Edward Mordake (sometimes spelled Mordrake) is the

apocryphal Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

subject of an

urban legend Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...

who was born in the 19th century as the heir to an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

with a face at the back of his head. According to legend, the face could whisper, laugh or cry. Mordake repeatedly begged doctors to remove it, claiming it whispered bad things to him at night. Mordake died by suicide at the age of 23.

Description

An account described Mordake's figure as one with "remarkable grace" and with a face similar to that of an

Antinous Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; ; – ) was a Greek youth from Bithynia, a favourite and lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his 20th birthday, Antinous was deified on Hadrian's orders, being worshippe ...

. The second face on the back of Mordake's supposedly femalereportedly had a pair of eyes and a mouth that drooled. The duplicate face could not see, eat, or speak, but was said to "sneer while Mordake was happy" and "smile while Mordake was weeping". According to legend, Mordake repeatedly begged doctors to have his "demon face" removed, claiming that at night it whispered things that "one would only speak about in Hell", but no doctor would attempt it. This then led to Mordake secluding himself in a room before deciding to take his own life at the age of 23. An account of Mordake's story was detailed in ''Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine'':

Earliest reference

The first known description of Mordake is found in an 1895 article in ''

The Boston Post ''The Boston Post'' was a daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before its final shutdown in 1956. The ''Post'' was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston businessmen, Charles G. Greene and William Beals. Edwin Groz ...

'' authored by fiction writer Charles Lotin Hildreth. The article describes a number of cases of what Hildreth refers to as "human freaks", including a woman who had the tail of a fish, a man with the body of a spider, a man who was half-crab, and Edward Mordake. Hildreth claimed to have found these cases described in old reports of the "Royal Scientific Society". According to a 2021 article in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', the only known "Royal Scientific Society" was founded in 1970 by Jordanian monarchs. Nothing could be found in the records of the similarly named

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

. Like many publications of the time, Hildreth's article was not factual, and was likely published by the newspaper to increase reader interest.

''Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine''

The 1896 medical encyclopedia ''Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine'', co-authored by Dr.

George M. Gould George Milbr(e)y Gould (November 8, 1848 Auburn, Maine – August 8, 1922 Atlantic City) was an American physician and lexicographer. Life At 12 years, he enlisted and became a drummer boy in the American Civil War, serving in the 63rd Ohio Infa ...

and Dr. David L. Pyle, included an account of Mordake. The account was copied directly from Hildreth's article, and was credited only to a "lay source". The encyclopedia described the basic morphology of Mordake's condition, but it provided no medical diagnosis for the rare deformity. An explanation for the birth defect may have been a form of

craniopagus parasiticus Craniopagus parasiticus is an extremely rare type of parasitic twinning occurring in about 4 to 6 of 10,000,000 births. In craniopagus parasiticus, a parasitic twin head with an undeveloped body is attached to the head of a developed twin. Fewer ...

(a parasitic twin head with an undeveloped body), a form of

diprosopus Diprosopus (, "two-faced", from , , "two" and , euter "face", "person"; with Latin ending), also known as craniofacial duplication (cranio- from Greek , "skull", the other parts Latin), is an extremely rare congenital disorder whereby parts (acc ...

(bifurcated craniofacial duplication), or an extreme form of

parasitic twin A parasitic twin, also known as an asymmetrical twin or unequal conjoined twin, occurs when a twin embryo begins developing in utero, but the pair does not fully separate, and one embryo maintains dominant development at the expense of the other. ...

(an unequal conjoined twin).

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mordake, Edward Fictional English people Fictional nobility Fictional suicides Legendary creatures with supernumerary body parts American urban legends Parasitic twinning in culture

Description

Earliest reference

''Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine''

See also

References

External links