The Mad Gasser of Mattoon
Stuff You Missed in History Class
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The Mystery Smell of Chloroform
Four more cases, including one several months old, were brought to light. The Rafe's had a very similar scenario play out at their home. Mrs. Ryder noticed the smell in the night and when her husband who worked nights got home in the morning, she told him she had smelled something that did not smell like chloroform. It's not established why she would know what chloroform smelled like.
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In 1944, a small town in Illinois was gripped with fear that someone was spraying a toxic gas into their homes as they slept. And while there have been several explanations, there isn’t any one that’s recognized or accepted as the truth.
Research:
- “‘Anesthetic Prowler’ Covers City.” Journal Gazette. Sept. 5, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/93681179/?terms=%22Urban%20Raef%22%20&match=1
- “‘Anesthetic Prowler’ on Loose.” Journal Gazette. Sept. 2, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/93681104/?terms=%22%27Anesthetic%20Prowler%27%20%22%20%20Loose.%22&match=1
- “At Night in Mattoon.” Time. Sept. 18, 1944. https://web.archive.org/web/20080306220348/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,796678,00.html
- “Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning.” Centers for Disease Control. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/carbon_tetrachloride/docs/Carbon_Tetra_Patient_Ed_Sheet-508.pdf
- Chaplin, James Patrick. “Rumor, Fear, and the Madness of Crowds.” Ballantine Books. New York. 1959. Accessed onling: https://archive.org/details/rumorfearmadness00chap/page/10/mode/2up
- Fopay, Dave. “’Mad Gasser’ Author Points Finger at ‘Brilliant’ Chemistry Student.” Journal Gazette. June 30, 2003. https://www.newspapers.com/image/84792181/?terms=%22Farley%20Llewellyn%22%20&match=1
- “History of Coles County.” Coles County, Illinois Homepage. https://www.co.coles.il.us/genInfo.html#:~:text=Mattoon%20was%20founded%20as%20a,Stephen%20Doles%20and%20Ebenezer%20Noyes.
- “’Hysterical Mistake,’ Police Say of Mattoon’s Gas-Spraying.” Sun-Telegram (Richmond, Indiana). Sept. 13, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/253218677/?terms=%22Atlas%20Imperial%20Diesel%22%20Engine&match=1
- “Intensify Hunt For Paralysis Gas Prowler” Mattoon Orders Police on 24 Hour Watch.” Chicago Tribune. Sept. 7, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/370374182/?terms=%22anesthetic%20prowler%22%20&match=1
- “Is ‘Madman od Mattoon,’ Who Gasses Victims, Real or Result of Comic Book Imagination?” Press and Sun Bulletin. Sept. 8, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/260955754/?terms=Beulah%20Cordes&match=1
- Johnson, Brooke. “Author Claims to have solved ‘Mad Gasser.’” Journal Gazette. March 22, 2003. https://www.newspapers.com/image/84639401/
- “Mad Anesthetist Keeps Town Awake.” Independent. Sept 8, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/718770228/?terms=Beulah%20Cordes&match=1
- “Madman of Mattoon: 2 More are Victims of Phantom Prowler.” The Times Herald. Sept. 9, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/209765891/?terms=%22%27Anesthetic%20Prowler%27%20%22%20%20Loose.%22&match=1
- Maruna, Scott. “ The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: Dispelling the Hysteria.” Swamp Gas Book Company. 2003.
- Hereford, Robert A. “Mattoon Argues Over Denial That Prowler Exists.” St. Louis Star and Times. Sept. 13, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/205455415/?terms=%22Atlas%20Imperial%20Diesel%22%20Engine&match=1
- “Police Get Two False Alarms During Night.” Journal Gazette. Sept 13, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/93681538/?terms=%22Police%20get%20two%20false%20alarms%20during%20night%22&match=1
- “Prowler Sprays Fumes Which Cause Paralysis.” Times-Tribune. Sept. 7, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/534404923/?terms=%22anesthetic%20prowler%22%20&match=1
- “Some Say ‘Madman of Mattoon’ Is Hoax.” The Dispatch. Sept 8, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/340095570/?terms=Beulah%20Cordes&match=1
- Waters, Dustin. “The mystery of the ‘Mad Gasser of Mattoon’ who terrorized an Illinois town.” Washington Post. Oct. 30, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/10/30/mad-gasser-mattoon-illinois-mystery/
- “Wave of Hysteria Hits Mattoon; Police Watch Amateur Chemist.” The Palladium-Item. Sept. 12, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/253218459/?terms=%22Aline%20Kearney%22%20&match=1
- “We face the future knowing we have won … Staunch Friends.” Journal Gazette. Sept 26, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/93682148/?terms=atlas%20diesel&match=1
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