The Bunny Man
A Legend in the Woods
He’s wearing a white bunny costume.
And he’s holding an axe.
It sounds too bizarre to be true, but the story of the Bunny Man has haunted Northern Virginia for over 50 years. Blending real police reports with chilling folklore, the tale has become one of the most enduring and disturbing urban legends in the United States.
Origins: The 1970 Fairfax Incidents
Unlike many urban legends, the Bunny Man’s origin can be traced to two real events reported to the Fairfax County Police Department in 1970.
Incident #1 — October 18, 1970
Air Force Academy cadet Robert Bennett and his fiancée were parked in a field on Guinea Road when a man in a white suit with long bunny ears suddenly appeared. Shouting that they were trespassing, he hurled a hatchet through the car window before fleeing into the woods. The couple was uninjured, but shaken.
Incident #2 — October 29, 1970
Just over a week later, a construction security guard named Paul Phillips reported seeing a man in a bunny costume standing on the porch of a new home. He claimed the man began chopping at a support post with a hatchet, yelling, “All you people trespass around here. If you don’t get out of here, I’m going to bust you on the head.”
Both incidents were investigated, but no suspect was ever caught. And that was enough for the myth to take root.
From Weird Crime to Urban Legend
After the two sightings made the local papers, the legend began to grow. And like many urban myths, it took on a life of its own, evolving with each retelling.
Suddenly, the Bunny Man wasn’t just a deranged man in a costume—he became something more sinister.
Some claimed he was the ghost of an escaped mental patient who murdered fellow inmates and was never caught. Others said he haunted the site of a long-abandoned asylum near Clifton, Virginia, and emerged each Halloween to hunt.
Still others insisted he was a malevolent forest spirit who wore the skin of a rabbit as camouflage, watching from the trees, waiting for intruders.
Most of these stories couldn’t be verified, but that didn’t stop them from spreading. As Halloween approached, the Bunny Man became the stuff of whispered dares, slumber party scares, and spine-tingling schoolyard stories.
Bunny Man Bridge
The most infamous location associated with the legend is Colchester Overpass in Clifton, now widely known as Bunny Man Bridge.
According to the lore:
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The bridge is cursed, especially on Halloween night.
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If you stop your car beneath it at midnight, the Bunny Man will appear.
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In some versions, you'll hear scratching sounds—or worse, see a figure with glowing eyes.
Visitors have reported strange noises, sudden cold spots, and eerie feelings of being watched. Some claim to have seen a man—or something dressed like one—lurking just beyond the tree line.
In truth, the bridge has no historical connection to the 1970 events. But it feels like the kind of place where nightmares come to life—dark, narrow, and hemmed in by thick woods.
That ambiance made it the perfect backdrop for a growing legend. Its remote location and shadowy underpass provide just enough atmosphere to ignite the imagination, especially after dark.
The Missing Asylum Myth
A common part of the Bunny Man story involves a tale about a nearby insane asylum being shut down in the early 1900s. During the transfer of patients, one allegedly escaped. Shortly afterward, locals found skinned rabbits hanging from trees near the woods.
Eventually, the escaped patient was said to have begun targeting humans.
There’s no record of such an asylum ever existing in Fairfax County. But that hasn’t stopped the myth from becoming central to the legend’s more gruesome versions.
In some retellings, the Bunny Man is a vengeful spirit. In others, he’s a cannibal who wears the rabbit suit to mock his victims’ innocence. Sometimes, he’s just a madman—an axe-wielding recluse who emerges only when the moon is full and the night is quiet enough to hear a scream.
This version of the tale borrows heavily from classic horror tropes: the escaped mental patient, the cursed location, the symbolic warning (in this case, skinned animals), and the eerie transformation from man to myth.
A Halloween Tradition
By the 1990s and early 2000s, local teens began treating Bunny Man Bridge as a rite of passage. Daring friends to visit the bridge at night became a popular—and risky—pastime.
