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| Bunny Man Bridge: Virginia's Most Haunted Overpass |
A Haunted Location Spotlight
The Road to Fear
Just outside the quiet town of Clifton, Virginia, a narrow one-lane road winds through thick woods. At night, headlights cut through mist and branches that reach out like skeletal fingers. As you approach the low stone overpass, the world seems to close in. Graffiti glows faintly on the tunnel walls. A cold wind whistles through the gap where the road passes beneath the tracks.
Locals call it Bunny Man Bridge, and if you stop here after midnight, they say you might see him—an axe-wielding figure in a white rabbit suit waiting just beyond the light.
The story sounds absurd until you’re standing there yourself, the car engine ticking in the dark and the trees too quiet for comfort. The overpass is small, old, and utterly ordinary—and yet, over the past fifty years, it has become one of the most famous haunted locations in America.
Colchester Overpass: The Setting of a Nightmare
Officially, the bridge is called Colchester Overpass, a century-old railway trestle built around 1906 to carry trains over a single-lane section of Colchester Road. It’s barely long enough for a car to pass under and so narrow that drivers must honk before entering to warn anyone coming from the other side.
By day, it’s an unremarkable piece of infrastructure. By night, it feels like the entrance to another world. The dense woods muffle sound, and the tunnel’s arched brick walls seem to swallow light. Trains rumble overhead, shaking loose dust and echoing through the passage like distant thunder.
No murders have ever been recorded here. No accident ties it to tragedy. And yet, this bridge has become inseparable from the legend of the Bunny Man—a strange and violent figure first reported in 1970 who allegedly attacked passing motorists.
So why did the story anchor itself to this quiet overpass instead of the original crime scenes miles away? Because every legend needs a place to haunt.
When the Story Found a Home
The two real police reports from 1970 described a man in a rabbit costume threatening people with a hatchet near Guinea Road and a nearby construction site. Newspapers dubbed him The Bunny Man, and the story quickly spread through Fairfax County. Within weeks, people began whispering about a “haunted bridge” where the man had been seen.
In truth, Colchester Overpass had nothing to do with the original incidents. But it looked the part—a lonely bridge surrounded by forest, remote enough that you could imagine anything lurking just beyond your headlights.
As the years passed, storytellers began placing the legend there. It was easier to tell the tale when it had a real setting, a physical landmark people could point to and dare each other to visit. Over time, the bridge became not just part of the story but the story itself.
A Magnet for the Macabre
By the 1980s and 1990s, Bunny Man Bridge had evolved from a local curiosity into a full-blown ritual. Teenagers dared each other to visit after dark, especially around Halloween. Some claimed to see glowing eyes in the tunnel. Others said their radios cut out or their cars refused to start.
Paranormal groups began filming there, convinced that decades of fear had imprinted something dark into the place. One early ghost-hunting team recorded what they described as laughter echoing beneath the bridge when no one was visible nearby.
Visitors report:
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Scratching or tapping sounds under the overpass after midnight.
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Sudden temperature drops when trains pass overhead.
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Whispers that seem to come from the woods.
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Shadowy shapes caught in photographs, sometimes resembling long ears or a crouched figure.
Some believe the bridge acts like a conduit—a spot where imagination and fear overlap so completely that reality begins to blur.
Eyewitness Accounts and Creepy Encounters
Even with increased patrols and “No Trespassing” signs, people still claim to have seen something—or someone—lingering near Bunny Man Bridge.
In 1999, a pair of high school students from Fairfax said they spotted a tall figure crouched beside the bridge just after midnight. When their headlights caught it, the figure “stood up straight, like a man,” before vanishing into the trees.
A 2003 ghost-hunting team reported seeing what looked like a person in a white hooded outfit darting across the road. When they replayed their footage later, one frame showed a pale face in the tunnel’s shadows.
Even locals who laugh off the stories admit the place feels wrong. One resident told a newspaper, “I don’t believe in ghosts—but I don’t walk down there after dark either.”
Whether pranksters or something stranger, sightings like these keep the legend alive—and make visitors think twice before turning off their headlights.
The Halloween Patrols
Local authorities, however, have no patience for legends. Each October, Fairfax County police increase patrols near the site, posting “No Trespassing” and “Private Property” signs. Despite that, visitors still show up in the middle of the night, hoping for a glimpse of the infamous Bunny Man.
The county has even issued public statements warning that the bridge is dangerous, not because of ghosts but because of its structure and location. There’s no shoulder to park on, and cars often block the road or get stuck while trying to turn around. The area’s residents, tired of trespassers and thrill-seekers, have installed cameras and motion lights.
