Insidious
whispers rake at the back of the mind, troubling our psyche. We've
all had them; fleeting, often violent, thoughts of harm to others.
Revenge and spite seem to be part of human nature. Thankfully, most
people can dismiss these grave thoughts and move on.
If
only poor Edward Mordake
could have done that. This darkness, or devil as he called it, was
more than just a thought. It was a part of him; a parasitic deformity
that lived on the back of his head. A face, complete with eyes and
mouth. It was said to have glared and scowled. Even though it could
not speak outwardly, Edward would cry out for an end to the demonic
banter and hellish pestering the entity inflicted on him. In his
mind, he could hear the voice, and all of the malice it brought.
According to the story, he took his own life at 23 years old.
This
all makes for one helluva story, but certain sources call it into question. I'm certainly too much of a skeptic to believe that a
demonic hell face exists, but if someone did have a parasitic twin, I
wouldn't doubt that psychological trauma could result. Who knows what
sort of judgment and self loathing Edward must have been going
through. It is unfortunate that there isn't more known about this
poor man.
Stories
of this nature always susceptible to aggrandizing. An affliction as
terrible as parasitic twins can quickly fall into legend, and the
facts distorted. This week's Freaky Friday post will detail human
fascination and horror at body deformation, as well as some of the
tropes that exist from it. If you have any suggestions for this post,
hit up the comments section and we'll chat about it.
Ooh, you need to read Stephen King's "The Other Half" if you haven't already, there's an evil parasitic twin living inside this guy as his über alter ego named George Stark-quite a spin. :-)
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine what that would do to anyone, surely screws up your head. Isn't it amazing how many human conditions that are utterly out of this world?
I have read a ton of King, but never checked out "The Other Half." I probably should.
DeleteI don't think you could have a healthy mental state with a deformity like this. Even if it couldn't move, it would just be such a huge damper on your life.
I think you'll like The Other Half, it right down your alley. :-) In fact I insist you read it! :-) I'm gonna check my big box of forgotten books and see if I have a copy for you. Greetings.
ReplyDelete