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.