Halloween visits became so frequent that Fairfax County authorities eventually had to increase patrols and post no trespassing signs. Some years, law enforcement had to physically remove thrill-seekers from the area after dark.
Despite these warnings, the bridge still attracts curious visitors every October. Whether looking for paranormal thrills or just chasing a local scare, the Bunny Man remains a shadowy presence in Northern Virginia's folklore.
Pop Culture and Internet Fame
The Bunny Man legend has appeared in:
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Creepypasta retellings and horror blogs
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Podcasts like Lore and Astonishing Legends
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YouTube horror explorations and ghost-hunting series
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A low-budget slasher film titled Bunnyman (2011), which loosely borrows from the urban myth
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TikToks and Reddit threads discussing “creepiest local legends” or “true encounters”
The blend of a man in a bunny costume with a weapon—something simultaneously absurd and terrifying—continues to fascinate horror fans. The legend has taken on new life online, where horror thrives in short, punchy, shareable bursts.
Psychological Horror or Symbol?
One reason the Bunny Man endures is that it taps into a deeply unsettling contradiction:
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Rabbits = innocence, childhood, springtime
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Axes = violence, chaos, death
Put them together, and you have something uniquely uncanny. The Bunny Man exists in that weird, liminal space between silly and horrifying. He’s not just a maniac—he’s a symbol of corrupted innocence.
Much like clowns or dolls, the Bunny Man uses a familiar figure associated with comfort and joy—and twists it into something unrecognizable.
That’s what makes him stick in our imaginations.
Modern Sightings and Stories
Though the original incidents happened in 1970, modern tales continue to circulate:
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A 2001 Reddit thread claimed someone saw the Bunny Man outside a car window late at night near Clifton.
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In 2005, a group of teens reported hearing scratching and laughing sounds under the bridge.
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In 2012, a YouTuber exploring the area reported a figure watching them from the woods—and later found rabbit bones nearby.
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In 2020, TikTokers began posting videos from Bunny Man Bridge, some staging dramatic reenactments, others claiming real encounters.
While most are likely pranks or exaggerations, there’s no denying that something about the Bunny Man makes people uneasy. Whether it’s the location, the stories, or something else entirely, he continues to haunt the collective imagination.
Visiting Bunny Man Bridge Today
The Colchester Overpass is still a functioning train trestle over a single-lane road. It's located at:
Colchester Road, Clifton, VA 20124
But before you plan a spooky visit, be aware:
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It’s private property, and trespassing is prohibited.
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Local law enforcement regularly monitors the area.
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There’s no legal parking, and access is limited.
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Noise complaints and citations are common during Halloween season.
Authorities strongly discourage ghost hunters and thrill-seekers from visiting without permission.
That said, the legend remains a local curiosity—and a Halloween favorite.
The Truth Behind the Legend
So, who was the real Bunny Man?
According to local historian Brian Conley, who works with the Fairfax County Public Library, the most likely explanation is this:
A man upset about development in his neighborhood dressed up in a costume and tried to scare trespassers off his property—twice. He was never caught, and the mystery ballooned into legend.
Conley’s deep dive into police records, newspaper archives, and folklore shows how quickly truth can be twisted into myth. He even published an exhaustive report titled “The Bunny Man Unmasked”, which separates fact from fiction.
Still… the identity of the original costumed man has never been confirmed.
And the mystery? That’s what keeps the story alive.
Why We Keep Telling the Story
Urban legends like the Bunny Man exist in the space between memory and imagination. They’re warnings, dares, and bedtime stories for teens who think they’re too old to be scared.
They survive because we want them to be real—just a little bit.
Because maybe… just maybe… if you drive past that tunnel late enough at night,
you’ll see him.
Hatchet in hand.
Ears twitching in the wind.
Waiting.
Would you dare to visit Bunny Man Bridge?
Tell us your favorite urban legend below—or check out more creepy tales in our [post archive].
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