What did it feel-look-smell like?

"The speckled monster" is an old name for the disease, but it works just as well for the victims, who could become almost unrecognizably monstrous.

It attacked skin and mucous membranes (nose, mouth, throat, anus, vagina) with special ferocity:

· In early stages, the pustules felt like BB pellets buried beneath the skin.

· As the rash intensified, skin felt sheeted in flame; in really bad cases, it just sloughed off.

· Some victims were said to die of thirst rather than enduring the agony of swallowing.

The rash also gave off a particular rotten stench so pungent that experienced doctors could make the diagnosis of smallpox by the smell alone, before ever glimpsing the patient.