The evening hours are waning as you prepare yourself for bed. Consciousness begins to slip away from you as you wrap yourself tightly in the sheets of your bed. The toils of the day have begun to slowly dissolve away from your thoughts as your mind slips into sleep. However, a
sudden draft of cold air escaping from a raised window stirs you awake. Through
the fog of your memory you can’t seem to remember cracking the window open, but
then again all of your memories and thoughts at the moment are insubstantial
and scattered. Even though you’re mostly
awake now, your thoughts cannot and will not come to focus. You
only think in passing that you can smell something in the air that's unfamiliar. The smell is sweet yet oddly similar to the smell of sickness. Your eyes attempt to focus out of the dream world and back into reality as
you glance at the window. For a moment,
you think you catch the glimpse of a thin framed figure crawling through the now half opened window. You begin to think that childhood fears are somehow returning to prominence in your mind. You feel silly to suddenly be afraid of the dark, and perhaps you try to displace the thoughts. You blink a few times to rid yourself of the
fragments of sleep that still cling to your eyelids. As the world comes to focus, you find nothing
there behind the window except the curtains swaying slightly against the draft
of the night air. You decide that the
cool air is too much of an inconvenience so you try to get up to close the window. However, you realize quite suddenly and terrifyingly that your body and mind are
disconnected. Your limbs are weak and
brittle and will not respond to the impulses of your brain. Even your
lungs seem to struggle to keep their automatic functions steady and stable. You want
to panic, but something in the air prevents the reptilian part of your brain
from activating your primal instincts.
You are alone and paralyzed. As
you lie there with hope ebbing out of your body, you feel the presence of
someone or something in the room. You
catch the thing; a tall vaguely human shaped figure wearing a coat and black
garbs that give nothing away of what, if any, flesh and bone that may lay underneath. The figure almost seems too thin to be a man, but the fumes in the air are distorting your vision. The reality around you is bending and contorting in odd forms. The figure itself ceases for a moment to even resemble that of a man. Though, your focus keeps jumping from the terrifying delusion and the even more terrifying reality of this thing. A tight fitting hat of some
sort obscures the figure’s face, if it even has one, and the only thing truly discernible about the
figure is the fact that you can see a sort of tubing hanging out from the
figure’s clothes that connects to some sort of sprayer. It looks almost like a stereotypical
insecticide sprayer that maybe someone you know uses on their flowers. The figure hovers
over you for a while as it lifts the sprayer and releases puffs of gas around
you. The smell is familiar now, the same
sweet odor you detected before this nightmare began. You feel nauseated and you can feel your
throat slowly swelling. Consciousness is
slipping fast and you close your eyes.
Hours pass like seconds and as your eyes open and you blink between the
rays of the morning sun, the nausea remains and along with it a headache that now gnaws
away at the sensors of your brain. You
can move now, albeit your limbs are stiff and sore. You're slowly gaining control back. Whatever poison the thing used to
paralyze you has mostly worked its way out of your system…still though the lingering
effects are there. You look around and notice that nothing looks missing in
your room on from your person. You look to the window and find is completely
opened. The impression of footprints can
be seen all around your bed, leading to and from the window. You’re left with more questions than answers.
What was this thing that visited you last night? Why did this person or thing
go through such actions and steps to paralyze you without killing you or
stealing from you? Was it merely the act
of a deranged individual or something else?
While this may sound a bit like something out of a Weekly World News
magazine or a subject on a late night paranormal radio show, an entity/individual known as
the “Phantom Anesthetist/The Mad Gasser(s) of Roanoke/Mattoon” commited similar attacks
as described above in possibly two separate time periods in 1933/34 and again
in 1944. While both events are divided by nearly 10 years
and occurring in two places, Botetourt County, Virginia and Mattoon, Illinois, both separated by
hundreds of miles, the circumstances of the attacks and the methods
employed in the attacks were eerily similar.
Several theories exist about whom or what was responsible for these
attacks including 1: (For both places) A panic created from a mass hysteria
induced by a single/multiple perpetrators' attack on a family, 2: (In the case of
Mattoon) At least one chemical leak in a nearby factory, 3: A potentially
mentally disturbed individual (Roanoke) or mentally disturbed medical student
(Mattoon), and even 4: the possibility of extra-terrestrials visiting and
conducting experiments on individuals in these specific locations. We’ll explore some of those theories as well
as have some recounts from the events involving the “The Mad Gassers of
Roanoke/Mattoon".
