The night of august 31st, 1944 would change all that and bring mattoon into the history books of the strange and. The mad gasser of mattoon also known as the anesthetic prowler, the phantom anesthetist, or simply the mad gasser was the name given to the person or people believed to be responsible for a series of apparent gas attacks that occurred in mattoon, illinois, during the mid1940s. Nearby are many oil wells, a fish hatchery, and lake mattoon. If the morning newspapers dedicated more space to the gasser, more reports came in that day. Mattoon was the site of the mad gasser attacks of the 1940s. The mad gasser of mattoon ultimately generated three main theories. The mattoon family name was found in the usa between 1840 and 1920.
Has the mad gasser returned to itshis old stomping grounds. Regarding the latter, the police chief would say that all of the gas attacks were caused by chemicals carried by the wind from nearby industrial plants, that there was no mad gasser at all. Founded less than 100 years previous to the attacks, mattoon has a rich railroad history and has seen many famous civil war icons passing through on their way to shape modern america. Scholarships updated march 30th, 2020 read through the list of available scholarships that is attached. Mattoon is a city in coles county, illinois, united states. Victims reported smelling a sickly sweet odor in their bedrooms before being overcome with nausea and a feeling of paralysis. The most mattoon families were found in the usa in 1880. He writes about a wide range of unsolved mysteries, including bigfoot, ufos, the loch ness monster, alien encounters, and government conspiracies. As far as the project goes, we usually concentrate on one monster a month, and post columns and art related to it, but we thought the holidays would be a good opportunity to focus on some of the more specifically small or oneoff sightings. Mattoon illinois in the summer of 1944 was just a typical small town of about 16,000 inhabitants. In 1944, a bizarre criminal assaulted the small town of mattoon, illinois. The incidents began on august 31, 1944, and lasted two weeks.
In 1944, mattoon, illinois succumbed to the best known and most commonly cited case of mass hysteria in the twentieth century. The legend of the mad gasser of mattoon was born but the case has. The mad gasser of mattoon by alan bellows 14 december 2005. Feb 11, 2020 the press later identified this person as the mad gasser of mattoon. Dec 14, 2005 other newspapers quickly picked up the story, and soon the entire country was reading about mattoons rumored mad gasser. Mattoon is a city in coles county, and was the site of the mad gasser attacks of the 1940s. The mad gasser of mattoon in mattoon, illinois in the early 1930s, reports started popping up of a man or woman deliberately spraying poisonous gasses into peoples homes via the windows, and in some cases, building crude barricades to keep the victims inside. Tags mad gasser mattoon men in black nick redfern works full time as a writer, lecturer, and journalist. The mad gasser of mattoon was the name given to the person or people believed to be responsible for a series of apparent gas attacks. B this article has been rated as bclass on the projects quality scale. Mattoon, city, coles county, eastcentral illinois, u.
Oct 10, 2016 the mad gasser of mattoon ultimately generated three main theories. Consider americans today, reading and viewing stories over and over, day after day. Sep 14, 2016 who was the mad gasser of mattoon illinois. Search 299 then share your genealogy and compare dna to grow an accurate global family tree thats free forever. On september 2, 1944, as the second world war was in progress in europe and the pacific, some strange happenings were reported in the small town of mattoon, illinois. Massachusetts had the highest population of mattoon families in 1840. This was about 30% of all the recorded mattoon s in the usa. Examine a guide to recreational opportunities, rentals, real estate, hotels and cultural events in the water district of lake mattoon. According to eyewitnesses, numerous sightings, and even physical evidence left behind, the town was under attack by a mysterious man in black who was for unknown reasons spraying some sort of paralyzing gas into the windows of unsuspecting residents.
