Halloween is upon us! In honor of the spooky season, I have compiled a list of what I believe are the most spooky Doctor Who episodes for you to enjoy. Grab your sonic screwdriver and create your own Halloween marathon! If you’re looking for a complete list of modern Who scary episodes, then check that out here. Let’s dive in!
The Empty Child
Doctor Who came back to television in 2005 after it had been canceled in 1989. Christopher Eccleston played the ninth Doctor for one season, and during this season, writer Steven Moffat gave us arguably one of the most freaky episodes of Doctor Who. “The Empty Child” (Season 1, Episode 9) takes place in WWII London where a child in a gas mask is walking around yelling, “Are you my mummy? MUMMY!” The same fate befalls anyone who comes into contact with this child. Sure, the special effects are a little dated, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less freaky.
Jazmin (@thatonenerdyfangirll) on Instagram said:
“I think this one is a special level of spooky and yet still a fun and enjoyable episode. The child saying “are you my mummy?” Will forever creep me out. I feel like this episode sets the tone for the future spooky episodes of Doctor Who!”
Blink
Another episode written by Steven Moffat, “Blink” (Season 3, Episode 10) is one of the most spooky Doctor Who episode ever written. It’s about the Weeping Angels, which are stone angel statues that move when you aren’t looking. “Blink, and you’re dead…” If the lights go out, then the victim is out of luck. The Doctor and his companion Martha (played by Freema Agyeman) are stuck in 1969. He needs to be sure the Weeping Angels don’t take control of his TARDIS so they can get back. It’s up to Sally Sparrow (played by Carrey Mulligan) to figure things out.
Silence in the Library
In this two-part series “Silence in the Library” is one of those episodes that will make you walk around your home turning on all of the lights. The Tenth Doctor and his companion, Donna (played by Catherine Tate), find themselves in a vast library. Here, they meet a team of archaeologists led by Doctor River Song (played by Alex Kingston) who have called for help. Apparently, those who visit this library are never seen again. Creatures called the Vashta Nerada hide in the shadows, waiting to devour an unsuspecting victim. “Count the shadows.” If someone has two shadows, then they’re doomed!
Amber (@amber_of_arendelle) says:
“After the Weeping Angels, the Vashta Nerada are some of the cleverest and most genuinely terrifying creatures in the Who-niverse. I love monsters that take ordinary phenomena (statues, shadows) and turn them into something sinister. Silence in the Library does an excellent job at introducing these horrors, and it features the Tenth Doctor and Donna running around a spooky old library with River Song – what’s NOT to like?!”
Mummy on the Orient Express
“Mummy on the Orient Express” has a classic monster aspect with a Doctor Who twist. The Twelfth Doctor (played by Peter Capaldi) and his companion Clara (played by Jenna Coleman) find themselves on a fancy train ride through space. Apparently, passengers are dying by the hands of a mummy on board. However, no one has seen this mummy anywhere on the train. The Doctor, of course, must investigate!
Alana (@alanananilarson) said:
“As an avid Agatha Christie fan it was exciting to see a creative spin on one of her classics. The scary aspect was only one person would see the monster signifying that character’s impending doom. A particularly sad death was when one of the characters knew he was going to die so used his minute to describe the Foretold as much as he can. I’ll say it again, it was a refreshing sci-fi update on a classic English novel.”
Sleep No More
Mister Sandman, bring me a dream… “Sleep No More” is a terrifying play on the idea of the Sandmen coming for you while you sleep. The Twelfth Doctor and Clara visit a space station orbiting Neptune. A scientist onboard says they have created something to allow the crew to get a month’s worth of sleep in just a few minutes. However, everyone on board is slowly turning into sandmen-like creatures…
Jenn (@itsjennpossible) had a lot to say about this one:
“Okay so that episode has a little bit of everything I love. Besides Blink this was one of the episodes that I thought about for a long time. It has that Alien feel to it with the thought of we are in Deep Space with practically no way to get out and we are being chased down by monsters. The Dustmen I kid you not looks like one of my sleep paralysis demons. But seriously I think about never being able to sleep and the effects that has on the brain. And we as humans barely know half the workings on the brain. So truly this is a favorite episode just for the fact that it made me think about real life and if stuff like Morpheus could happen or are happening now.”
The Haunting of Villa Diodati
“The Haunting of Villa Diodati” is a fantastic historical thriller. The Thirteenth Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker) and her friends visit Lake Geneva where Mary Shelley (played by Lili Miller) lives. The Doctor wanted to visit while Frankenstein was being written, but there was no writing going on. Whatever is going on in this house is not meant to be. Ghosts, skeletons, and a constantly shifting house keep everyone on their toes!
Brittany (@brittany.plus) had this to say:
“I think it was scary because of the usage of the lone cyberman and the moving house, the colours were perfect for the thriller-type aspect of it, and the ghosts that Graham encountered and the open-endedness of that at the end, leaving it open that maybe ghosts are real!”
What are your thoughts?
The definition of scary or spooky is different for everyone. Are these episodes on your list of spooky Doctor Who? Which episodes do you find scare you the most?
Thank you to everyone on Instagram who talked about their love (and fears!) for these episodes!
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