On December 22nd, 1933 one family’s terrifying encounter
with the entity that will eventually be known as “The Mad Gasser of Roanoke”
made headlines. The story goes as
follows…
In Botetourt County, Virginia at roughly 10 p.m., the matriarch of the Huffman family reported smelling an unusual sweet odor that was seeping into and through her home. Within minutes of coming into contact with the gas, she became overwhelmed with nausea. Within a half an hour from the first appearance and fading of the odor, another wave of the mysterious gas overtook the home and its occupants. The father of the household, Mr. Hoffman, contacted the police after noticing the unusual odor and gas that was seeping into the house. After the gas dissipated, Mr. Huffman and his family, along with a guest Ashby Henderson retired to their individual bedrooms for sleep. The true nightmare began around 1 a.m. as the house again began filling with the nauseous gas. The symptoms from the gas intensified, resulting in all 8 members of the Huffman family along with their guest suffering from headaches, nausea, and swelling of the face, mouth, and throat. One of Mr. Huffman’s daughters, Alice Huffman suffered a severe reaction and eventually passed out, having to be ultimately resuscitated back to life. Remnants from the gas attacks would affect her for subsequent weeks after the bizarre incident. Neither the Huffman family or their guest were able to identify who or what was behind the incident. Nearly two days later another family was attacked via gas being injected into their household. The bizarre assaults by the Mad Gasser were only beginning.
A depiction of the "Phantom Anesthetist"
On December 24th, a house in Cloverdale, Virginia
would be the next target of the bizarre Gasser.
The household of Mr. and Mrs. Hall along with their two children were
exposed to an unknown gas agent. Similar
symptoms were reported being suffered by the Hall family as those experienced
by the Huffman family. However this time, police were able to track the source of where the gas was emanating from. Police believed that an unidentified
individual had removed a nail from a rear window of the Hall’s house and
used this hole to inject the gas. Forensic
evidence, including high concentrations of residue left by the gas in the area of the nail hole showed that
the gas was being pumped into the house from that area of the home. Mr. Hall rallied several other men from nearby homes and formed a search party in order to track down the assailant, but no suspects were found. Soon after the incident with the Hall family,
numerous other incidents were reported to the police that followed along with a
strange and similar pattern to the first two attacks. For three days the Gasser continued upon his or her's bizarre rampage. On December 28th, the Gasser's attack abruptly ended. The local police were offering a $500 reward for any information on the Gasser, a sizable sum considering the Great Depression at the time. The reward was never claimed. It would be nearly two weeks before the Gasser's attacks would begin again.
One report to the police by a local resident on January 10th mentions that she heard voices before she watched a billow of gas being injected into her house through a cracked window. No description of the assailant was given though. The Gasser's attacks quickly escalated over the following weeks, leading to an all out police investigations as well as several mobs searching in vain for the "Phantom Anesthetist". January 22nd would prove to be the height of the mad Gasser's devious attacks as within a span of an hour the Gasser attacked three sets of individuals before disappear into the night. Raymond Ette and his son, the second group to be victims of the Gasser, claimed to have pursued the Gasser into the woods near their house, even going so far as to fire upon the fleeing Gasser. Though, no evidence that the Gasser was wounded or killed was found. The most frightening aspect of the Gasser's attack was the fact that it seemed as if the Gasser was experimenting on various new types of chemical compositions for his gas.
On February 3rd, the Skagges family was attacked by the Gasser. Mr. Skagges, his wife, and children all suffered from the same effects previously reported by past victims as well as the additional effects of hallucinations and temporary mania. Even the family's dog was reported to have been affected by the gas . The Gasser was evolving in his technique, and it was bringing the people who called the area home to their knees in terror.
February 9th would be considered to be the final day the Gasser would strike before disappearing into obscurity. A gentleman by the name of J.G. Shafe reported a run in with the Gasser in his own home. Mr. Shafe chased the assailant through the snow drifts that covered his land, eventually cornering the Gasser in a barn. However, as Shafe moved in for the kill, The Gasser had mysteriously vanished. Police were called to the scene and followed the footprint trail from Shafe's house to the barn. No evidence was found of footprints leaving from the barn. The Gasser vanished without a trace. It should be noted though that the vague imprints of women's shoes were found nearby on Mr. Shafe's property. However, the distance between the woman's shoe prints and the barn were inconclusive.
