EdwardMordrake

Who is EdwardMordrake?

Edward Mordrake was the name given to an apocryphal 19th-century heir to an unspecified English peerage who was said to have suffered from a form of Diprosopus. According to sources, he had, on the back of his head, an extra face which could neither eat nor speak out loud, although it was described as being able to laugh and cry. Edward reportedly begged doctors to have his "Demon face" removed, claiming that it whispered to him at night, but no doctor would attempt it. He committed suicide when he was 23 years old.

The story has been disputed in the past and was likely at least enriched with fictional elements. The description of Edward Mordrake's condition is somewhat similar to those of Chang Tzu Ping and Pasqual Pinon. Both Mordrake and Pinon are featured as the "2 Very Special Cases" on a list of "10 People With Extra Limbs or Digits" in 1976 edition of The Book of Lists.

The 1896 text Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine mentions a version of the story, and Mordrake has been featured in many texts, plays, and songs.