Still, people come—college students, paranormal YouTubers, TikTok explorers. The bridge has become a stage for a living legend, and the more authorities try to discourage visits, the more tempting it seems.
As one local officer once remarked, “We can’t arrest a ghost story.”
Digital Ghosts and New Sightings
In the social-media age, Bunny Man Bridge found new life. Videos tagged #bunnymanbridge rack up millions of views each October. Some are tongue-in-cheek paranormal hunts; others claim to show proof of something watching from the trees.
A few examples that keep the story alive:
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2012: A group of urban explorers posted footage of rabbit bones arranged beneath the tunnel. Viewers debated whether it was staged.
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2016: A local photographer reported capturing a white blur crossing the bridge during a long-exposure shot.
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2020–2023: TikTokers filmed “midnight challenges,” often ending abruptly when they heard footsteps or voices. Many of these videos are likely pranks—but they reinforce the bridge’s reputation as a place where something strange waits in the dark.
Even local historians admit that the fascination has outgrown any attempt to debunk it. The real Bunny Man may have vanished decades ago, but the bridge ensures he never truly left.
A Liminal Space
Part of the bridge’s power comes from its liminality—it’s a threshold between two places, both literally and symbolically. It’s not quite town, not quite forest. It’s where light gives way to darkness, where stories begin and end.
Folklorists often note that haunted bridges appear in legends across the world. They represent transitions and tests—places where you must cross to prove courage, confront fear, or tempt fate. Bunny Man Bridge fits that archetype perfectly. Every dare to visit becomes a kind of ritual: honk three times, turn off your lights, wait for the scratching.
Even if nothing happens, the moment itself—the silence, the waiting—is the heart of the experience.
The Energy of Fear
Those who study hauntings talk about psychic residue—the idea that strong emotions can imprint on a location. Over half a century, the bridge has absorbed countless acts of fear: screams, laughter, nervous footsteps, the click of flashlights in the dark.
Whether or not you believe in ghosts, that energy is real. It’s what you feel when you stand under the overpass and realize how small and quiet the world becomes there. It’s why even skeptics admit the place feels different.
A local historian once joked that the Bunny Man might not be haunting the bridge at all—we are. Our fascination, fear, and repeated visits keep the legend alive like a ghost we conjure ourselves.
Visiting Bunny Man Bridge (If You Dare)
If you’re planning to see it for yourself, here’s what to know:
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Location: Colchester Road, Clifton, Virginia 20124
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Status: Active roadway and private property.
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Access: The county discourages visitors, especially at night. There’s no safe parking nearby.
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Safety: Trains still cross above the bridge; traffic can be hazardous.
The best way to experience Bunny Man Bridge is through daylight photography or historical research—not midnight trespassing. Local libraries, including the Fairfax County Public Library system, offer documented reports and articles about the legend’s origins.
For paranormal fans, several guided ghost tours in nearby Fairfax and Occoquan include discussions of the Bunny Man story, offering a safer (and legal) way to explore its history.
Why We Keep Going Back
So why does this narrow overpass continue to attract visitors long after the original events faded from memory?
Because it’s more than a bridge—it’s a mirror. Standing there at night forces you to confront what scares you most: the unknown, the dark, and the thought that the stories might be true.
Bunny Man Bridge embodies the essence of modern folklore. It’s proof that a single place, combined with a powerful story, can transform the ordinary into the unforgettable. Every car that stops beneath it adds one more heartbeat to its legend.
As one local resident put it, “People don’t come here looking for the Bunny Man. They come looking for the feeling.”
Similar Haunted Bridges
If tales of cursed crossings and ghostly overpasses intrigue you, check out:
Goatman’s Bridge – Denton, Texas: Said to be haunted by the vengeful spirit of a goat herder lynched by the Klan in the 1930s. Visitors report growls, sulfur smells, and something knocking on their car doors.
Crybaby Bridge – Ohio, Maryland, and beyond: In each version, a grieving mother searches for her drowned infant. Travelers who stop to listen claim to hear faint crying—or see handprints on their car windows.
Sachs Covered Bridge – Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: Once a strategic crossing during the Civil War, it’s now haunted by the spirits of soldiers who were executed nearby. EVPs recorded here include whispers and phantom footsteps.
Emily’s Bridge – Stowe, Vermont: Built in 1844, the site of a tragic love story that ended with a bride’s suicide. Locals hear her screaming from the rafters or feel claw marks appear on their cars.
Hell’s Gate Bridge – Alabama: Drivers who stop in the middle of the bridge say they see fire reflected in the water below—a glimpse, locals claim, of the entrance to hell itself.
Further Reading: Related Legends You Might Like
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