Spooky season is here. This means it’s time to watch Halloween movies and episodes of our favorite television shows. Doctor Who doesn’t have Halloween-specific episodes, but it certainly has quite a few scary episodes. Here is a list of scary Doctor Who episodes in the modern Who series for you to watch all month long!
Ninth Doctor
- “The Empty Child” (Season 1, Episode 9) written by Steven Moffat
Tenth Doctor
- “The Impossible Planet/Satan Pit” (Season 2, episodes 8 and 9) written by Matt Jones
- “42” (Season 3, Episode 7) written by Chris Chibnall
- “Blink” (Season 3, Episode 10) written by Steven Moffat
- “Silence in the Library” (Season 4, Episode 8) written Steven Moffat
- “Midnight” (Season 4, Episode 10) written by Russel T Davies
- “The Waters of Mars” (Season 4, Episode 16) written by Russel T Davies
Scary episodes from the Eleventh Doctor
- “Night Terrors” (Season 6, Episode 9) written by Mark Gatiss
- “The God Complex” (Season 6, Episode 11) written by Toby Whithouse
- “Hide” (Season 7, Episode 9) written by Neil Cross
Twelfth Doctor scary episodes
- “Listen” (Season 8, Episode 4) written by Steven Moffat
- “Mummy on the Orient Express” (Season 8, Episode 8) written by Jamie Mathieson
- “Sleep No More” (Season 9, Episode 9) written by Mark Gatiss
- “Knock Knock” (Season 10, Episode 4) written by Mark Barlett
Thirteenth Doctor
- “Arachnids in the UK” (Season 11, Episode 4) written by Chris Chibnall
- “The Haunting of Villa Diodati” (Season 12, Episode 8) written by Maxine Alderton
What fans said about their favorite scary Doctor Who episodes
I reached out on Instagram to ask fellow Doctor Who fans about their favorite scary episodes. This is what they had to say!
Erin (@geekandsew) said about “The Impossible Planet”:
“I like the suspense, we don’t know what it is till the very end. The theology aspect is interesting, too. And possessed Ood are just really freaky. Plus, I just love Rose’s devotion to the Doctor. She doesn’t want to leave him, she has faith that he will find a way out.”
Amber (@harknesscosplays) said they loved “The Waters of Mars”:
“I think it’s probably something to do with the way they twisted something so vital to life (e.g. water) into something so terrifying with the Flood, just playing on those fundamentals like that really stuck with me as a kid and still freaks me out a bit to this day! the sfx especially stood out too, super spooky!”
Kesley (@nerfherderknits) talks about enjoying “Midnight”:
“Well 1. Colin Morgan! I had a huge crush on him from Merlin! 2. I thought the mystery was really well done. And in general the cast of that episode is really great. I haven’t watched it in a while, but I remember enjoying it!”
Faith (@101cosplaystosee) had a lot to say about “The God Complex”:
“The reason ‘The God Complex’ is scary to me is because basically, it’s a mind mess…just the idea of seeing what you’re scared of behind a door. Like, if you open a door, then right there! There you go, right there, your fear and nightmare is right there.”
Joe (@just.plain.joe) says of “Night Terrors”:
“I liked ‘Night Terrors’ because it was an enjoyable spin on the monster under the bed stories.”
Tacie (@littleblueboxdesigns) let me know that she really enjoyed “Listen.”
“I think it was because it kind of played off all of our imaginative fears, like the creaking sounds, seeing something in the corner of your eye thinking someone might be there..”
Cat (@catsimilecosplay) talks about their love for “Knock Knock”:
“I liked “Knock Knock” because it had a lot of twists: I liked their take on the haunted/living house, and again with the woman being the mother, not the daughter. And the surround sound audio they added to this episode was pretty cool as well. Plus I thought Twelve was amazing as Bill’s “granddad” figure in this episode. There were more lighthearted moments in this one that were missing from “Mummy on the Orient Express.””
Ashley (@splashleycox) was not afraid to talk about how much “Arachnids in the UK” freaked her out:
“So, ever since HP and the Chamber of Secrets movie, I have been terrified of giant realistic creepy spiders in movies or shows. I actually only made it’s about five or 10 minutes into this episode, and then I think the spider was about to come out from underneath the bed, after of course we had already seen all the spiderwebs. Right before the spider came out, I slammed my laptop closed and turned on all the lights in my apartment. I actually couldn’t make it through the full episode. I think all of these “scariest DW episodes” are so good AND so scary because they completely heighten our most basic fears (i.e spiders, shadows, creepy kids, monsters under the bed) and then take them to INCREDIBLE levels.”
For more Doctor Who episode lists:
Where to begin watching Doctor Who if you’re a new fan
Doctor Who Christmas Specials: A look at some of the favorites
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