The Urban Legend of the Sinister Bunny Man

There are many urban legends out there from all over the world that consist of sinister, sometimes blood thirsty figures. Creatures that hide at the edge of the woods in the dead of night waiting for the next foolish and unsuspecting victim.

Nearly every town has a chilling urban legend. Yours probably does.

Here is one of Virginia’s most well-known.

The Legend of the Bunny Man

In the state of Virginia as well as Maryland, and even D.C., a figure dressed in a bunny costume carrying an ax stalks the neighborhoods he terrorizes.

Someone terrorizing a town wearing a bunny costume and carrying an ax? Sounds like nothing but a good laugh, right? Well, you wouldn’t be laughing at this figure in a bunny costume as you pass by in your car or happen to be taking a stroll past dark.

This isn’t the Easter bunny.

Sightings of the Bunny Man were first reported in 1973. Usually, reported sightings have happened in secluded areas with numerous witnesses claiming to have seen a figure wearing an old and tattered white bunny suit. If that’s not creepy enough, the figure was also seen gripping an axe at its side like he’s waiting for his next victim. The axe isn’t just a warning, the legends say. The sinister bunny has killed before.

Origin Story

Who or what is the Bunny Man?

Some legends say that the Bunny Man was a prisoner by the name of Douglas Griffon who escaped from an insane asylum when the prison bus transporting him and other prisoners crashed at the bridge in 1904.

From there, the story splits into two versions but both have equally chilling endings.

One version of the legend says that Douglas Griffon was the only survivor of the bus crash.

The other version says that he and the other prisoners all survived but he was the only one that had not been captured.

Regardless of either version, Douglas Griffin hid from sight, eluding capture by taking cover in the woods and under the bridge.

During that time, he caught and killed rabbits, skinning them to eventually make his bunny suit.

A bunny suit made from the skins of rabbits? This makes seeing the man in the bunny suit even more unsettling!

While he stalks secluded areas and nearby neighborhoods, his sightings unpredictable, there is a place where the Bunny Man tends to terrorize the Fairfax Station, Virginia railroad overpass where the bus crash is said to have happened. Because of this, the overpass is chillingly known as “the Bunny Man bridge”.

The legend of Virginia’s Bunny Man has soared in popularity since the first sightings in the early 70’s. The stories have become popular around the campfire as teenagers and adults alike gather to tell ghost stories and urban legends all for a good scare. Some surely have dared and been dared to visit the bridge after dark.

I dare you to go out to Bunny Man bridge. After dark.

What? Are you crazy?

And the tunnel under the overpass? Those who are familiar with the legend, wouldn’t dare step one foot in that tunnel. Unless they want to come face to face with the Bunny Man and meet an untimely demise.

Does the Bunny Man still haunt the Bunny Man bridge and the surrounding woods? If there was such a prisoner, he’d be dead by now. Some locals say they still see him. If their stories are to be believed, then maybe it’s his evil spirit that still lingers.

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