Classic Episode: The Bunny

One Strange Thing: Paranormal & True-Weird Mysteries

One Strange Thing

True Crime, History

4.4 • 697 Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2024

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Laurah’s traveling all month — so while we cook up some strange new offerings for you, please enjoy this episode from our archives.

Whether presented as urban legend, murderous maniac, or ghostly avenger, the Bunnyman of Virginia has haunted a certain overpass near Fairfax--Colchester Bridge--and its residents for more than fifty years. This week, we delve into the origins of the twisty rabbit’s tale.

Order Laurah’s book, LAY THEM TO REST: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/laurah-norton/lay-them-to-rest/9780306828805/

Hosted, written, and researched by Laurah Norton

Additional research by Bryan Worters

Produced by Maura Currie

Engineered by Brandon Schexnayder

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/

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Sources

Brian A. Conley, “The Bunny Man Unmasked” Fairfax County History 2009

N/A, “Man in Bunny Suit. . “ The Washington Post, 1970.

N/A, “The Rabbit Reappears . “ The Washington Post, 1970.

Richard Spong, “A Male in a. . .” The Beckley Post-Herald, 1970.

N/A, UPI, “Antics of ‘Bunny Man’. . .” The Minneapolis Star, 1970.

Matthew Kortan, “A Hare-Raising Tale. . .” The Flat Hat, 2020.

Kari Pugh, “Beware Bunnyman Bridge. . .” The Manassa Journal Messenger, 2010.

Staff, “Ghosts, Spirits, Witches. . .” The Arlington Sun Gazette, 2014.

Amelia Heymann, “Haunted Virginia. . .” CBS - 11 WJHL, 2021.

Ally Schweitzer, “The True Story. . .” WAMU, 2017.

Kari Pugh, “Bunny Man Bridge. . .” Inside Nova, 2021.

Don Oldenburg, “Boo! It’s the Bunny Man!” The Washington Post, 2003.

Atlas Obscura, Bunnyman Bridge

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, strangers. This month, Laura, that's me, is going to be traveling for work,
0:05.5	and so we're going to be re-releasing two of our very favorite episodes in the main feed.
0:10.6	But don't worry, if you're subscribed to our premium episodes, either on Apple or over on Patreon,
0:17.0	you'll still be getting your premium releases. And don't fret,
0:20.0	there'll be fresh new episodes for you on the main feed in June.
0:28.7	I'm Laura Norton, and this is one strange thing,
0:32.5	the show where we search the nation's news archives for stories that can't quite be explained.
0:48.9	Just a note at the top of this one.
0:51.7	This episode is scarier than our usual fare. Listener discretion is
0:56.3	advised. Humans are funny about symbols and legends. Funny in that the same things pop up again
1:06.1	and again across cultures, the number three for instance, or the orphan hero, the wicked stepmother,
1:14.7	the power of a liminal space, and we don't mean the TikTok interpretation of liminal,
1:21.0	which has truly stretched that word beyond its limits.
1:25.0	A true liminal space is a threshold, a place between, where a decision
1:31.3	has yet to be made and possibilities exist. Once you leave it, you've chosen your path. It's
1:38.3	a crossroads, a terminal, a bridge. Bridges figure prominently in fairy tales and folklore, and even in urban legend.
1:48.7	Why do you think that is? A journey of crossing over from one state to another. Life and death,
1:55.8	innocence and knowledge. It's a ripe analogy, and so not surprising that storytellers return again and again to the bridge.
2:06.0	But of course, bridge stories aren't just about crossings.
2:11.2	They're also about guardians, aren't they?
2:14.6	The troll who waits for the goats, the ferryman exacting his charge from the dead,
2:21.0	or that bunny man waiting in Virginia, ready to attack your car with an axe. Wait, is that one
	...

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