Clifton Haunted Trail and the Return of Bunny Man

Ghost, goblins and ghouls-a Halloween fright fest awaits anyone who dares enter the Clifton Haunted Trail.*

Pick your poison of fright for the night: horrifying clowns, witches burning at the stake, children of the corn slashing victims, dancing skeletons and zombies, or chainsaw murderers chasing down prey. Whatever you fear, you'll find it here.

This walk through the woods is like no other and you'll be glad to have your friends close at hand. The crowd of thousands offers comfort and reminds you...It's not real...it's not real...it's not real...right? Maybe. Never-the-less, you're going to scream. You're going to have your wits put to the test. You are going to be scared!

After you survive this 90-minute adventure and your heart rate has returned to normal, I invite you to check out something that is truly terrifying-something a lot more real. Bunnyman Bridge.

The urban legend of Bunny Man dates back to 1904 when an inmate at the asylum prison in Clifton escaped during a transport accident. Afterward, locals began finding half-eaten rabbit carcasses hanging in trees near the crash site. Later, the police found the remains of a man who had been skinned and hanged in the same fashion under a bridge overpass near the railroad tracks at Colchester Road. The police assumed the escaped prisoner, Douglas J. Grifon, was to blame and dubbed him "the bunny man."During the attempted capture of Grifon, he escaped only to be killed by an oncoming train not far from the original crash site. Wicked laughter was heard coming from the site immediately following his death. Police later learned that Grifon had been institutionalized for killing his wife and children on Easter Sunday. For years following his death, people claimed that near Halloween, dead rabbit carcasses were seen hanging in trees surrounding the accident site and his specter loomed near the bridge.

Though historians believe the story to be bunk, it's also been linked to a more recent set of events which took place on Guinea Road in Burke, Virginia during the 1970's. Victims claim they were assaulted by a man in a bunny suit wielding an axe. More than 50 eyewitnesses reported seeing the bunny man but he was never caught. Who knows, he may still be alive...take a drive and see for yourself...you never know what or who you may find lurking in the dark or under a bridge.

*The Clifton Haunted Trail is a one-night-only production of fear and fun orchestrated to make you scream, laugh, and at times, run for your life. Approximately 200 volunteers put this elaborate adventure together to raise money for the town of Clifton, population less than 300.