Mad Gasser of Mattoon

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon, also known as the Phantom Anesthetist, was the name given to an event of alleged mass hysteria involving a series of apparent gas attacks reported in Mattoon, Illinois, during the mid-1940s, with more than two dozen separate gassing cases reported to police over two weeks alongside many additional sightings of the suspected assailant. Victims reported smelling strange odors in their homes followed by symptoms such as leg paralysis, coughing, nausea and vomiting, though no one died or suffered serious medical consequences; police remained skeptical throughout, and many reported gassings had simple explanations such as spilled nail polish or odors from animals or local factories, with victims making quick recoveries and suffering no long-term effects, yet local newspapers ran alarmist articles treating the accounts as fact. The mass hysteria explanation is widely accepted today, though some maintain that a Mad Gasser actually existed.