November 1, 1970|page=38|access-date=13 August 2018|via=newspapers.com}} {{Urban legends}} [[Category:1970 establishments in Virginia]] [[Category:American urban legends]] [[Category:Supernatural urban legends]] [[Category:Virginia folklore]] [[Category:Fairfax County, Virginia]] [[Category:Rabbits and hares in popular culture]] [[Category:Fictional rabbits and hares]]'