Unsolved Mystery Mad Gasser Of Mattoon
The mystery of “Mad Gasser of Mattoon” or "madman gas spreader from Mattoon" is one of the great unsolved mysteries of the world. More than 50 years ago, the media in Virginia and Illinois were frightened by a mysterious figure in the darkness that struck the villagers with strange-smelling gas. This incident began at 10 p.m. on the night of December 22, 1933, in a small town called Botetourt County, Virginia. Mrs. Cal Huffman was still awake at that time. Then, she smelled a strange sweet smell in her house. Suddenly, she felt dizzy.
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| Mad Gasser of Mattoon |
At 1.30 p.m. the smell came back. This time the sensation was so strong that caused eight people in the Mrs. Cal Huffman house felt the effects. All those who smelled that gas began to feel nausea, dizziness, facial cramps, and shortness of breath but there was no death victim. No one could explain where the smell came from. However, Mr. Huffman was convinced that he saw a man running away in the night. When police checked the scene, they only found a trace of high heels near the window. Two days later, the mysterious odor reappeared in Cloverdale.
After the first incident, the mysterious odor also continued to happen in other places in a short time. Someday, the police that began to realize the dangers of these attacks had provided a reward of $ 500 for anyone who can provide information about the gas dispensers. The latest attack occurred in 1934 on 11 February when five reports of attacks entered the police station. On the same day, the police found a small bottle of liquid in the snow around the house of the victim in Botetourt. The liquids were harmless to humans or like insect sprayers in every household. After the discovery of the little evidence, for some reason, the entire gas attack suddenly stopped.
However, 10 years later, the lunatic gas spreader was back in action. This time the attacks occurred in Mattoon and Illinois which began in late August 1944. This attack lasted for several weeks that caused nausea, dizziness, facial cramps, and shortness of breath. The media began to preach that the crazy gas spreader who had terrorized Virginia 10 years ago had come to Illinois. Then, the media began to dub the person with various nicknames such as Mad Gasser of Mattoon, Anesthetic Prowler or Phantom Anesthetic.
Many victims reported that they saw a tall figure in black who was seen running from their home page shortly after the attack. For over half a century, the writers, researchers, and historians have tried to look back at the case. Many theories appeared from the incident such as mass hysteria theory or pollution theory. However, the theory cannot be proved completely. Because of these kinds of questions and theory, the mystery of mad gasser is never considered to be completely solved.