The incredible story of Karolina Olsson, the “sleeping woman of Oknö”

Karolina Olsson, the "Real" Sleeping Beauty, experienced a mysterious medical case: she remained in a state of deep sleep for 32 years and then woke up

The case of Karolina Olsson, popularly referred to as the “Sleeping Woman of Oknö,” must be one of the most extraordinary and mysterious medical and psychological cases ever recorded.

This is the story of a Swedish woman living in the 19th to 20th century who slept uninterruptedly for 32 continuous years and awoke abruptly in 1908. Although the story of Karolina Olsson does slightly resemble the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty, unlike the fairytale account of the latter, the real life of Karolina was governed by some quite inexplicable incidents which continue raising questions and attracting the interest of researchers even to this date.

The story of Karolina Olsson

Karolina was born on October 29, 1861, on the island of Oknö, Sweden, the youngest of five children. Her early life was uneventful and peaceful until 1876, when, at just 14 years old, she returned home in tears, her face swollen and in excruciating pain from her teeth. She had told her parents that she slipped on an icy surface while crossing a river-a minor incident then, but was to become an extraordinary experience. The pain became so unbearable that her parents decided to let her rest, unaware that this would be the start of sleeping for more than three decades.

For days and weeks afterward, despite efforts of her family to rouse her, Karolina did not come to consciousness. Concerned neighbors gathered money to take the family to various doctors, but none had a diagnosis or could wake her up. The medical techniques of the day-most of which sound extreme today, including passing electric currents through her body-proved futile. Meanwhile, her family adapted to this new reality: Karolina was staying in bed, tenderly looked after by her mother, who-according to eyewitnesses-fed her with milk even when she was unconscious.

Karolina’s life was suspended for 32 years. Through all those years of utter unresponsiveness, constant care by the family kept her condition stable. The doctors were baffled: science couldn’t explain how such a long time in an apparent lethargy-like state would permit a person to survive without the debilitating physical or neurological consequences. In 1905, Karolina’s mother died, and a governess took over her care.

Karolina’s long sleep gave rise to many theories and hypotheses. Some believed this was an extreme case of narcolepsy or catatonia; others believed in psychological causes, possibly connected with trauma. As much as the theories went, nobody could give a concrete explanation or wake her up.

The unexpected awakening

In 1908, Karolina’s life and that of people around her changed in a split second. The governess looking after her heard noises coming from Karolina’s room. Rushing upstairs, she found Karolina awake and standing, albeit unsteadily, crying in distress. This 46-year-old woman did not remember the years she had spent sleeping and did not recognize her now-aged brothers. The incident sent shockwaves through the community, who gathered to try and make sense of what had occurred.

Amazingly, Karolina was healthy, though she had lost quite a bit of weight and her behavior was more like a child’s than an adult’s. In weeks, she regained the ability to speak and her physical strength -a fact that has continued to puzzle doctors and scientists. The speed of her recovery led to even more speculation: some surmised that Karolina had not actually been asleep but rather in some complicated state of psychological impairment or even catatonia.

Unsolved mystery

Among the physicians who examined Karolina, a Swedish psychiatrist named Harald Fröderström had suggested that she had gone through a terrible emotional shock which, for her, resulted in a catatonic psychosis. Although the suggestion sounded plausible, it did not convincingly explain how her body had managed to survive without proper nutrition and lack of movement for such a long time. Even today, with all medical facilities at hand, the case of Karolina Olsson remains still shrouded in mystery.

After her resurrection, Karolina returned to a normal life. She lived for another 42 years and died in 1950 at the age of 88. Yet, her case remains one of fascination and research, a mystery which questions the very basics of the human mind and its strength to survive even the deepest psychological trauma.