Rare Disorder also called “Demon Face Syndrome”

I Have a Rare Disease That Makes Me See Demon Faces Everywhere. It’s, Uh, Not Fun.

Maggie McCart…suffers from an extremely rare disease called prosopometamorphopsia, which inflicts patients with a variety of wild hallucinations when they look at someone’s face.

If you were to look through McCart’s eyes, you’d experience a world where faces appear to be made of tree bark, or are unnaturally contorted, or, perhaps, completely swapped out with a mythical creature. We asked McCart how she manages to live life while looking through a fun-house mirror.

Prosopometamorphopsia is sometimes referred to as “demon face syndrome.” Nobody knows what causes it—generally the disorder is linked with various brain traumas—and for a long time, I couldn’t get a diagnosis myself. My early interactions with doctors weren’t helpful. Years ago, I explained my symptoms to a neurologist. I reported what I was seeing, and they scanned my brain and didn’t find anything suspicious. The neurologist said something like, “Well, there’s nothing wrong with your brain.” And I thought, “I beg to differ.” But again, it’s not like they can see through my eyes. It’s not a simple situation, like asking a doctor to investigate a rash on your skin.

So for most of my life, I did my best to ignore the symptoms and go about my day. I learned to recognize people by their shoes, or their clothes, or the way they walked.

https://slate.com/life/2024/05/demon-face-syndrome-what-is-prosopometamorphopsia-rare-disease.html