A strange state of health brought a man fame not only because he lived more than 100 years. Upon reaching the century, the long-lived Ali Anter, a native of Yemen, began to grow two horns on his forehead.

One on each side broke in to grow to the amazement of relatives and the doctors themselves. The one on the left developed excessively and began to curl so much that it eventually came close to his mouth.

The derisive remarks led to Anter being referred to as “The Goat Man,” “The One With Two Horns,” and “The One With The Devil’s Horns,” The Sun reported, citing Yemeni newspaper Aden al-Ghad.

Ali Anter hailed from Al Jawf Governorate. His death has been reported in Yemen and it is stated that he lived 140 years, for which the press calls him “the oldest man in the world”.

Unfortunately, according to the press, he tried unsuccessfully to have his horns removed shortly before his death. A video is circulating, according to the media, of how the events took place in inexperienced hands.

Why do those horns come out?

It was reported in The Sun that the growths that appeared on Ali’s forehead were possible skin horns.

Cutaneous horns are skin tumors made of keratin, the same protein that makes up hair and nails.

They arise from benign, premalignant or malignant skin lesions and are more common in older patients and those with lighter skin, they explained on March 15, 2023.

In some cases “associated with exposure to the sun and other sources of ultraviolet radiation.”

Ali’s case in Yemen

The death of this centenarian man was recorded on March 12. Anter, family members said, “was in good health until 2017.”

The two horns were removed without surgery, but with the help of a fire-heated iron. He died three days later, the Middle East Monitor reported.

His horns were primitively removed, doubling his suffering and leading to his death, a family member said.

Similar cases

As recorded in Yemen, with Ali Anter, there are two cases.

That of the French Madame Dimanche, early 19th century. “At age 76, a 9-inch horn began to grow on his forehead before it was successfully removed by a French surgeon.”

And, adds The Sun, there is knowledge of a 74-year-old Indian farmer who, after hitting his head, started to grow a huge skin horn.