The Plague Doctor

Submission 37,133

About

The Plague Doctor, also known as The Medieval Doctor, is a character frequently referenced in green text stories and image macros about medical doctors who treated the bubonic plague. They are mostly known for their masks, which feature long, beak-like noses.

Origin

The earliest known usage of the Plague Doctor among online communities was posted on May 28th, 2009 on the Wordpress blog Creepypasta.^[1] In addition to teaching readers how to make the mask, the post also features the text: "It is not necessary to speak, just wander. Stand outside and stare into the windows of local shops while people are buying items. Stay in dimly lit areas, behind bushes or fences. Allow certain people to see you but only for a moment and find ways to dodge out of view by using the terrain or the city as your camoflauge."

Spread

On September 17th, 2011, an anonymous 4chan posted one of the earliest known Green Text Stories about the Plague Doctor. The post has since been deleted, but the following day, was posted on FunnyJunk ^[2] by user omgitspikachu. The post (shown below) received more than 3,200 views in six years. The following year, on May 9th, 2012, the post was shared by Facebook ^[3] user Useless.skin.

Three years later, an anonymous 4chan^[4] user posted another Green Text Story. The post (shown below) received more than 200 replies before deletion.

On November 22nd, 2017, an anonymous 4chan user posted the first in a series of stories about the Plague Doctor. When posted to the /r/greentext subreddit ^[5] by Redditor theriftisopen12, the post received more than 12,000 points (93% upvoted) and 160 comments in less than two weeks. The stories are also archived on Imgur. ^[8]

The following day, the /r/medievaldoctor^[6] subreddit launched to archive the posts. As of December 2017, the story has reached 13 chapters and more than 10,000 subscribers to the subreddit.

On November 29th, 2017, Redditor^[7] TemperVOiD posted an image macro of a deep fried image of a plague doctor escaping through a window with the caption "when the leeches don't work." The post (shown below, left) received more than 800 points (98% upvoted) in one day.

Shortly after, more image macros using the image appeared on the /r/MemeEconomy subreddit, where Redditors made a case for their vitality (shown below, center).

The following day, Redditor Sad_Weed a variation of Sir You've Been in a Coma Plague Doctor in a hosptial bed featuring the Plague Doctor. The caption reads "nurse: sir you've been in a coma since 1353 / me: Oh boy, I can't wait to try and cure the Black Plague with no medical training." The post (shown below, right) received more than 1,800 points (98% upvoted) in 24 hours.