The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: The Invisible Attacker of 1944

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: The Phantom Who Sprayed Terror

In the quiet streets of Mattoon, Illinois, during the anxious summer of 1944, a tall figure in black began spraying a sickly sweet gas into bedroom windows. Victims awoke paralyzed, lungs burning, lips swollen, vomiting for hours. No footprints. No fingerprints. No gas residue. Over two weeks, 30+ attacks terrorized the town of 15,000.

Police patrols, vigilantes, and FBI agents hunted the "Mad Anesthetist." Newspapers screamed headlines. Then, as suddenly as it began, the gassing stopped. No arrest. No confession. Was it a real phantom attacker, wartime hysteria, or industrial poison? 80 years later, the Mad Gasser remains America's strangest unsolved serial assault.

The First Attack: A Family Paralyzed

September 1, 1944, 12:30 a.m. Urban Raef, a welder, woke to a "sickly sweet" odor in his home at 1408 Marshall Avenue. His wife Bertha felt paralyzed, unable to move or call out. Their daughter Glenda, 9, vomited violently. Raef smelled gas but saw nothing outside. He called police, who found no intruder. Doctors diagnosed "gas poisoning" but no source.

That same night, Mrs. Russell Cordes at 1116 North 15th Street reported a cloth soaked in gas under her window. She collapsed, legs paralyzed for 40 minutes, lips swollen, throat burning. Police found a skeleton key and empty lipstick tube on the porch, no prints.

The Wave: 30+ Attacks in 13 Days

From September 1 to September 13, 1944, Mattoon descended into chaos. What began as two isolated incidents exploded into a nightly siege. The Mattoon Daily Journal-Gazette ran front-page headlines daily: "Mad Anesthetist Prowls At Night," "Anesthetic Prowler On Loose," "Mrs. Kearney Reports Third Gas Attack."

By September 8, the paper counted 12 attacks in one night. Over 30 verified reports flooded police lines, with dozens more unconfirmed. Victims described a tall, thin figure in black, sometimes wearing a tight skullcap ("womanish build"), spraying gas through open windows or keyholes.

Symptoms were eerily consistent: a sickly sweet or chlorine-like odor, immediate nausea, burning in throat and lips, swelling, temporary paralysis (30 to 90 minutes), vomiting, and a metallic taste. No deaths, but several required hospital treatment for dehydration.

Here is the most complete victim chronology compiled from police reports, newspaper archives, and FBI files:

• Sept 1, 12:30 a.m. Urban A. Raef (1408 Marshall Ave): Woke to sweet odor. Wife Bertha paralyzed, unable to speak. Daughter Glenda vomited. Called police; no intruder found.
• Sept 1, late night Mrs. Russell Cordes (1116 N. 15th St): Found gas-soaked cloth under bedroom window. Collapsed with burning throat, swollen lips, paralysis for 40 minutes. Police found skeleton key and empty lipstick tube on porch.
• Sept 2 Mrs. Cordes again: Second attack, stronger gas.
• Sept 5, evening Mrs. Laura Junk (1217 Moultrie Ave): Gas through screen, paralyzed, vomited blood. Tall figure seen fleeing.
• Sept 5, night Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Wright (1416 Richmond Ave): Sweet odor, burning sensations, temporary blindness.
• Sept 6 Mrs. Beulah Cordier and daughter Dorothy (1500 block Marshall): Gas smell, burning mouths, paralysis. Dorothy: "Felt like electricity through my legs."
• Sept 6 Mrs. Orville Taylor: Gas through window, vomiting.
• Sept 7 Mrs. Arden Kearney (DeWitt Ave): First of 3 attacks. Gas so strong it melted nylon stockings hanging nearby.


• Sept 8, peak night (12 attacks):
• Mrs. Kearney (third attack).
• Mrs. Cordes (third attack).
• Mrs. Evelyn Harris: Paralyzed, saw tall man in black cap.
• Mrs. Frances Smith: Gas through keyhole, lips blue.
• Mr. and Mrs. Carl Cordes: Gas melted stockings again.
• 6 more families in north Mattoon reported similar symptoms.


