So when Mark Heap appeared on stage beneath the hooded beaked mask of the plague doctor, ... when the theatres in London were closed to stop the plague spreading. It seemed quite funny at the time.

Plague doctors filled their masks with theriac, a compound of more than 55 herbs and other components like viper flesh powder, cinnamon, myrrh, and honey.

The plague doctor appeared on Tumblr’s year-end list of the site’s biggest memes, and “plaguecore”—the name given to the whole aesthetic—is now popular on Instagram and TikTok as well.

This series loosely inspired by the Boccaccio classic revolves around a group of nobles and servants waiting out the Black Plague in 14th-century Tuscany.

While the plague doctors of the 17th century certainly had a scary getup, de Lorme’s miasma-inspired leather overcoat and bird mask didn’t prevent anyone from contracting the plague.

Sept. 6, 2012 — -- A pediatric critical care doctor's quick, outside-the-box thinking saved the life of a 7-year-old girl who'd contracted a rare case of bubonic plague while camping in ...