Långrocken

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Långrocken, "the Longcoat", was the pseudonym given to a mysterious, unknown assailant who attacked and raped (or tried to rape) several women and girls in the Swedish city of Norrköping in the beginning of the year 1893.

All the attacks happened after dark during the snowy winter months of early 1893, all over Norrköping. It is uncertain how many women were attacked, but the whole city, Sweden’s fourth biggest at the time, was alarmed. As many as 18 undercover policemen, dressed in women’s clothes, patrolled the city in their attempts to trap the killer. Despite their efforts, the assailant was never caught and the attacks suddenly stopped in the spring.

The identity of Långrocken remained unknown. He was compared to the contemporary Jack the Ripper of London. Some even believed it was Jack the Ripper himself. Other rumors said he was an escaped prisoner, or that the attacks were made by different men. Some said he was armed with knives and pistols, although none of the attacked women had been killed or wounded by such weapons.

The story of Långrocken is also mentioned in the autobiography of Ture Nerman, the Swedish Communist leader who grew up in Norrköping, and who was only seven years old at the time. Nerman claims that a young female friend of his family was attacked, but escaped Långrocken.