The Mad Gasser of Mattoon
In September of 1944, the town of Mattoon, Illinois was thrown into a madness unlike any other. Members of the community experienced strange symptoms such as weakness, vomiting, and even throwing up blood. But, what, or who was behind this sickness? Many people believed the town was being attacked by a strange man dressed in all black, spraying gas into their homes.
The first event occurred on the evening of August 31st. A man awoke feeling sick in the middle of the night. He roused his wife and asked if she, perhaps, had left the gas stove on. She said no, but went to get out of bed anyway, just to double-check. When she tried to move, she was weakened to the point that she could not arise. Later, it would be discovered that the couple’s neighbor experienced a similar issue.
The very next night, Mrs. Kearney was awakened by the same, strange smell in her own bedroom. Just like the couple on August 31st, when she tried to move to investigate the source of the smell, she found herself paralyzed. She screamed, in a panic, and her neighbors called the police. Her husband, Bert, returned home around midnight and was completely unaware of the events from earlier that night. However, he reported seeing a man lurking near the house wearing all black as he pulled into the driveway. Thinking it was a peeping tom, Bert rushed at the man but was unable to catch up with him.
Soon, people all over town began reporting that they would wake up in the middle of the night to a strange, sweet smell filling their home. Shortly after waking and smelling, they would begin to suffer adverse effects. Some would be paralyzed for up to an hour, others would feel nauseous, and other similar, negative physical effects. However, perhaps even more strange, many would claim that after they woke they would report seeing a strange man clad all in black.
Panic gripped the town. On September 5th, Carl and Beulah Cordes returned to their home late one night and found a white cloth on their front porch. Beulah picked it up and noticed an odd smell coming from it. She almost fainted and reported immediately feeling nauseated and light-headed. Moments later, her mouth began bleeding and her face swelled. The police were called and they took the cloth as evidence. As they searched the rest of the property, they found a random skeleton key and an empty tube of lipstick. They guessed it was an attempted break-in. That very same night, there was another gas attack.
By September 12th, less than 2 weeks after the first known incident, the Daily Illini reported 33 people had experienced the strange gas. Report after report of a strange man, a mad gasser, were made to the police. Citizen patrols walked through the neighborhoods at night, and a protest to catch the mad gasser was set up by local businessmen.
The reports gained so much attention that the FBI came to Mattoon. They were attempting to find out the cause of the gas and focused on keeping armed citizens from continuing to incite panic. However, they didn’t have much luck.
False attacks and impossible reports began coming in...and rumblings of mass hysteria began. American Hauntings Ink reported, “New stories began to appear in the papers, where psychology experts opined that the women of Mattoon had dreamed up the "Gasser" as a desperate cry for attention, as many of their husbands were overseas fighting in the war. This theory ignored the fact that many victims and witnesses were men and that this so-called "fantasy" was leaving behind evidence of his existence.”
Then, Mattoon Police Chief, C.E. Cole, released a statement that according to witness testimony and police investigation - there was no man gassing the people of Mattoon. Instead, and perhaps even worse, they believed that gas from a local war plant was polluting the homes of people, especially those who slept with their windows open. It was found that large quantities of carbon tetrachloride gas were being used by the Atlas Diesel Engine Co. and that the factory was to blame. However, a spokesman denied this - he questioned why the gas had never affected the city before, and that the only gas in the plant was in their fire extinguishers and other similar gases used there caused no ill effects to people in the plant.
Also, on a personal note - why would the gas only cause reactions in the evening and not throughout the day?
The last attack happened on September 13th, and it was the strangest yet. Bertha Bench and her son were in their home that evening. While relaxing, they noticed a woman, dressed in men’s clothing, spray gas into their bedroom window. During the investigation, prints made by a woman’s high-heeled shoes were found in the dirt below the bedroom window.
After the 13th, though there were still rumblings, there were no more attacks and the sense of panic lifted.
Dozens of theories have arisen. Some believe that the police’s statement was correct, others believe there really was a mad gasser. Interesting theories include the idea that the gasser was testing the effects of a new gas to be used in warfare. Or, that it was just a random person who wanted to incite terror and panic in their town. But how would someone get a hold of such a seemingly specific gas? Does the reports of a man AND a woman mean this was some sort of team? And, if it really was just mass panic…why did it so abruptly stop?
Thanks to Thorin E. for this suggested blog topic!
The above image is by Flickr User H. Michael Miley and depicts a sunset in Mattoon, IL. The image is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)