In 19th century there was an English nobleman named Edward Mordake or Edward Mordrake who has an additional face on the back of his head, which according to medical term called 'Diprosopus' (or craniofacial duplication, an extremely rare congenital disorder whereby parts (accessories) or all of the face are duplicated on the head). His extra face could not speak or eat, however it was described as being able to cry or laugh.
The true history of Edward Mordake has been lost because there is no record about his date of birth or his demise. The story always begins the same way. Edward Mordake is said be have been heir to one of the noblest families in England. He was considered a bright and charming man – a scholar, a musician and a young man in possession of profound grace. He was said to be quite handsome when viewed from the front – yet, on the back of his head there was a second face, twisted and evil. Edward reportedly begged doctors to have his "evil face" removed, claiming that it whispered to him at night, but no doctor would attempt it. Later he committed suicide at the age of twenty-three. The method of his death also differs, sometimes poison does him in and in other versions a bullet ‘between the eyes of his devil-twin’ puts him out of his misery. In both versions Edward Mordake leaves behind a letter requesting that the ‘evil face’ be destroyed before his burial, ‘lest it continues its dreadful whisperings in my grave.’
The true history of Edward Mordake has been lost because there is no record about his date of birth or his demise. The story always begins the same way. Edward Mordake is said be have been heir to one of the noblest families in England. He was considered a bright and charming man – a scholar, a musician and a young man in possession of profound grace. He was said to be quite handsome when viewed from the front – yet, on the back of his head there was a second face, twisted and evil. Edward reportedly begged doctors to have his "evil face" removed, claiming that it whispered to him at night, but no doctor would attempt it. Later he committed suicide at the age of twenty-three. The method of his death also differs, sometimes poison does him in and in other versions a bullet ‘between the eyes of his devil-twin’ puts him out of his misery. In both versions Edward Mordake leaves behind a letter requesting that the ‘evil face’ be destroyed before his burial, ‘lest it continues its dreadful whisperings in my grave.’
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| Wax Statue of Edward Mordake |
The only reference about his unusual case appear on 1896 text entitled "Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine" written by George M. Gould, A.M., M.D. and Walter L. Pyle, A.M., M.D.
According to the text:
"One of the weirdest as well as most melancholy stories of human deformity is that of Edward Mordake, said to have been heir to one of the noblest peerages in England. He never claimed the title, however, and committed suicide in his twenty-third year. He lived in complete seclusion, refusing the visits even of the members of his own family.
He was a young man of fine attainments, a profound scholar, and a musician of rare ability. His figure was remarkable for its grace, and his face--that is to say, his natural face--was that of an Antinous.
But upon the back of his head was another face, that of a beautiful girl, 'lovely as a dream, hideous as a devil.' The female face was a mere mask, 'occupying only a small portion of the posterior part of the skull, yet exhibiting every sign of intelligence, of a malignant sort, however.' It would be seen to smile and sneer while Mordake was weeping. The eyes would follow the movements of the spectator, and the lips would 'gibber without ceasing.' No voice was audible, but Mordake avers that he was kept from his rest at night by the hateful whispers of his 'devil twin,' as he called it, 'which never sleeps, but talks to me forever of such things as they only speak of in hell. No imagination can conceive the dreadful temptations it sets before me. For some unforgiven wickedness of my forefathers I am knit to this fiend--for a fiend it surely is. I beg and beseech you to crush it out of human semblance, even if I die for it.' Such were the words of the hapless Mordake to Manvers and Treadwell, his physicians. In spite of careful watching he managed to procure poison, whereof he died, leaving a letter requesting that the 'demon face' might be destroyed before his burial, 'lest it continues its dreadful whisperings in my grave.' At his own request he was interred in a waste place, without stone or legend to mark his grave."
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