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Sunday 26 August 2012

Edward Mordrake suffering from Craniopagus parasiticus


edwardmondrake


Edward Mordrake was reportedly a young man that lived during the 19th century.  At birth, Edward was stricken with a bizarre medical condition.  He was born with an extra face on the back of his head.  The face could laugh and cry, but not eat or speak.  Edward begged his doctors to have the “demon head” removed, because it whispered Satanist language to him at night.  However, no doctor would attempt it.  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 in The Book of Lists (1976).

Sadly, Edward Mordrake committed suicide at the age of 23.  It is hard to establish the true facts behind his condition because of the lack of reliable medical records.  His birth was not recorded and conflicting accounts exist regarding his suicide, as well as the placement and position of his extra face.  Much of what is known about Mordrake is based on oral retelling.  A viral image does exist that supposedly shows Edward, but the picture can’t be authenticated.  In 2002, Tom Waits wrote a song about Edward Mordrake titled “Poor Edward” for his opera Alice.

Interesting Fact

Craniopagus parasiticus is a medical condition in which a parasitic twin head with an undeveloped body is attached to the head of a developed twin, giving the impression of two heads.  There have been ten documented cases of this phenomenon.  However, at least eighty different accounts have been written about in history.

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