The Bunny Man
Colchester Overpass, courtesy of theparanormalguide.com
Origins:
While there are many urban legends and pseudo-connections to past murders in the area, the tale of the Bunny Man begins and ends with two events that happened in October 1970. Per The Washington Post (Man in Bunny Suit Sought in Fairfax, October 22, 1970):
Fairfax County police said yesterday they are looking for a man who likes to wear "white bunny rabbit costume" and throw hatchets through car windows. Honest.
Air Force Academy Cadet Robert Bennett told police that shortly after midnight last Sunday he and his fiancée were sitting in a car in the 5400 block of Guinea Road when a man "dressed in a white suit with long bunny ears" ran from the nearby bushes and shouted: "You're on private property and I have your tag number."
The "Rabbit" threw a wooden-handled hatchet through the right front car window, the first-year cadet told police. As soon as he threw the hatchet, the "rabbit" skipped off into the night, police said. Bennett and his fiancee were not injured.
Police say they have the hatchet, but no other clues in the case. They say Bennett was visiting an uncle, who lives across the street from the spot where the car was parked. The cadet was in the area to attend last weekend's Air Force-Navy football game.
Already the story has been pushed in a specific direction vis-a-vis bunny. Per Fairfax County Police, Robert Bennett was certain the man was in a white suit with bunny ears, but his fiancée stated the person was wearing capirote (think of what the KKK traditionally wear). Either way, the incident was confirmed between the terrified couple and damage to their vehicle.
It was soon followed by another incident. Per The Washington Post (The "Rabbit" Reappears, October 31, 1970):
A man wearing a furry rabbit suit with two long ears appeared — again — on Guinea Road in Fairfax County Thursday night, police reported, this time wielding an ax and chopping away at a roof support on a new house.
Less than two weeks ago a man wearing what was described as a rabbit suit accused two persons in a parked car of trespassing and heaved a hatchet through a closed window of the car at 5400 Guinea Rd. They were not hurt.
Thursday night's rabbit, wearing a suit described as gray, black and white, was spotted a block away at 5307 Guinea Rd.
Paul Phillips, a private security guard for a construction company, said he saw the "rabbit" standing on the front porch of a new, but unoccupied house.
"I started talking to him," Phillips said, "and that's when he started chopping."
"All you people trespass around here," Phillips said the "Rabbit" told him as he whacked eight gashes in the pole. "If you don't get out of here, I'm going to bust you on the head."
Phillips said he walked back to his car to get to get his handgun, but the "Rabbit", carrying the long-handled ax, ran off into the woods.
The security guard said the man was about 5-feet-8, 160 pounds and appeared to be in his early 20s.
An official police investigation was opened on October 29, 1970 (Fairfax County Police Investigative Report, no. 858-748), typed by Investigator W.L. Johnson. Within the redacted files:
On 10/31/70 at approx., 1655 hours after returning to the office, I received a phone call from a subject by the name of [Redacted] of [Redacted] Falls Church. Mr. [Redacted] related the following story; At approx., 1645 hours, he had recieved a telephone call from a subj., who stated;;" Is this [Redacted]", "You don't know me, I'm known as the Axe man". Subject went on to say, "Mr. [Redacted] you have meen messing up my property, by dumping tree stumps, limbs and brush, and other things on the propert. The unknown subj., then stated to Mr. [Redacted] "You can make everything right, by meeting my tonight and talking about the situation." The unknown subj., then advised Mr. [Redacted] to walk along Guinea Rd., between Zion Dr., and the railroad tracks between 2330 and 2400 hours 10/31/70. The subject then stated "You won't know me, but I'll know you." The subject then hung up the phone.
Mr. [Redacted] stated that the subject who had called him sounded as though he might be a W/M/ in his late teens or early twenties, Subjects voice sort of quivered, as though he were scared. Mr. [Redacted] related that he thinks he has heard the voice before, but could not remember where or when he heard the voice, or whose it was. Mr. [Redacted] further related that he intended to meet the subj., if he could find some transportation to the scene.
A police stakeout then took place, to no avail. The Mr. [Redacted] never received further phone calls as he (per the Investigative Report) "has not been heard from since. Several attempts again where made to contact Mr. [Redacted] in the meantime." This doesn't inherently mean foul play, it's certainly possible this was a made-up story by a made-up person to fool the police.
The report also follows a few other dead-end leads, with purported sightings of a van with a bunny seat in the back and stories from local children (when looked into police found that these stories were playground talk with no substantial source). Per the Report:
After a very extensive investigation into this and all other cases of this same nature, it is still unsubstantiated as to whether or not there really is a white rabbit.
The only people who have seen this so called white rabbit have been children of rather young ages, and the complainant in this case.
Upon interviewing every one in this case that may have had any knowledge of any incidents concerning a white rabbit, that has been no significant information uncovered that would lead to the identity of the person or persons that were posing as a white rabbit.
This case will be marked as inactive.
In the end, no one was officially caught, no answers were found. And so ends the tale of the Bunny Man ends, at least in the news. In the world of Urban Legend, its story was only beginning. Since 1970, the location of the Bunny Man's activity has moved 15 minutes (by car) east from Guinea Road to Colchester Overpass, since nicknamed "Bunny Man Bridge." Factual and fictional murders have been ascribed to the Bunny Man, as has the backstory of an convict named Douglas J. Grifon, who escaped custody in 1904 (this is wholly fabricated). Today, the bridge is restricted access, especially around Halloween. By all accounts, local residents are annoyed by tourists who stop on the one-lane road, so maybe choose another local legend spot to gawk at.