The Mad Gasser of Mattoon
What was haunting Mattoon at night?
4.7 (39)
41 mins
Explore one of America's strangest mass mystery cases, where dozens of people claimed they had been attacked by an unknown “Phantom Anesthetist.” Discover how newspaper coverage intensified public fear, why investigators struggled to find physical evidence, and how later researchers argued the incident may have involved collective anxiety rather than a real serial attacker.
Ep 1:
The Sweet Smell of Terror Descends
In 1944 Mattoon, a sickly sweet odor and sudden paralysis strike families in their homes, as a sensational headline turns scattered fear into citywide terror.
Ep 2:
Hysteria Peaks, Profile Shatters
As armed patrols and FBI agents flood the streets, seven homes are gassed in one night, and the attacker's description shifts in a case-breaking twist.
Ep 3:
Three Theories Haunt Mattoon
Was it mass hysteria, industrial fumes, or a vengeful genius? We weigh the three competing explanations for Mattoon's unsolved nightmare against the evidence.
Ep 4:
The Outcast, the Sisters, and the Silence
A brilliant, isolated chemist and his sisters emerge as chilling suspects, as the attacks stop the exact day he vanishes into an asylum.
Discussions (5)
Leroy
Level 5 · 1 week agoThe part about the newspaper calling her the 'first victim' before anyone else even reported anything.. that's not journalism that's just lighting the fuse and walking away
Ward
Level 6 · 1 week agoFarley's sisters dropping lipstick tubes at crime scenes lol
Juan
Level 5 · 1 week agoFarley disappears, attacks stop same day. That's not nothing.
