Is Fritz Lang’s “The Testament of Dr. Mabuse” linked to bizarre events in Virginia and Illinois?
The Mad Gasser of Botetourt County, Virginia, also known as the “Anesthetic Prowler,” was reported to be active during the winter of 1933-1934. The attacks typically occurred at night when an unidentified assailant sprayed gas through windows or under doors. Victims described symptoms such as nausea, headaches, dizziness, and respiratory issues, which fueled widespread panic and fear in the community.
The phenomenon resurfaced under similar circumstances a decade later in Mattoon, Illinois, leading to further intrigue and speculation. Both incidents remain enveloped in mystery and are often discussed in the context of folklore and collective hysteria.
In the film, criminal mastermind Mabuse, despite confinement in an insane asylum, furiously scrawls plans for crime sprees that include gas attacks – and explains these seemingly senseless acts are but a prelude to a larger goal.
“Humanity’s soul must be shaken to its very depths, frightened by unfathomable and seemingly senseless crimes,” Mabuse declares. “Crimes that benefit no one, whose only objective is to inspire fear and terror. Because the ultimate purpose of crime is to establish the endless empire of crime. A state of complete insecurity and anarchy founded upon the tainted ideals of a world doomed to annihilation.”
That certainly describes what happened in Botetourt County and Mattoon.
“The Testament of Dr. Mabuse,” released in 1933, was part of a more extensive dialogue about the power of mass media and the potential for films to influence public behavior and fears – so much so that Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels banned the film in Germany.
In examining the possible link between Lang’s film and the Botetourt County incidents, one must consider the cultural and media landscape of the 1930s and 1940s. Movies were a dominant form of entertainment and stoked public perceptions and fears. The depiction of a gas attack in a popular film could undoubtedly have planted the idea in the minds of potential pranksters or malicious actors in rural Virginia. The timing of the film’s release and the subsequent attacks might suggest more than mere coincidence; it could imply a direct influence, where the visual and narrative representation of such attacks provided a blueprint or inspiration.
The success of such attacks in unnerving Virginians might have provided the impetus for the incidents a decade later in Mattoon.
While it is possible that “The Testament of Dr. Mabuse” could have influenced the gas attacks in Botetourt County, showing a definitive link requires more than circumstantial evidence. The film’s release coincides with the initial attacks, and its content provides fertile ground for speculation.
Still, this discussion underscores how art and life can sometimes intersect unexpectedly and disturbingly.
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Books
Historian William B. Van Huss serves history, perspective, and speculation with a healthy side dish of skepticism in “The Mad Gasser of Botetourt County: Reconsidering the Facts.” Van Huss examines the incidents in Botetourt County as well as Mattoon and provides a wealth of documentation and attribution. His book is see-worthy for anyone with an appetite for legends, urban and otherwise.
In “The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: Dispelling the Hysteria,” chemistry teacher Scott Maruna not only suggests that the Mattoon gas attacks were real but names a suspect. Maruna’s book is out of print; the link above takes you to a Google Books page where you can read it.
Online
The Mad Gasser of Botetourt County
Fritz Lang’s “The Testament of Dr. Mabuse“
L.T. Hanlon 