Monday, October 31, 2016

Weekly Anomaly Spotlight: Bunny Man Bridge, Not Your Grandma's Average Bunny

Are you brave enough to venture through here?


Yeah? What about now?













This site is known to many as Bunny Man Bridge and is located in Fairfax, Virginia. For decades, it has been the location of an alleged haunting, thus alarming many locals and spreading the legend throughout Northern Virginia, Washington D.C., and the surrounding areas.

The exact origins of Bunny Man Bridge have circulated throughout many years and details have evolved but all versions mention a post Civil War insane asylum prison in Clifton, Virginia. Eventually due to public outrage the institution was shut down and residents were put on buses to be moved to Lorton Prison. During the transfer one of the fifteen buses crashed leading ten patients to escape and hide in the woods. All of the patients were quickly located except one a man, Douglas Griffen. As local authorities searched for Griffen they found a trail littered with mutilated rabbit carcasses that lead deep into the woods and through a tunnel bridge. It is at this point the details of the story diverges, some report Douglas Griffen hung himself while others claim he was hit by an oncoming train. To this day it is believed that if you walk through the tunnel at just the right time the Bunny Man will attack you, leaving you with the same fate as the bunnies.

Over the years strange phenomena has occurred involving the Bunny Man Bridge. Starting in 1943 when three teenagers, two boys and one girl, were found hanging after spending Halloween night under the bridge. The story reappears in the 1970's when a couple separate witnesses reported seeing a man dressed as a bunny, yelling at crossing civilians, calling them trespassers. One witness claims the Bunny Man threw hatchet onto his car breaking the front window. Reports like these made it into the 1970's Washington Post and the 1973 version of the University of Maryland's student class newspaper. The most recent event involving the Bunny Man happened in 2001; when after hearing the tale, six local students and a guide, ventured into the woods in search of the Bunny Man. The group reported finding mutilated parts of bunnies and were prompted to quickly leave when they heard rustling noises and noticed figures moving around them.

So if you're ever near Bunny Man Bridge, think twice before crossing... Some bunnies are friendlier than others.

                                            We hope you have a faBOOlous Halloween!
                                                             -The Boo Review Crew

                                                   

Friday, October 21, 2016

Weekly Anomaly Spotlight: The Woman in Black, Straight to the Facts

Ever heard of The Woman in Black? No, not this one...


This one...



Unbeknownst to many, she once called Roanoke, Virginia her home. Since Roanoke is our hometown, The Boo Review Crew decided to delve a little deeper into her past. 

According to the History Museum of Western Virginia, she made appearances in Roanoke in March of 1902. She was known for appearing only to notable, married men while they were alone at night. The Roanoke Times, a local newspaper, ran several stories about eye-witness accounts of the Woman in Black. According to the eye-witnesses, she never tried to hurt the men, but just simply walked them back to their houses and disappeared when they arrived at their doorstep. As suddenly as the Woman in Black appeared in Roanoke, she vanished. Later encounters showed a similar apparition appeared in Bluefield, West Virginia and then moved onto Alma, Nebraska. 

We managed to track her down in Alma where an almost identical apparition called the "Alma Nightwalker" had multiple sightings. We believe that her name was changed from the Woman in Black to the Alma Nightwalker because of her prominence in the city. Witnesses claim that instead of a white, ghostly apparition she appeared dressed all in black, covering her face with a veil. Again, she appeared most frequently to the well-known men of the town while they walked to their houses at night. Such sightings were reported by newspaper editors, congressman, and many other notable town figures. However, nearly every one of Alma's approximately 1,000 citizens reported seeing her. There are no reported attempts of her trying to harm anyone, instead she would just scare people by appearing and dissipating. 

The Woman in Black is an urban legend that has spread throughout the country and has inspired many stories and tales. So next time you're walking home alone at night, keep your eye out for a cloaked woman who wants to keep you company. You never know, with her beginnings and ties in Roanoke, she just may return...

We hope you've enjoyed our first ever Weekly Anomaly Spotlight! Stayed tuned for next week's post on "The Bunny Man Bridge". Have a faBOOlous day! 

-The Boo Review Crew     
            
   



Friday, October 7, 2016

Come Join The Crew!

Welcome to The Boo Review, a paranormal blog focusing in and around southwest Virginia. We are a group of 3 high school students who are "skeptic believers". Our mission is to give light-hearted and honest reviews of the places we visit and our experiences there. We will be traveling to local haunted places to see first hand whether they live up to their spooky reputation, and then we'll give them a 1-5 ghost rating on our "Boo Scale". So stay tuned for posts and vlogs to find out if these places live up to their spooky reputations! In between visits, we will be doing interviews with locals who have had firsthand paranormal/unexplained experiences. Also, every week we will post an "Anomaly Spotlight" where we will highlight local legends, myths, and sightings. Sound interesting? Then click that little follow button to keep up to date with the Crew's News!

Also, if you have any experiences and would like to be interviewed, please contact us! Or if you have any paranormal evidence you would like to be featured on the blog or suggestions for places that you would like us to visit, please submit it to our email thebooreviewcrew@gmail.com or comment below.

Have a faBOOlous day!