The Mattoon Gas Attacks Begin

• 💡 In September 1944, residents of Mattoon, Illinois, experienced a series of mysterious poison gas attacks, characterized by a sweet perfume smell and alarming symptoms.
• 📌 The first publicized incident involved Ellen Kierney, who was woken by a sickening sweet odor and felt paralysis in her legs, while her daughter became ill.
• 👁️ Kierney's husband reported seeing a tall man in dark clothing and a tight-fitting hat outside their bedroom window, suggesting a deliberate perpetrator.
• ⚠️ Prior to Kierney's case, Urban Rafe and his wife also suffered similar symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, and paralysis, after smelling a strange odor in their home.

Alarming Symptoms and Public Panic

• ⚡ Victims consistently reported a sweet smell, followed by paralysis, and in severe cases, dry mouth, burnt lips, and even spitting blood, indicating corrosive chemical exposure.
• 🚨 Over two weeks, more than 35 alleged reports of gassings emerged, causing widespread fear and prompting citizens to patrol the town armed with weapons.
• 📰 News articles, such as "Anesthetic Prowler on Loose," publicized the incidents, contributing to the growing panic in the small, 17,000-person town already on edge from World War II.
• 🧪 The severe case of Beulah Cordes, who immediately experienced paralysis and spitting blood after smelling a chemical-soaked cloth, highlighted the potency of the unknown substance.

Law Enforcement Challenges

• 🚓 Local law enforcement, described as understaffed and under-equipped, struggled to manage the influx of reports and faced criticism from the local newspaper.
• ❓ Police initially suspected mass hysteria and false claims, with some officials suggesting the "gases" might be from a local war plant or that sightings were just other bystanders.
• 🕵️‍♂️ Despite assistance from the Illinois State Police, FBI agents, and even the Army's chemical warfare service, the mysterious gas was never identified, and the perpetrator remained elusive.
• 🧩 Investigators found a skeleton key and a tube of lipstick near one victim's home, but these items provided no substantial leads regarding the attacker's identity or motive.

Leading Theories Explored

• 🧠 The mass hysteria theory proposed that public fear, exacerbated by media reports and wartime anxiety, led to exaggerated or imagined symptoms, though an initial real attacker was acknowledged.
• 🔬 Author Scott Maruna suggested Barley Llewellyn, a chemistry student with a home lab and a history of social ostracization, as a prime suspect, possibly using tetrachloromethane.
• 🏭 Another theory pointed to local factories, specifically the Atlas Imperial Diesel Engine Factory, as the source of the gas, potentially carbon tetrachloride, due to its similar symptoms and sweet smell.
• 🎭 A female gasser theory emerged from a resident's sighting and the discovery of women's shoe footprints and a lipstick tube, suggesting a possible disguise or accomplice.

An Enduring Mystery

• 🚫 Ultimately, the Mad Gasser of Mattoon was never found or convicted, and the exact chemical used in the attacks remains unknown.
• ⏳ Reports of gassings declined after September 11th, coinciding with Llewellyn's commitment to a psychiatric hospital, though the timeline remains ambiguous.
• ❓ The case remains a frustrating and chaotic mystery, with various factors like media sensationalism, wartime anxieties, and law enforcement challenges obscuring the truth.