It just sounds so cool and mysterious, even though it was probably just a case of mass histeria. In 1944, the people of mattoon, il lived in fear of a madman that was going around spraying homes with toxic gas. Prowler, the mad gasser of mattoon jason lee brown on. Welcome to the quasi official page of the mattoon mad gasser. The legend of the mad gasser of mattoon was born but the case has remained unsolved ever since. This article is within the scope of wikiproject illinois, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of illinois on wikipedia. The night of august 31st, 1944 would change all that and bring mattoon. Japans world war ii balloon bomb attacks on north america. Mad gasser of mattoon mad scientist skeleton witch mordles by toyfinity 20 sect of rand m. Was this just a oneoff event, which has more to do with the mib than the mad gasser. Dispelling the hysteria, maruna points the finger squarely at llewellyn. But, i hope to pay emma a visit in the near future. For the past 10 years or so i potraied the famous assailant at the former ashmore estates haunted attraction, wrote a series of mini stories about a new mad gasser and was going to make a film turning him into a anti hero. Some have claimed that there was indeed an attacker whilst others dismiss the claims as.
Aug 05, 2017 in 1944, the town of mattoon, illinois was plagued by reports of a madman using toxic gas to target residents. The mad gasser of mattoon the dark histories podcast. Still, as a case study in mass hysteria, the mattoon epidemic is a useful example in how quickly fear can arise and how easy it is to spin out of control. Our chrysler dodge jeep ram car dealership is stocked with all of the best models. Mattoon lies near the little wabash river impounded to form lake mattoon, about 45 miles 70 km south of champaign. The mad gasser of mattoon, illinois historic mysteries. Mattoon is a small manufacturing town at the junction of two railroads in the midst of endless plains of midwestern agriculture. One of the main factors determining the settlement of mattoon and coles county in general was the topography. A tense and fearful public was primed during wartime to believe with little evidence. For example, 5i is an imaginary number and is equivalent to 1. Chrysler dodge jeep ram car dealer near mattoon il. Coles county is part of the charlestonmattoon illinois micropolitan statistical area and consists of two cities, four villages and twelve townships.
To this day, no one knows exactly who perpetrated a series of alleged gas attacks, nor has. The helpful staff at trinity dodge are proud to serve the community of mattoon and would like to have the chance to earn your business. With the exception of the 1938 martian panic triggered by the orson welles radio dramatization of war of the worlds, mattoon, illinois, probably holds the distinction of hosting the most widely discussed twentiethcentury mass delusion in the united statesat least among those who specialize in studying such. More than two dozen separate cases of gassings were reported to police over the span of two weeks, in addition to many more reported sightings of the suspected assailant. The scholarship descriptions will indicate where they are located. Panic took hold as locals tried to figure out what was happening in their small illinois community. In early september 1944, a strange series of events occurred in the small central illinois town of mattoon. Books by rod mattoon author of treasures from malachi. The mad gasser of mattoon in 1944, a strange night prowler is believed to have made poison gas attacks in illinois. The small towns fears of an enemy within, stalking them like prey. Possible explanations for the mad gasser of mattoon exemplore. Its the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard of, and its a prime example of how the.
Dec, 2016 the attacks were often accompanied by sightings of a tall, dark man, whom many believed to be the perpetrator of the attacks. The mad gasser of mattoon became one of the most famous case studies in mass hysteria. The mad gasser of mattoon is probably one of my favorite myths ever. This article falls under the scope of wikiproject paranormal, which aims to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to the paranormal and related topics on wikipedia. Please come and learn about your childs development, as well as preschool opportunities for the 20202021 school year. New mattoon restaurants new restaurants in mattoon il. Mattoon community unit school district 2 scholarships 20192020. The story of the phantom anesthetist or, more popularly, the mad gasser of mattoon. The gasser had been described as carrying a flit gun, an agricultural tool for spraying pesticide, which he purportedly used to expel. Rumor, fear, and the madness of crowds by j p chaplin. Franklin preschool of mattoon community unit school district 2 is conducting preschool roundup screenings on feb.
Scholarship applications must include a completed and signed application form, an essay, 2 letters of recommendation, and a current. He came to be known as the mad gasser and by the time his gassing spree ended, over. In 1944, the town of mattoon, illinois was plagued by reports of a madman using toxic gas to target residents. She does all of the illustration and design for the singular fortean society.
