The Mad Gasser

In August of 1944 mass hysteria hit the town of Mattoon, Illinois. A prowler was loose, a tall gangly man dressed in black with carrying a flit gun was attacking the homes of many. The first victims were Mr. and Mrs. Urban Raef. They claimed to be weak and nauseated and when Mrs. Raef went to check to see if she left the gas stove on, she couldn't move. Later that night, another report was filed, this time by a young mother whose daughter suffered from serious coughing fits and that she couldn't get out of bed. The initial response to the gasser was one of robbery. After the first two incidents, about a half a dozen more sighting were reported, though no evidence was ever found. Also, none one could give a good description of the gasser.

Hysteria continued and people claimed spotting footprints or tears in window screens. A month later, the police had received so many false alarms of the Mad Gasser that they lessened their search and claimed that it they were explainable occurrences that got out of hand by a few scared citizens. After the police lessened their search, the number of reports also diminished. Chief of Police C. E. Cole later announced that the Mad Gasser was entirely fictional and that the reported incidents had been triggered by a local chemical spill in an industrial waste center.

Mass hysteria raged rampant in Mattoon, Illinois. After one incident, most people become alarmed and look for things that seem abnormal and let their imagination wander. This was one of those situations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mad_Gasser_of_Mattoon

http://www.eiu.edu/~localite/coles/mattoon/gasser/Mattoon%20headlines.htm