The case of Edward Mordrake is one of the most curious and disturbing in medical history. Due to a genetic problem, this bourgeois had a second "functional" face on his neck that caused him a deep depression.
We are entering somewhat rough terrain. Unfortunately, the interesting and disturbing story of Edward Mordrake has been terribly buried, and wounded, under sensationalism. There are few facts that we know with certainty. And those that we know lack contrasting data. Rarely do I dare to speak with such unreliable information, but the story and condition of this 19th-century character are well worth it. Edward Mordrake was an English bourgeois afflicted with a congenital condition called diplopia. His position, the extraordinary situation of his malformation, and the testimonies after his dramatic death were a perfect cocktail to create a legend that tarnishes a medical condition of special relevance and almost unique. This is the story of Edward Mordrake, as we know it.
Edward Mordrake, the man with two faces
Edward was born in the 19th century, on an imprecise date. We know for sure that he was the son of the Countess of Darlington, in England. Probably this privileged situation together with his physical condition earned him the hatred and contempt of the community. Because Edward Mordrake had two faces: one completely healthy and the other at the neck, almost at the back, atrophied. But functional according to what they say, which is much more disturbing. If we listen to the written reports about Mordrake, his smaller back face was cross-eyed and somewhat deformed but moved. He could smile and pout regardless of the other face of Edward Mordrake. Less credible, although also possible, is that he continued with his gaze. According to legend, Edward Mordrake himself requested that it be removed because he whispered things "out of hell" to him. This also seems like an exaggeration fattened by the occasional storyteller.
But what is certain is that at the age of 23, plunged into a deep depression, Edward Mordrake took his own life by hanging himself on the balcony of a flat he had rented. This fact only managed to feed the macabre legend of Mordrake's second face. Although the depression to which he was subjected was probably due to popular rejection, his extraordinary condition and who knows if not physiological issues. As for Mordrake's other face, we will never know to what extent it was functional, although it is quite possible that he had nerves and muscles that allowed him to make vague and imprecise movements. What's more, poor Mordrake may even have been affected by tics and spasmodic movements due to his secondary face. But from there to what he could see, hear, or feel there is a long way. After all, it was Edward Mordrake himself and not another person locked in the young man's body.
Diprosopia is a terrible syndrome
Diprosopia is a syndrome caused by a genetic abnormality that involves the duplication of various features of the head, including the entire face. Normally they are only specific parts that include the eyes, or the nose. Unfortunately, babies with diplopia usually do not survive more than a few minutes or hours after birth for purely anatomical reasons. However, there are some extraordinary cases such as that of Edward Mordrake himself, the famous Pascual Pinon, or the more modern cases such as Lali Signh or Faith and Hope Howie. Diprosopia is caused by the failure of a gene that is responsible for forming the skull properly. When it fails, development becomes completely anomalous, and almost anything can happen. Unlike parasitic vestigial twins, the faces come from the same body. They are not conjoined twins who have not been able to separate properly, so they belong to the same "Mordrake's case is especially relevant because of his unique characteristics" person. In that case, Mordrake's face was not that of a "twin", as legend has it, but rather Edward Mordrake himself.
Curiously, this congenital defect is especially striking for people. It is normal if we take into account that the face is a very important part of communication in primates. That is why we have a tendency to identify two different people when in reality it is only one. This happened with the girl Faith (and Hope) that we talked about before. Although her case is special because she came to develop two frontal lobes. Unfortunately, she did not survive despite medical attention. The case of Edward Mordrake, on the other hand, is especially interesting since he is, so far, one of the most curious and shocking. The patient survived having a “normal” life until he was 23, and his face had certain movements of its own. These features make the Mordrake case unique. It is a pity that detailed medical records do not exist. Perhaps, if it had happened at this time, Edward would still be alive and would not have suffered such severe depression. Who knows. It's also a shame that legend has obscured the story of him after his death. But what is sadder is that his syndrome probably overshadowed it too much during his lifetime.
