Here are some things I found out about the Plague Doctors to introduce the topic:
They were also called Medico della Peste, and were usually unqualified people working as "doctors" when the real ones fled. They worked for the large sums they received (though there were, of course, some that were sincere), and they also took the opportunity to loot.
They often did little to heal, or even attempt to heal. They counted and disposed of the dead, and dealt with legal issues.
Their costume was designed to keep them sealed off from the disease, like an early form of an hazardous material handling suit. It failed to protect them, but this may have been because of the unqualifiedness of most of them, since the plague doctor that invented the suit survived to old age. His name was Charles de Lorme.
The suit consisted of a long coat with long sleeves, long trousers, and gloves, made of leather or canvas covered in wax; boots, a hood gathered at the neck, a hat, and a stick to keep people away, and to prod the victims of the plague without touching them.
They also had the mask, which covered their face, with glass covered eye-holes, and a long, curved, conical protuberance: the beak which gave them the name of beaked doctors.
The beak was filled with strong-smelling things, such as camphor, rose, or lavender. This was supposed to keep out bad air. To me it seems to be a simple gas mask. Gas masks often seem to be connected with horror.
In France they would burn things inside the beak to clear the air by the smoke. So sometimes the beak was smoking, and would probably have blown with smoke when they breathed.
Their connection with death has given them a dark aura.
Discuss I pray you!
Have you used these in a story? Have you seen them used in a story? Have you seen something similar in some way? Do you have any ideas of how they could be used in a story?
What do you find most interesting about them? What else have you heard about them?
Here are some links about them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_doctor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_doctor_costume
http://plaguedoc.tumblr.com/
Seems like it would be creepy to be visited by a doctor wearing all that, especially the beak. 
They are rather scary looking.
That is food for a story. Why haven't I heard about this before now?