Mad Gasser of Mattoon

The story of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon is likely one of the most famous odd stories to come out of Central Illinois.  If you haven’t heard of it here are a couple of sources to read more.

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon

Mad Gassers

The following story and the one after are two items mentioning the gasser that I was able to find in the digital papers.

Daily Illini March 3, 1945

Mattoon Mystery is Mental Case

University Psychologist Makes Study of Case

The miasmic madman of Mattoon who had that quiet central Illinois city of 15,800 in a turmoil which was recorded in front-page newspaper headlines from coast to coast last September, has been put under scientific inspection.

Donald M. Johnson, University psychologist, has found the unidentified midnight marauder who terrorized the town with mysterious gas attacks a fascinating subject for inquiry. Recording his finding for the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, he declares the affair a rare psychological event.

Without challenging the veracity or motives of any of the victims or others concerned, or denying the possibility that a marauder was connected with at least some of the cases, he finds the whole Mattoon mystery involving the rare phenomenon of a "mental epidemic," of which only one similar occurrence is recorded in the United States in the last 40 years.

Phantom Anesthetist
The phantom anesthetist of Mattoon was first reported Sept. 1 when a woman told the police that she and her daughter had been gassed. In all, 26 cases were reported, the last Sept. 12, Victims told of nausea and vomiting, palpitations, and in one case at least, burns about the mouth. All recovered rapidly. Four cases seen by physicians all were diagnosed as hysteria.

Some victims did not report smelling gas, others did. Though prowlers were reported, none was apprehended by the police. As the number of calls increased, state police with radio equipment were called in. Chemical analyses of cloths found at scenes of reported attacks gave no clues. For some nights citizens took up arms to protect their homes.

"Obviously something extraordinary took place in Mattoon. For its explanation two hypotheses have been advanced. The 'gasser' hypothesis asserts that the symptoms were produced by a gas which was sprayed on the victims by some ingenious fiend who has been able to elude the police. The alternative hypothesis is that the symptoms were due to hysteria ," writes Mr. Johnson.

Mental Suggestions
He uses the term "hysteria " in the medical sense, meaning emotional excitability, sensory disturbances, choking sensations, etc., due to mental suggestions.

The "gasser" hypothesis is based on the evidence of the victims and their authenticated illness. A difficulty is the contradictory demands on the gas, including the fact that it did not affect all in the same room, yet was strong enough to affect victims, but at the same time left no observable after-effects.

Symptoms of the victims also support the hysteria hypothesis, as does the fact that the only four cases seen by physicians were given this diagnosis.

Police Records
Turning to police records for a chronology, he finds an unusual number of reports of prowlers coinciding with the reports of gassing, both reaching a peak at the same time, and then rapidly. As the excitement subsided, the number of prowler calls fell even below normal with none at all reported by the Mattoon police in the first part of October

This reveals a wave of excitement or a "mental epidemic" sweeping through the community, the psychologist explains. In this the local newspaper played an important part. Ninety-seven percent of Mattoon families read the Daily Journal-Gazette. It has the confidence of its readers.