The truth behind the Bunny Man Bridge

The location of the bunny man bridge is one of the creepiest places in the United States. The Bunny Man Bridge became known as a haunted place because of an encounter that allegedly happened in the early twentieth century, where a man in a bunny costume chased a driver down the road with an axe. There were also alleged accounts of rabbit corpses on the ground that were supposedly killed by the Bunny Man. In some versions of the Bunny Man legend the Bunny Man is a man in a bunny costume, and in others the Bunny Man is a cryptid.

The more popular belief is that the Bunny Man was a man that escaped from an insane asylum and dressed in a bunny costume before going on a killing spree. Douglas Griffin is theorized to be the killer in the Bunny Man costume. This leads to the question.

what are the public records of Douglas Griffin?

According to the legend, the locals complained about living close to the asylum, so the state transported the inmates to Lorton prison. Douglas Griffin allegedly killed Marcus Wallster, which was an inmate that attempted to escape with him.

I haven’t found any records of an insane asylum in Fairfax County, Virginia, in 1904 (The year of the first encounter of the Bunny Man). There were records found of Lorton prison being built in the early twentieth century. The problem is that Lorton prison was built in 1910, which is six years after the first encounter of the Bunny Man. There are no court records of someone named Douglas Griffin and Marcus Wallster being transported to Lorton prison. The version of the Bunny Man being a cryptid came much later than the first encounter.

Later Decades

In the early 1970s there were claims of the Bunny Man being spotted in Fairfax County, Virginia with a bunny costume and an axe. This brought the urban legend back to life, and people feared for their lives. If the Bunny Man was really attacking people in the 70s, it couldn’t have been Douglas Griffin because according to the dates Douglas Griffin would have either been dead or too old to pull off the task. If the Bunny Man did return in the 70s, there was a different person in the suit, which could be possible considering the legend was still circulating at the time. The legend might have inspired someone to carry it out. Some people claim it is the ghost of the Bunny Man.

Even though it seems like the Bunny Man never existed according to evidence, the urban legend is not still in circulation a hundred years later for no reason. As the legend of the Bunny Man was passed down over the years, it changed multiple times, which led to various versions of the encounter. In the public records, it turns out that there actually was a man named Douglas J Griffin. Douglas J Griffin was born in 1940 and he lived with both of his parents until his father was killed in combat during world war 2. Douglas J Griffin was smothered by his mother in the Laurianne Woods, but he survived. In the late fifties, missing children were reported to the police in Fairfax County, Virginia. Only one missing child was discovered, which was June Holober in 1964, and her body was found in the woods in Bull Run. Douglas J Griffin was questioned about the incident, but wasn’t convicted due to lack of evidence. He disappeared when he was released, and it is not known where he fled too. Some believe that he left to continue being the Bunny Man.

Even though public records may not line up with the traditional Bunny Man legend, could it be that the Bunny Man was real it’s just that the legend was changed over time? Could it be that Douglas J Griffin was the real Bunny Man in the late fifties, sixties, and even into the seventies. With the evidence that I found what do you believe? Do you believe in the traditional Bunny Man story? Do you believe that the Bunny Man was Real it’s just that it didn’t happen the way the traditional story explains? Do you believe that the Bunny Man never existed?

“Local History: The Bunny Man Unmasked.” FCPL Curated Content, research.fairfaxcounty.gov/local-history/bunnyman#:~:text=First%2C%20there%20has%20never%20been,Columbia%20Corrections%20system%2C%20not%20Virginia’s.

Schweitzer, Ally. “The True Story Of The Bunnyman, Northern Virginia’s Most Gruesome Urban Legend.” WAMU, WAMU 88.5 – American University Radio, 31 Oct. 2017, wamu.org/story/17/10/31/true-story-bunnyman-northern-virginias-gruesome-urban-legend/.

A Look Back at Braddock District History, web.archive.org/web/20080920023342/braddockheritage.org/resources/item/179/.