Nearly a dozen cases from the advent of the Gasser's attacks on December 22nd through the final one on February 9th were reported. Some of the reported incidents mentioned the possibility of several Gassers working in congruency. One report even mentioned that a family that was affected by the Gasser(s)' attack saw four unknown individuals fleeing from their home and into some nearby woods. Whether or not this was a hallucination from the gas or a real coordinated assault by multiple individuals is unknown. While the police say that several additional claims were made in concerns to the Mad Gasser, several were written off as hoaxes or hysteria. Theories ranged from a panic caused by a potential burglar to a mentally disturbed individual(s) attempting to poison people through the use of insecticides and a flit gun. One unique theory that I'd like to mention that was thrown around at the time was the possibility that the attacks were a form of lashing out by formers soldiers whom were the victims of gas attacks in WW1. A sort of PTSD/shell shock formulating into a psychosis that led the soldiers to act out the abuse they suffered on the battlefield upon others. No matter the theories, as abruptly as the “Phantom Anesthetist” appeared, the entity disappeared forever into the night, leaving more questions than answers. It would be 11 years later and hundreds of miles away in Illinois that a similar string of attacks would occur. This time, a portrait of whom or what was behind the attacks would emerge.
One report to the police by a local resident on January 10th mentions that she heard voices before she watched a billow of gas being injected into her house through a cracked window. No description of the assailant was given though. The Gasser's attacks quickly escalated over the following weeks, leading to an all out police investigations as well as several mobs searching in vain for the "Phantom Anesthetist". January 22nd would prove to be the height of the mad Gasser's devious attacks as within a span of an hour the Gasser attacked three sets of individuals before disappear into the night. Raymond Ette and his son, the second group to be victims of the Gasser, claimed to have pursued the Gasser into the woods near their house, even going so far as to fire upon the fleeing Gasser. Though, no evidence that the Gasser was wounded or killed was found. The most frightening aspect of the Gasser's attack was the fact that it seemed as if the Gasser was experimenting on various new types of chemical compositions for his gas.
On February 3rd, the Skagges family was attacked by the Gasser. Mr. Skagges, his wife, and children all suffered from the same effects previously reported by past victims as well as the additional effects of hallucinations and temporary mania. Even the family's dog was reported to have been affected by the gas . The Gasser was evolving in his technique, and it was bringing the people who called the area home to their knees in terror.
February 9th would be considered to be the final day the Gasser would strike before disappearing into obscurity. A gentleman by the name of J.G. Shafe reported a run in with the Gasser in his own home. Mr. Shafe chased the assailant through the snow drifts that covered his land, eventually cornering the Gasser in a barn. However, as Shafe moved in for the kill, The Gasser had mysteriously vanished. Police were called to the scene and followed the footprint trail from Shafe's house to the barn. No evidence was found of footprints leaving from the barn. The Gasser vanished without a trace. It should be noted though that the vague imprints of women's shoes were found nearby on Mr. Shafe's property. However, the distance between the woman's shoe prints and the barn were inconclusive.
Nearly a dozen cases from the advent of the Gasser's attacks on December 22nd through the final one on February 9th were reported. Some of the reported incidents mentioned the possibility of several Gassers working in congruency. One report even mentioned that a family that was affected by the Gasser(s)' attack saw four unknown individuals fleeing from their home and into some nearby woods. Whether or not this was a hallucination from the gas or a real coordinated assault by multiple individuals is unknown. While the police say that several additional claims were made in concerns to the Mad Gasser, several were written off as hoaxes or hysteria. Theories ranged from a panic caused by a potential burglar to a mentally disturbed individual(s) attempting to poison people through the use of insecticides and a flit gun. One unique theory that I'd like to mention that was thrown around at the time was the possibility that the attacks were a form of lashing out by formers soldiers whom were the victims of gas attacks in WW1. A sort of PTSD/shell shock formulating into a psychosis that led the soldiers to act out the abuse they suffered on the battlefield upon others. No matter the theories, as abruptly as the “Phantom Anesthetist” appeared, the entity disappeared forever into the night, leaving more questions than answers. It would be 11 years later and hundreds of miles away in Illinois that a similar string of attacks would occur. This time, a portrait of whom or what was behind the attacks would emerge.
A Flint Gun used in the early 20th century for spraying insecticides.
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