• Sept 9 Mrs. Genevieve Haskell: Gas, paralysis, saw figure in tight cap.
• Sept 10 Mr. and Mrs. Carl Cordes: Fourth attack for family. Carl saw figure spray window, chased but lost in alley.
• Sept 11 Mrs. Katherine Hill: Gas through bathroom window, vomiting.
• Sept 12 Last major wave: 5 attacks, including repeat victims.
• Sept 13 Final report: Unnamed family on Broadway, mild symptoms.

Total: 30+ verified, 70+ claimed. Attacks concentrated in north Mattoon (working-class neighborhoods near railroad and factories). Police logged 500+ vigilante calls. One night, gunfire erupted as residents shot at shadows. A man was arrested for "discharging firearms" after shooting at a "prowler" that turned out to be a bush.

Medical response: Dr. M.A. Schindler treated 20 victims, noting "electric shock" sensation and no organic cause. Mattoon Water Works lab tested air: nothing. FBI chemical expert (declassified file): "No gas residue recoverable."

Chief Cole's September 12 statement: "There is no Mad Gasser. It is a product of hysteria." Wait, hysteria melts nylon? However, the attacks did indeed stop cold the next day.

The Evidence: Sketches, Vigilantes, and FBI Files

Physical clues:

• Police Sketches: Tall man in tight black cap, black suit, skullcap, "womanish" build. Footprints in soft soil (size 9, narrow heel).
• Artifacts: Skeleton key, lipstick tube, rags with sweet odor, window screens torn.
• FBI Report (declassified 1970s): Case #62-0, 200+ pages. Interviewed 100+ witnesses. No gas detected (Mattoon Water Works lab). Symptoms match hysteria + carbon tetrachloride from local factories.
• Medical Exams: Dr. M.A. Schindler treated 20 victims. "Electric shock" sensation, no organic cause.

Vigilantes armed with shotguns patrolled the streets. On one night it is claimed 500 men hunted for the Mad Gasser with gunfire echoing through the streets. Nothing or nobody was captured though.

Theories: Real Gasser or Mass Hysteria?

1. Real Attacker (Early Consensus)
Pros: Physical evidence (rags, footprints), consistent MO, multiple independent witnesses.
Cons: No motive, no capture, symptoms psychosomatic.
Likelihood: 20%.

2. Mass Hysteria (Modern Consensus)
Pros: Wartime anxiety (WWII newsreels), copycat reports, symptoms match anxiety attacks, no gas residue.
Cons: Initial attacks real (Raef, Cordes).
Likelihood: 70%.

3. Industrial Poison (Chemical Theory)
Pros: Atlas Imperial Diesel plant leaked carbon tetrachloride (sweet odor, paralysis). Wind patterns match attacks.
Cons: No direct correlation.
Likelihood: 10%.

"There is no Mad Gasser. It is a product of hysteria." (Chief Cole, Sept 12, 1944)

Why It Haunts: The Town That Breathed Fear

The Mad Gasser endures as America's purest mass hysteria case. In 1944, with sons dying overseas, Mattoon needed a villain. Newspapers fueled panic. Attacks stopped after Cole's statement. No charges. The "Gasser" vanished like gas in wind. As sociologist Donald Johnson wrote (1945 study): "A classic case of communal delusion." Yet Raef's family insisted: "We know what we smelled." 80 years later, the rags, sketches, and FBI files remain.

Timeline: From First Whiff to Final Denial

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Mad Gasser of Mattoon (Full timeline, quotes).
2. Smithsonian: The Infamous Mad Gasser of Mattoon (2015 analysis, Cole statement).
3. Atlas Obscura: The Mad Gasser of Mattoon (Victim accounts, sketches).
4. University of Illinois: The Mad Gasser of Mattoon (2019 report).
5. History.com: The Mad Gasser of Mattoon (FBI involvement, chemical theory).