Bunny Man

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The Bunny Man (also Bunnyman ; Eng. "Rabbit Man ") is an urban legend known in America . Depending on the local variant, it is about a serial killer in a rabbit costume who allegedly escaped from a psychiatric hospital and was never caught.

Legend

The version most frequently performed (because it is apparently the most popular) comes from the US town of Lorton in the state of Virginia . A dilapidated psychiatric ward is said to have been located there in the 19th century . Their patients were to be relocated in 1920 for renovation work. For this purpose, the inmates were put in special buses. But during the departure, one of the buses is said to have had an accident, after which some patients were able to escape. Two of them were reportedly never caught. During their months of searching for a large area, the local police discovered numerous rabbit carcasses near a drawbridge in the forest. Soon afterwards a man was found hanged on this bridge; he is said to have been one of the two wanted patients. The other man, however, was never caught. According to different reports, the police managed to encircle the second wanted man at the railway bridge, but the man threw himself in front of an approaching train.

A second version of the legend tells of a teenager who is said to have stabbed his family to death on Easter Sunday while wearing a rabbit costume.

Possible backgrounds

The exact origin of the legend can no longer be traced back with certainty, but it seems to have started in the early 1970s. Around 1970 the rumor spread in the US state of Virginia that a serial killer and vandal in a white rabbit costume was up to mischief. Allegedly, a stranger in costumes and armed with an ax threatened children and vandalized them on private property. Around 1973 this was also reported from neighboring states such as Maryland and Washington, DC . The legendary Bunnyman Bridge (Eng. "Rabbit Man Bridge") is said to be near the town of Clifton .

Folklorists and historians such as Patricia Johnson and Brian A. Conley examined the phenomenon and interviewed over 30 students and ostensible eyewitnesses. In doing so, they first noticed that the Bunnyman legends had a noticeably large number of inconsistencies with regard to the sighting locations and the behavior of the figure. Conley eventually discovered a newspaper report in the Washington Post dated October 22, 1970, in which an eyewitness from Fairfax County alleged that he and a passenger were attacked with a hatchet by the Bunnyman while driving . Another newspaper report appeared on October 31 of the same year. In it alleged witnesses report that they observed the Bunnyman as he smashed the roof of a new building with an ax. Called police officers are said to have been threatened before the bunnyman disappeared.

Reception in the media

In the film Donnie Darko , a person named Frank, disguised as a "Bunny Man", plays an important role. The character of Bunnyman has also inspired an independent horror film series. So far, three parts have been released: the two films Bunnyman from 2011 and The Bunnyman Massacre from 2014, as well as the VoD film Bunnyman Vengeance from 2017, which premiered on the US cable and satellite television channel Chiller .

In the fourth episode of the 16th season of South Park Judapacabra ("Jewpacabra") from 2012, Cartman parodies the Bunny Man.

literature

  • Mark Moran, Mark Sceurman: Weird US: Your Travel Guide to America's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets . Sterling Publishing Company, New York 2009 (reissued), ISBN 1-4027-6688-2 .
  • Jeff Bahr, Troy Taylor, Loren Coleman: Weird Virginia: Your Travel Guide to Virginia's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets . Sterling Publishing Company, New York 2007, ISBN 1-4027-3942-7 .
  • Charles A. Mills: Hidden History of Northern Virginia. The History Press, Charlston 2010, ISBN 1-59629-831-6 .
  • Michael J. Varhola: Ghosthunting Virginia . Clerisy Press, Cincinnati (Ohio) 2008, ISBN 1-57860-327-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Mark Moran, Mark Sceurman: Weird US. Page 20.
  2. ^ A b c Jeff Bahr, Troy Taylor, Loren Coleman: Weird Virginia. Pages 98 & 99.
  3. ^ Charles A. Mills: Hidden History of Northern Virginia. Pages 29-31.
  4. ↑ Donnie Darko and Bunnymen on cryptomundo.com . (English)
  5. ↑ Michael J. Varhola: Ghosthunting Virginia , p. 16.
  6. ↑ Bunnyman in the Internet Movie Database at imdb.com (English); last accessed on December 30, 2017.
  7. ↑ The Bunnyman Massacre (Bunnyman 2) in the Internet Movie Database at imdb.com (English); last accessed on December 30, 2017.
  8. ↑ Bunnyman Massacre Cover Art and Stills , horrordna.com, June 7, 2014, accessed October 14, 2019
  9. ↑ Bunnyman Vengeance (Bunnyman 3) in the Internet Movie Database at imdb.com (English); last accessed on December 30, 2017.
  10. ↑ Bunnyman Vengeance , bbfc.co.uk, October 30, 2017
  11. ↑ First trailer for "Bunnyman Vengeance": The crazy killer in the rabbit costume strikes again , filmstarts.de, October 6, 2017
  12. ^ Three Foot-Tall Bunny Man ("The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization mistake Cartman for a mystical bunny creature.") On southpark.de . (English)
  13. ^ New South Park episode 'Jewpacabra' Takes On Easter, Passover, Chupacabra [VIDEO ], ibtimes.com, May 4, 2012