History Main / PlagueDoctor

** [[YouKeepUsingThatWord Animalculists]] have a touch of this. And especially their horses.

* ''Restoration''. Creator/RobertDowneyJr's character is a doctor during the English Restoration. When the plague hits, he wears a plague doctor uniform to minister to the sick.

* ''Major Grom: Plague Doctor'', an adaptation of the Russian comic book series. The plot revolves around the titular Police Major Igor Grom, tracking down a SerialKiller who wears the mask of a plague doctor.

* ''Film/{{Major Grom Plague Doctor}}'' (adapted from the comics books of the same name) has the titular CowboyCop matching wits with a vigilante who calls himself the "Plague Doctor", sports modernized plague doctor gear, and vows to cleanse the city of the "sickness" of criminal scum -- by [[KillItWithFire burning them alive]] with flame throwers.

* ''Film/{{Prometheus}}''. The biosuit helmets used by the Engineers have this appearance. As they're handling a deadly alien pathogen, it's likely for RuleOfSymbolism.

* The ''Squishable'' plush line has the "Plague Doctor" line of characters. Originally planned for a Halloween release, it was released at a different point that coincided with the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. The main character of the series is a black cloaked vulture-like bird wearing a white plague doctor mask and hat, along with holding a lantern. Eventually, a white-clad Plague ''Nurse'' was released in the series as well, holding her lantern in the opposite hand so the two of them can hold hands.

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-049 SCP-049]]. [[{{Creepypasta}} This being the Foundation]], naturally he's a horrifying DeadlyDoctor. He also doesn't seem to be aware that he is one, and [[ObliviouslyEvil genuinely thinks that he's helping to treat the Plague]]. He actually isn't a man wearing plague doctor clothes but a humanoid entity which skin and face that are identical to plague doctor's garb and mask. It is never made clear if the pestilence he claims to cure is a real disease threatening humanity or he is just delusional. There's also an AffectionateParody of him in the form of [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-049-j SCP-049-J]], which is basically the original SCP-049 played for BlackComedy.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doctor_schnabel.jpg

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[[caption-width-right:350:The mask of a bird, for a place where no birds sing.]]

[[folder: Anime And Manga]]

[[folder: Web Comics]]

* The Series/{{Supernatural}} episode, "Advanced Thanatology" involves a MadDoctor from the 1960s who wore such a mask while lobotomizing his patients. After his death he returns in present day as a VengefulGhost whose spirit is anchored by his collection of plague masks.

* Navaan, the [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire "doctor"]], from ''Webcomic/{{Oglaf}}'' wears this outfit. Seen [[http://oglaf.com/jarlampham/1/ here]]. (Caution, surrounding comics are NSFW.)

* The Relic Hunter from ''[[VideoGame/DrownedGod Drowned God: Conspiracy of the Ages]]'' is a doddering old man from the 19th century who wears a red mask of this design, and while not an actual plague doctor, he is said to be a man of science who is well-read in a variety of subjects from religions across the world to alchemy.

As the costume is particularly associated with UsefulNotes/{{Venice}} (due in part to being a popular ''Carnevale'' costume), these guys will often show up in a CityOfCanals.

* ''Literature/DanBrownsInferno''. The origins of the plague doctor are discussed, and [[EvilutionaryBiologist Bertrand Zobrist]] wears the iconic mask in his video message, and in the alteration he makes to the ''Map of Hell''.

* In the FilmOfTheBook ''Literature/DanBrownsInferno'', Robert Langdon is haunted by nightmares of an apocalyptic plague, which includes this trope.

* The Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Spritzee from ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' is a small pink bird who happens to be based on a plague doctor; its face resembles the iconic mask, it has the Healer ability (which lets it heal an ally's StandardStatusEffects), one of its moves is Aromatherapy, and it's known as the Perfumed Pokemon.

** Thankfully while they didn't know the exact reasons, plenty of plague doctors ''did'' catch on that thoroughly rinsing with water, cleansing their suit with smoke, or other cleaning both kept the foul smells away but also kept them from getting sick. Later plague doctors also adopted practices that meant they didn't need physically touch the patients, such as checking a pulse with a cane; which further reduced transmission.

* ''Major Grom'' features a serial killer who wears a plague doctor mask.

* ''Major Grom: Plague Doctor'', an adaptation of the Russian comic book series. The plot revolves around the titular Police Major Igor Grom, tracking down a serial killer who wears the mask of a plague doctor.

The costume itself was associated with death (where there's plague, there's the beak doctors and the plague is commonly known as the black death), which has become deeply ingrained in popular culture. Thus, a plague doctor's outfit is a typical go-to [[RuleOfScary creepy]] costume, the resemblance to both TheGrimReaper and CreepyCrows doing this effect no harm at all. It is particularly used when the setting has TheBlackDeath or [[ThePlague its equivalent]] featured. Another common interpretation of this trope is to make the Plague Doctor ''[[{{Plaguemaster}} spread]]'' [[DeadlyDoctor plague]] instead of treating it.[[note]]There's probably some TruthInTelevision to this: the lax hygiene standards of the period meant that the coats they wore were probably washed infrequently at best (and most certainly weren't sterilized to modern standards), and thus some would literally carry the plague, or any other nasty and opportunistic hitchhiker, with them wherever they went. Say, anthrax. Or smallpox. Or measles. Or typhoid. Or salmonella. Or 'flu. Or a complex blend of ''whatever else'' mixed in with the ''Yersinia pestis'' that'll keep you up at 03:00.[[/note]]

The costume itself was associated with death (where there's plague, there's the beak doctors and also death), which has become deeply ingrained in popular culture. Thus, a plague doctor's outfit is a typical go-to [[RuleOfScary creepy]] costume, the resemblance to both TheGrimReaper and CreepyCrows doing this effect no harm at all. It is particularly used when the setting has TheBlackDeath or [[ThePlague its equivalent]] featured. Another common interpretation of this trope is to make the Plague Doctor ''[[{{Plaguemaster}} spread]]'' [[DeadlyDoctor plague]] instead of treating it.[[note]]There's probably some TruthInTelevision to this: the lax hygiene standards of the period meant that the coats they wore were probably washed infrequently at best (and most certainly weren't sterilized to modern standards), and thus some would literally carry the plague, or any other nasty and opportunistic hitchhiker, with them wherever they went. Say, anthrax. Or smallpox. Or measles. Or typhoid. Or salmonella. Or 'flu. Or a complex blend of ''whatever else'' mixed in with the ''Yersinia pestis'' that'll keep you up at 03:00.[[/note]]

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-049 SCP-049]]. [[{{Creepypasta}} This being the Foundation]], naturally he's a horrifying DeadlyDoctor. He also doesn't seem to be aware that he is one, and [[ObliviouslyEvil genuinely thinks that he's helping to treat the Plague]]. He actually isn't a man wearing plague doctor clothes but a humanoid entity which skin and face that are identical to plague doctor's garb and mask. It is never made clear if the pestilence he claims to cure is a real disease threatening humanity or he is just delusional.