Teen Wolf's Inspiration For Its Scariest Villains Will Shock You

There are no actual accounts of "dread doctors" in history, but executive producer Jeff Davis told E! Online that these bad guys are a mixture of Nazi doctors charged with experimenting on humans during World War II, and the bubonic plague doctors who treated dying patients in 17th century Europe.

The plague doctors were medical professionals hired to care for — and dispose of — plague victims. Because modern medicine of the time didn’t understand how plague was spread, these doctors wore leather masks with thick goggles and (sometimes) a beak. Their masks serve as inspiration for the season five villains' masks and creepy heavy breathing.