The curious case of Edward Mordake is probably unknown to most people. He was a man that lived in the 19 century and was born with an odd deformity. He had an extra face on the back of his head which was able to laugh or cry, although there isn’t any proof that it actually expressed these emotions. He committed suicide when he was 23 and lived totally isolated for most part of his life.
The face on the back of his head seemed to be that of a woman, in Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine
we are told that I was a beautiful female face “lovely as a dream, hideous as a devil”. Apparently it smiled when he cried and the eyes followed the movements of people around him. According to some sources it seems that the face couldn’t have been the one of a woman because parasitic twins are always the same sex, which is correct. So, it seems that this whole story about the face being a beautiful woman was just a way to make things more spectacular.
Another interesting but highly implausible thing was the fact that the face seemed to be speaking, but nothing could be heard. However, Edward could hear what it was saying and he begged the doctors to remove the face from his head because it talked to him forever about “things from hell”. But the surgeons refused to remove it because it was too risky.
He used poison to commit suicide and asked in his suicide letter that the face would be removed before burial “ lest it continues its dreadful whisperings in my grave”.
So is the story true? That’s hard to decide, especially since there is no historical evidence. There might have been a man with a parasitic twin on the back of his head, but the fact that it spoke is definitely something that was made up to make the story seem more spectacular.
For more information on Edward Mordake and his condition, check out this cool article here.
For more information on Edward Mordake and his condition, check out this cool article here.
Further reading about deformities and anomalies: Gould, George M. & Walter L. Pyle, Anomolies and Curiosities of Medicine, New York
(ANOMALIES and CURIOSITIES of MEDICINE (Annotated)
- kindle edition; Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine
- paperback edition )
Okay true or not that is creepy, bizarre and incredible! Either way - it's a terrific story and perfect for Halloween!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHow the fuck csn come to a definant conclusion about the head not being able to talk. Nigga were you in that niggas head? No. And how can you be so certain about it being impossible to have a parasitic twin of the opposite sex? Why? Because there hasn't been one on "record" yet? Close minded fuck. And don't go all "it isn't a different sex cus they share the same reproductive organ" on me.. if that nigga has a second face on the back of his head, im pretty sure its possible to a penis and a vagina at the same time. With all the testicles and ovaries that come with.
DeleteWith your level of intelligence you would think you could come up with a better more edicaly inclined word to use rather than nigga. Oh here is one (IGNORANT) look it up in the dictionary it's right after the word YOU... Get a clue you disrespectful fuck.
DeleteAww, thanks! I'm going to keep things bizarre and creepy this month :D
ReplyDeletethis is news to me Andreea and I have not heard about it before, good sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat photo is creepy :) I have heard of parasitic twins, I think they have even talked about it on American medical dramas. Whether it was true or not, it's definitely interesting! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeletehi andreea, first time i heard about this, definitely grotesque if it was made up.
ReplyDeletebut miracles do happen..so it's possible also
anyway God forbid..too scary
Hello Andreea..is this true..I am having big eyes looking at it..I thought is was edited or so..scary sis..in time for November awoooooo..
ReplyDelete*passing by sis :) *
@Nava K I'm glad this was new for you.
ReplyDelete@Frugal in WV Yeah, I know the photo is extremely creepy but I don't think that is a photo of him. Thanks for finding it interesting.
@cookingvarieties Yeah it would have been terrible if made up but we know how people like to make thngs up just for the fun of it.
@Sie I don't know if this is true or not. I'm hoping it's not, nobody should have suffered that way.
hi andreea. i dont like the dark world. been horrified with their presence before. so i hardly look at these pics. those many experiences made me sleep with lights on until today.. been a few years already.
ReplyDeleteby the way this morning (now 11.30 nite) when i visited your blog, it says NO POST- it made me wonder why the page was blank.
just tried my luck now, surprised to find all is normal and there are a few comments already!
Hi Wan! I'm sorry to hear that such things distress you, I'm also reluctant about horror pictures but I'm fascinated by horror artists and legends. I don't know what happened to my blog, it was probably something from blogspot. Thanks for letting me know.
ReplyDeleteMany strange things are happening in this cruel world, so I think that can be true but not fully, persons add extra things to make themselves famous. I do not believe on talking of that face.
ReplyDelete@wan Let me clear, many persons have fear of dark and I have searched many sites and found that, it is hard to break but some instructions are given as having torch in ones pocket.
Actually that picture is a picture of a wax replica of what ppl perceived Edwards face to look like but very interesting story in deed
ReplyDeleteOh, that actually makes sense. I didn't gave it much thought tbh. Thanks a lot for your comment!
DeleteThe "speaking" could have been thoughts from the parasitic twin's brain seeping into Edward's brain - similar to how you can "talk to yourself" inside your head without actually making any noise.
ReplyDeleteYes, that may be quite true....or he could have suffered from some mental illness since he was practically "hearing voices".
DeleteI wrote a popular article on Edward years ago over on my website www.thehumanmarvels.com. That article also includes a more recent yet similar case.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I've read your article and also read about the similar case , the case of Chang Tzu Ping. Your website is amazing btw. :D
DeleteHi, you would be interested in reading my article :).
ReplyDeleteDid a lot of research on him :
http://verumfabula.wordpress.com/2012/08/26/the-curious-case-of-edward-mondrake/
Wow, that's so cool. I'm going to link your article to my article :D it's extremely interesting!
DeleteThank you, really appreciated :)!
ReplyDeleteI'll be doing the same for your article!
i belive in this strange things happens
ReplyDeletei think this really exists like dinosaurs and got extinct.... :P
ReplyDeleteYou are a damned fool if you truly think that you must see to believe. There are forces out there much stronger than you could even begin to fathom. Not only are they strong, but seem to be more compelling against those who are to senseless to believe. Just because you are not a magician, doesn't mean that magic does not exist. Just because you don't know something, or have any substantial proof or evidence, does not mean it cannot be true. Just because that's how most judicial systems operate doesn't mean is it just or valid. Any sensible human being with an open mind and a wide perspective can see that. According to how the legend reads and from what I can perceive, it seems as though some sort of spell or curse had been cast upon him through some sort of “deal with the devil,” per say, from prior generations throughout his family. It very well could have even been a trade with a conniving witch with evil intentions, casting only cursed spells and fooling those who think they could possibly outwit her and her forsaken trickery. It’s hard to tell with the information given. The only fact I can tell from this story is that this deformity can only be caused by something of very dark, evil forces.
ReplyDeleteExactly the kind of rant to be expected from someone with the name "Canny Bis"
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I think it would have been useless to give them an answer.
DeleteThe one aspect of the story you dismiss as nonsense lead to the biggest revelation of my life. The fact Mordake committed suicide because the devil face wouldn't shut up, and was driving him crazy with its constant whispering in his head. A voice that no one else could hear but him .. that screamed "schizophrenia" to me. The fact the face looked female tells me it wasn't parasitic, it was a Janus twin - Girl/boy chimera. I wondered how much DNA in the right place would it take to become a conscious being within another body? Do schizophrenics simply have a chimeric brain? ... and you just say, that's ridiculous, lol. I might overthink things, huh?
ReplyDelete