The Pittsburgh Press (September 7, 1944)
14 victims gassed by ‘mad phantom’
Mattoon, Illinois (UP) –
The “Mad Man of Mattoon,” a phantom prowler who has anesthetized more than a dozen persons in their beds, remained as much of a mystery to police today as the “gardenia” anesthetic he uses to overcome his victims.
No further attacks were reported last night, and police said the phantom was apparently replenishing his supply of the anesthetic.
Police, baffled, asked the Illinois State Crime Bureau to aid them in tracking down the tall, thin man who wears a skull cap and sprays his victims with a “sickly sweet” anesthetic.
Each of his 14 victims was overcome, but recovered without serious consequences. The prowler apparently sprays the anesthetic through bedrooms.
Police theorized that the man may be a crank, a berserk scientist testing a weird gas, or a fanatical high school chemistry student. Robbery has been ruled out as a motive because the phantom has never entered any of the homes.