An unusual sight sent onlookers flocking to social media over the weekend as it seems a local plague doctor was making their way around Bay Roberts.
In photos posted to Facebook, a person with a white-beaked mask and black robe was spotted casually walking down the side of the road.
Some witnesses stated the sight startled them, while others laughed at the pandemic-era parody, saying Halloween came early.
Plague doctors were physicians hired to treat victims of the bubonic plague. The iconic beaked costume was invented in the 1600s, credited to French medical doctor Charles de Lorme.
The outfit was designed as early protective equipment, preventing contact between the doctor and patient. The mask features glass eye openings, while the “beak” would typically be filled with aromatic substances—such as dried flowers, herbs, and spices—to protect the doctor from putrid air, which was believed to spread the plague.
(Copper engraving depicting an artist’s vision of a plague doctor in 17th-century Rome. Paul Fürst, Der Doctor Schnabel von Rom.)
