London Monster

The London Monster was the name given to an attacker of women in London between 1788 and 1790. Renwick Williams, a Welsh maker of artificial flowers, was arrested for the attacks in June 1790, given two trials and sent to Newgate Prison for six years. The Monster's modus operandi was to verbally abuse women with lewd and suggestive comments and then attack them with a knife, cutting the clothing and slicing into buttocks, thighs or chest. Other forms of attack included having knives attached to his knees, possibly attached as a claw-like device to his hands or having a sharp implement hidden in a nosegay—a small flower bouquet. Over fifty women reported attacks, sometimes several on the same day, including up to six reported attacks in one night. Such was the number of attacks, variety of methods and discrepancies in the descriptions of the attackers, that historians are unsure if the Monster was one man or several.