In this weeks episode of the futility closet podcast well pursue the mad gasser of mattoon, who vanished as quickly as he had struck, leaving residents to wonder whether he had ever existed. And the mad gasser was as silent as the newspapers during that initial 2day labor day publishing break. This was about 30% of all the recorded mattoons in the usa. And if the mad gasser actually existed he never tried to break into any ones house before, making some believe that this was the work of someone else. Anyway, im actually filming a horror movie with my group and the mad gasser is part of it, heres a still from the scene. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. In 1840 there were 17 mattoon families living in massachusetts. In search of the mad gasser of mattoon chuck straub. Shut the windows and change your mask filters, the mad gasser of mattoon is prowling the podcast. The number is the basis of any imaginary number, which, in general, is any real number times i. If there are scholarships that apply to you the application is either online or provided in the file folders located in student services. Remote work advice from the largest allremote company. Mattoon community unit school district 2 scholarships. In the case for a mad gasser being an actual, physical attacker, there is some amount of evidence.
The scholarship is intended to assist with the cost of a program of higher education at either a 2 or 4year institution only. Low this article has been rated as lowimportance on the. The city is home to a burger king that is not related to the worldwide burger king chain. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. I have done, seen, and heard of some ridiculous things in my time, but nothing compares to the story that im about to relate to you. Jan 22, 2017 the riddle mattoon high school year book 1927. Its encounter with the mad gasser began on the night of september 1, 1944, just as allied troops in europe were recapturing france and belgium and germany began to scramble for an advantage.
But yet again this did not fit the tactics of the mad gasser so it did seem that some shady people were trying to take advantage of this situation making the residents within this community even more nervous. According to eyewitnesses, numerous sightings, and even physical evidence left behind, the town was under attack by a mysterious man in black who was for unknown reasons. To this day, the identity of the mad gasser remains a mystery, as does the reason why he chose to wreak havoc in mattoon. A wwiiera midwestern mystery, the mad gasser of mattoon held a small town in a gaseous grip of fear for 2 weeks with no explanation and few suspects. Mattoon real estate mattoon il homes for sale zillow. For paper applications, if you are taking the last one please. Originally called pegtown for the stakes that marked lots for public auction, it was founded in 1854 at the junction of the illinois central and the terre haute and alton railroads. Among its manufactures are paper products, electrical and fireprevention equipment, machinery, and signs.
It is a principal city of the charlestonmattoon micropolitan statistical area. Did mattoon have a mad scientist or a mad population io9. The mad gasser of mattoon, also known as the phantom anesthetist or anesthetic prowler, was the supposed perpetrator of a series of alleged gas attacks targeting the residents of mattoon, illinois. Lake mattoon, illinois community and visitors guide. The press later identified this person as the mad gasser of mattoon. Aug 28, 2019 illinois historian scott maruna believes farley was the culprit. After this night, the mad gasser of mattoon was never seen or heard from again.
It is a processing, rail, and industrial center for a farming region. And rumors started to spread that the real mad gasser was from an insane asylum and he had just recently escaped. Aug 05, 2011 did the mad gasser of mattoon really exist. If you agree with our 9point honor code wed love your help filling in the blanks and fixing mistakes. The mad gasser of mattoon was the name given to the person or people believed to be responsible for a series of apparent gas attacks that occurred in mattoon, illinois, during the mid1940s. Mattoon article about mattoon by the free dictionary. Mattoon, illinois leisure and entertainment directory. You can see how mattoon families moved over time by selecting different census years. Wwii era mattoon, illinois, is descending in madness. The front page of the towns newspaper described a mysterious attack by an anesthetic prowler the previous.
And that very same night there was a women that was attacked by a tall man dressed in all black and she told the. Possible explanations for the mad gasser of mattoon. The gassers supposed victims reported smelling strange odors in their homes which were soon followed by symptoms such as paralysis of the. Other theories of the mad gasser of mattoon range from the somewhat understandable, in the case of there actually being a gasser on the loose, to the downright absurd, including multidimensional apelike beings attacking residents with spray guns. This county is also home to many wellknown folktales and legends including the ghost of mary hawkins at pemberton hall and the mad gasser of mattoon. If you would like to participate, you can edit the attached article, help with current tasks, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and discussions.
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