Monday, October 15, 2012

I Love A Good Monday Mystery...!

One of the great things about doing research for a certain topic is the fact that there are so many articles out there, the reading can be very interesting.

Many of the mysteries I look at are unsolved, which leads to some major mental exercise. This can be a good thing, but never seems to answer any questions about the mystery itself. That's a bit unsatisfying at times!

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon was the name given to the person or persons believed to be behind a series of apparent gas attacks that occurred in Botetourt County, Virginia, during the early 1930s, and in Mattoon, Illinois, during the mid-1940s. The first reported gasser incident occurred at the home of Cal Huffman, in Haymakertown, Botetourt County, where there were three reported attacks over the course of a single night.

At about 10:00 pm on December 22, 1933, Mrs. Huffman reported smelling an unusual odor, and was overcome by a feeling of nausea. The odor and the nausea returned again at about 10:30pm, at which time Cal Huffman contacted the police. A third attack occurred around 1:00 a.m., this time affecting the entire house; in total, eight members of the Huffman family were affected by the gas, along with Ashby Henderson, a guest staying at the house.

The next recorded incident occurred in Cloverdale on December 24. Clarence Hall, his wife, and their two children returned from a church service at about 9:00 p.m. They detected a strong, sweet odor and immediately began to feel weak and nauseated. Police investigating the case discovered that a nail had been pulled from a rear window, near where the gas appeared to be the most concentrated, and presumed that the nail hole had been used to inject it into the house. A third incident occurred on December 27, in which Troutville resident A. Kelly and his mother reported similar signs and symptoms to the Huffman and Hall cases. A fourth and fifth incident occurred on January 10, when Mrs. Moore, a guest in home of Haymakertown resident Homer Hylton, reported hearing voices outside before gas was injected into the room through a damaged window. The second attack that night was reported in Troutville, at the home of G. Kinzie.

At least 10 other cases were reported in Botetourt, and 10 years later, over 20 new cases were reported in Mattoon. One witness claimed to have seen the gasser and described “him” as a tall thin woman dressed as a man and footprints belonging to a woman were discovered at some of the scenes.

From time to time I notice a strange smelling gas around my place, but I usually just blame it on the cat!

I guess we best have our coffee in the kitchen this morning. I'll make biscuits and gravy, OK?

12 comments:

Gorges Smythe said...

Our little dachshund is the main source of gas in our house! No joke!

Phyllis (N/W Jersey) said...

You guys are too funny - I bet everyone is gonna blame their pets!
Gravy and biscuits are great ... just don't have beans on the side!

Sixbears said...

Okay, that's an odd one indeed. One has to wonder what was going on and the "why" behind it.

linda m said...

That is an odd one. I smell "gas" in my house - won't mention any names. Seems to be happening more frequently these days as both my husband and I get older. LOL Haven't noticed any holes in the walls. Coffee inside sounds good - chilly and cloudy here this morning.

HermitJim said...

Hey Gorges...
Dogs can certainly add to the odors around the house! I think cats do as well!

Thanks for coming by this morning!


Hey Phyllis...
What fun is it to have pets if you can't blame them for things once in a while?

They probably do the same to us in some way!

Thanks for coming over this morning!


Hey Sixbears...
Once again, there was never a story that I could find telling if they found the reason or the perp!

One more unsolved mystery for the books!

Thanks for coming over today, my friend!


Hey Linda...
I think that a lot of us have the same problem. At least you have a spouse to share the blame. Here it's just me and the cat!

Thanks for dropping by today!

JO said...

There are some really sick people in this world. And luckily no one died.

Biscuits and gravey yum and coffee too. Save me a seat.

Dizzy-Dick said...

I wonder what kind of gas it was. Couldn't have been extremely deadly.

HermitJim said...

Hey Jo...
My question is why someone would even do this? Strange, for sure!

Thanks, sweetie, for coming by today!


Hey Dizzy...
I'm not sure they ever determined what kind of gas it was...or why it was done.

The whole story leaves a lot of unanswered questions, if you ask me.

Thanks for coming over today, buddy!

BBC said...

I'm reaching the age where you can't trust a good fart.

HermitJim said...

Hey BBC...
I know exactly what you mean!

Thanks for the visit!

Anonymous said...

Ah, the pets and their "green fog of death"....thank goodness my woozles are very small, and have very wee "poot" sounds of surprising cuteness and little odor!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

A timely post, HJ, as we were in Botetourt County in the VA Blue Ridge last week, but we didn't notice any funny smalls (thankfully). Coffee sounds fine, but will pass on the biscuits and gravy today.