You know how Beelzebub is often depicted as part goat with cloven hooves and horns? Well I have just seen this picture of a 101-year-old Chinese woman who has grown a horn from her forehead.As the article reports, she is now growing a second one that will definitely put her in the rent-a-devil market. She has no intention of having them removed as many visitors bring her food and gifts.
The horn is made of keratin, the same material that makes up finger nails and hair and apparently the condition is not that rare. I wonder if this may have contributed to the demon myths of old. Also if there are any evo-developmental biologists out there, is this a possible residual mutation from a long-gone shared genome? Come on Armand Marie Leori, give us an answer – I am curious.
brucemhood.wordpress.com 
Just an update… apparently it has nothing to do with residual mutations! Shame.. I wanted to grow some wings given all this volcanic ash
Bruce,
How fascinating, truly. You are probably right about this condition causing fear of demons and such. Can you imagine what ancient societies might have done to someone with this condition–burning at the stake, stakes through the heart, all kinds of torture. On the other hand, in some societies this was probably something that caused the person to be revered. Isn’t nature wonderful?
Interesting.
And whether she would be seen as a devil… I have my doubts. Demons are usually depicted as chimeras, animal bits and pieces stuck together as a single entity. The oldest depicted and named demon, Pazuzu (of The Exorcist fame) , was a composite of lion, human and eagle. Oddly enough, depictions of demons as humans with horns weren’t much in fashion in pre-Christian times, but it was a very popular characteric of deities, such as the proto-Shiva (Pashupati seal), Cernunnos, Dionysus, Herne the Hunter, Faunus and of course Pan. By the way, the image of the devil as Pan does not occur until the Romantic Era, going hand-in-hand with the revival of Pan in literature and the depiction of the Baphomet by occultist Eliphas Levi. Before that, Satan was usually seen as a standard demon: a composite being, usually winged, clawed and horned, or alternatively as a winged serpent, a dragon, a corrupt version of an angel, a large black hound, or as the exact copy of an ordinary human being. Sources such as the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum offer an interesting insight in depictions of demons around Renaissance times.
Just about anything seems used, but rarely a full human being with horns.
But yes, in the Middle Ages in Europe, she would have been burned, as people would have believed her to be the offsping of an incubus, or alternatively, claim that she would have had great magical powers, such as Merlin
That’s… disturbing.
Totally OT, you might want to check this out: http://crispian-jago.blogspot.com/2010/04/skeptic-trumps-bruce-hood.html
Bruce,
You have your own playing card . . . too funny.
I’m a pathologist and I’ve seen similar (though much smaller) lesions. Generically, they are called “cutaneous horns”. Most are benign growths but some are premalignant or are cancers (well-differentiated squamous cell carcinomas). I suppose the next time I see one under the microscope I’ll look for some demons.
Hi pm… thanks for the info.
That’s what I like about this blog… comments from raving lunatics, all the way up to highly educated scientists and philosophers!
after seeing this i believe that unicorns did exist, and that they were probably mutated horses!
so fascinating!
Cornu cutaneus is a medical condition, precancerous lesion of the skin.
Photos of it can be found on line.
This, however, is a fake.
Yes, the pathologists is right. that is basically a normal squamous cell carcinoma with a horn due to hyperkeratotic growth of a normal SCC.