The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: Dispelling the Hysteria [Paperback]

Scott Maruna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 27, 2003

In 1944, Mattoon, Illinois succumbed to the "best known" and "most commonly cited" case of mass hysteria in the twentieth century. For two weeks a "mad gasser" or "phantom anesthetist" who sprayed a gas into the bedroom windows of innocent women terrorized the small town's populace. It was, though, all in their collective imagination...

Or was it?

Author Scott Maruna, after much research, investigation and interviewing, finally exposes the truth behind the Mad Gasser of Mattoon and manages to dispel the hysteria once and for all.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An engaging work that provides a provocative counterpoint to the accepted historical record." -- Illinois State Historical Society, April 24, 2004

...an interesting, easy read that presents compelling arguments...Hats off to Scott Maruna for an intriguing book. -- Illinois Times, May 1, 2003

About the Author

Scott Maruna is a high school chemistry and physics teacher that was born and raised just a few miles from Mattoon, Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 106 pages
• Publisher: Swamp Gas Book Co. (February 27, 2003)
• ISBN-10: 0972860509
• ISBN-13: 978-0972860505
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,428,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A respectable theory on a complex case, January 5, 2004

By 

Dan Graffeo-author of Halloween Night Fever - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: Dispelling the Hysteria (Paperback)

Maruna's "Mad Gasser of Mattoon" is a thought-provoking read. Though the book is short, the author has nonetheless gone through lengthy research and painstaking deduction to come up with a feasible explanation behind one of the most mysterious cases in Fortean and cyptozoological studies. Kudos to this worthy debut. Hopefully, the author will share his views in other enigmatic entities such as Springheel Jack or strange beasts like the Dover Demon, Chupacabra, the Flatwoods Monster or the famed Mothman.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great night's reading. Fascinating!, March 9, 2003

By 

Reader from Mattoon (Mattoon IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: Dispelling the Hysteria (Paperback)

This is a shorter book, but man is it a fascinating story! Maruna has written the definitive work on this incident. I had read a little bit about this episode here and there but nothing else comes close to this. I stayed up til 1 AM reading it all in one sitting. He looks at it all very practically and scientificly, and yet keeps and open mind to the paranormal - a rare combination. His conclusion actually seems FAR more logical than what science has believed for the last 6 decades.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!---A mystery solved!, October 12, 2003

By 

Russroom (Summit, NJ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: Dispelling the Hysteria (Paperback)

Well written, entertaining and factually correct, this is a great little book. Many accounts of the Mad Gasser dismiss the whole affair as a case of mass hysteria. This book reveals the truth. It's a great little story that's begging to be made into a movie.