The Return of the “Phantom Anesthetist”
We move ahead from the bizarre events surrounding the
citizens of Botetourt County, Virginia during the winter of 1933/34 and fast
forward ten years to 1944. The world has escaped the clutches of “The Great
Depression” only to find itself plunged into the full out horror of World War
II. The backdrop of the Mad Gasser’s
return would coincide with the height of the war in 1944. America was in full war time mode, with the
majority of the men from the country out in the trenches of Europe or island
hopping in the Pacific fighting to protect their homeland from the axis powers. Fear and paranoia hung in the air like a
vaporous poison, and looking back now it seemed a perfectly eerie backdrop to
the return of the “Phantom Anesthetist”.
This time though, the Mad Gasser would pick a new location to begin a
new reign of terror…..Mattoon, Illinois.
The Terror Begins Anew
On August 31st,
1944 in a small house on Grant Avenue in the town of Mattoon, Illinois would
become the first stage in the Mad Gasser’s attacks upon the town. A gentleman by the name of Urban Raef was
awoken by a strange odor that had encompassed most of the interior of his house. Soon Mr. Raef was overtaken by headaches, nausea
leading to bouts of vomiting and even myasthenia (muscle weakness). Urban’s wife, suspecting that perhaps there
was a leak in the gas line to the house, attempted to check the gas line for
her husband. Unfortunately, she found
herself partially paralyzed and unable to move out of bed. Mr. & Mrs. Raef would simply be the first
victims of the night, with another two (a mother & daughter) being added to
the list by the morning.
September 1st
would bring another group of victims as well as a description of the
assailant. A Mrs. Kearney reported that
at around 11 p.m. , a strange odor began to overtake her household. At first Mrs. Kearney dismissed the smell,
but soon the gas became overwhelming, and eventually she began to suffer from
partial paralysis along with nausea. In
a panic Mrs. Kearney contacted her sister (whom was upstairs at the time) about
her condition, whom in turn contacted the police. Mrs. Kearney’s husband arrived home around
12:30 a.m. and discovered an unidentified assailant outside of his
household. Mr. Kearney described the
assailant as a tall, thin framed man wearing dark clothing and a tight fitting
cap around his head. Mr. Kearney
attempted to chase after the prowler, but ultimately the mysterious individual was
able to escape. This would remain the
general description of the “Mad Gasser of Mattoon” for the rest of the timeline
of the attacks.
For nearly two weeks
the attacks continued, remaining more or less the same throughout. An unknown assailant would sneak up to houses
and through various entryways (usually through a cracked windows, doors, and
even holes in the floorboard), would inject some sort of gas into these
households. The victims inside would all
suffer more or less from the same symptoms (partial paralysis, nausea/vomiting,
headaches, and swelling (of the mouth, tongue, nasal passages, and the
trachea)). From August 31st
to September 13th, the Gasser’s reign of terror would hold the town
of Mattoon hostage until, as mysteriously as the Gasser appeared, the Gasser disappeared without a trace. The police
ultimately found little evidence as to the identity of the Gasser. Though several misnomers about the identity
and the methods used by the Gasser in his/her’s attacks were brought up by the
victims, none of them were able to paint a complete picture of the Gasser or of
the Gasser’s motives.
*One of the victims reported seeing blue gas being pumped
into her house and also hearing the buzzing of some sort of equipment. It was hypothesized that the Gasser was using
equipment traditionally used by farmers for fumigating crops.
*The supposed final victim, a Ms. Bertha Burch described an
encounter with the Mad Gasser, and said that the Gasser was a woman dressed as
a man. While a set of woman’s footprints
were found on Ms. Burch’s property that were not the victim’s, the police ultimately
were unable to collaborate her story.
Theories on the Mattoon Gasser’s Identity
1. Mass Hysteria/Burglar: It’s been proposed that a possible burglar
was using some sort of anesthesia/sleeping gas/ Diethyl ether to paralyze
victims while robbing the house. This
may be a copycat burglar whom followed after the potential assailant in Botetourt
County in 1934
2. Toxic Waste or Pollution/emissions from a nearby
factory: Police investigated nearby
factories and released public statements about the possibility of pollution
from nearby factories being a potential cause of sickness amongst those in
Mattoon. This may take into account the similarly
reported (sweet odor) and symptoms across all the victims.
3. An Actual Assailant: It is possible that the assailant had some
connection to the Gasser attacks in Botetourt County and may actually be one in
the same.
4.
Aliens/Paranormal Beings: It has been hypothesized that due to the bizarre
attacks by “The Phantom Anesthetist” and the fact that there were no discernible
reasons behind the attacks (burglary, murder, sexual assault, etc) and also the
fact that there was no physical trace of the Gasser, some people theorize that
the Gasser’s identity may lie more in the paranormal. People throughout the decades have suffered
from experiences of being paralyzed in bed and being visited by “strange beings”
that do nothing physically traceable to them except viewing them. Could the “Mad Gasser” be a precursor or
interpretation of such experiences?
5. Disturbed Medical Student: Scott Maruna, a former resident that was affected by the 1944 Mattoon attacks wrote a book entitled "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: Dispelling the Hysteria", theorized that a medical student from The University of Illinois by the name of Farley Llewellyn may have been responsible for the gas attacks. Mr. Llewellyn was known as an accomplished chemist student that was ridiculed by the population of Mattoon due to rumors that he was a homosexual. More information about this can theory can be found in Mr. Maruna's book.
No other attacks were reported after 1944. At the time of this posting, no information on the identity or the whereabouts of "The Phantom Anethesist" has been found
5. Disturbed Medical Student: Scott Maruna, a former resident that was affected by the 1944 Mattoon attacks wrote a book entitled "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: Dispelling the Hysteria", theorized that a medical student from The University of Illinois by the name of Farley Llewellyn may have been responsible for the gas attacks. Mr. Llewellyn was known as an accomplished chemist student that was ridiculed by the population of Mattoon due to rumors that he was a homosexual. More information about this can theory can be found in Mr. Maruna's book.
No other attacks were reported after 1944. At the time of this posting, no information on the identity or the whereabouts of "The Phantom Anethesist" has been found
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