Mad Gasser of Mattoon

In 1944, terror gripped the Illinois town of Mattoon when a mysterious, even ghostly “serial gasser” was said to dash up to homes and spray petrochemicals through windows, causing widespread illness. Some victims began to vomit, while others were said to suffer bouts of paralysis. Between August and September, twenty five homeowners became victims of the crazed attacker. Only 5 witnesses claimed to have seen him, describing him slender and dressed in black. Local police were baffled and the FBI was called in to investigate. When they could not find a suspect, they claimed the fumes had blown into the house from industrial centers, but the local diesel plant denied these claims. In a bizarre twist, one victim identified the “mad gasser” as a women dressed as a man, and high heeled shoe prints were found. Theories range from a deranged terrorist to a Nazi spy testing chemical weapons.