Greetings and salutations my fellow Whovians and other people with a passing interest in ‘Doctor Who’. One of the best parts of the long running show is the scary creatures that our time and space traveling protagonist encounters on his adventures. The quality of a monster can make an episode fantastic or forgettable.
For this article I will be focusing on monsters introduced during NuWho (2005-present era) so do not expect to find any Daleks, Cybermen, Autons or Zygons here. So Allons-y, Geronimo and here we go. Here are my Top 10 Scariest NuWho Monsters:
#10 Headless Monks (A Good Man Goes to War, Series 6)
They are monks, with dark cloaks, energy swords and NO HEADS! They are creepy when they are standing still, much less when they are trying to run you through.
#9 Handbots (The Girl Who Waited, Series 6)
The Handbots stand out among monsters because they are not bad and are actually trying to help people. Is it their fault that their inoculation will kill anyone who does not possess two hearts? They are the kindest robotic killers you will ever meet and this is their most disturbing quality.
#8 The Boneless (Flatline, Series 8)
One of the most unique aliens the Doctor have ever faced the Boneless come from a two dimensional universe but they decide “hey, why not take people, kill them by crushing them into two dimensional shapes and use these experiments to enter the three dimensional universe. Fun times”. Their ability the change people and objects from 2D to 3D made them difficult to avoid and the weird, blurry, disconcerting shapes they take when they enter the three dimensional world is enough to make your blood crawl.
#7 Clockwork Droids (Deep Breath, Series 8)
We first met the Clockwork Droids in the wonderful episode “The Girl in the Fireplace” way back in Series 2. And while the weird masks and clicking was cool they did not get REALLY creepy until they returned with flesh suits in Series 8 episode “Deep Breath”. The Doctor surmised that the droids could sense a human in their midst by the person’s breathing and he had poor Clara, and everyone watching, holding their breath for dear life. Scary stuff indeed.
#6 The Mummy (Mummy on the Orient Express, Series 8)
You are on a futuristic train with a killer Mummy that once you see him you have six seconds before you die. What do you do? What you do? This mysterious, unstoppable, implacable killer was downright terrifying. He could not be reasoned with, he could not be stopped and when he set his sights on you then you are dead as a door nail. Guaranteed. Unless you are the brilliant Doctor of course.
#5 Possessed Ood (The Impossible Planet & The Satan Pit, Series 2)
Poor Ood. If they are not being enslaved they are being possessed by evil beings that may or may not be the devil. Talk about a raw deal. Their freaky faces, weird eyes and evil chanting was the stuff of nightmares.
#4 Vashta Nerada (Silence in the Library & Forest of the Dead, Series 4)
Some of the best monsters in Who work on a primal fear level and this one is about the fear of the dark. And with the carnivorous Vashta Nerada the “dark” could literally kill you. Then they upped their fear factor with these handy skeleton suits and their broken record phrases. Count the shadows people.
#3 Empty Child infected (The Empty Child & The Doctor Dances, Series 1)
Who knew people wearing gas masks could be so frightening and unnerving. My goodness the Empty Child and those he infected were creepy. They did not run, they did not attack, they did not threaten. They just moved slowly and asked for their mummy. *shivers*
#2 The Silents (The Impossible Astronaut & Day of the Moon, The Wedding of River Song, Series 6/ The Time of the Doctor 2013 Christmas Special)
Talk about some unforgettable forgettable monsters. With a look that meshed alien conspiracy, Edvard Munch’s scream and snazzy black suits the Silents (not to be confused with The Silence) were visually terrifying. Then they added another layer with their abilities to make people forget them once you no longer see them and also disintegrating you with a touch. Wait? I was writing about a monster. What happened?
#1 Weeping Angels (Blink, Series 3, Flesh and Stone & The Time of Angels, Series 5, The Angels Take Manhattan, Series 7, The Time of the Doctor 2013 Christmas Special)
This number one should come as no surprise to any true blue Whovian. The Weeping Angels are terrifying to the nth degree. Statue-like creatures that only move when you are not looking at them? Talk about a recipe for paranoia. They never really recaptured the terror they induced in their first appearance – the pitch perfect “Blink” – but they still remain the scariest monster of all NuWho.
You have seen my ranking now it is time to vote for your favourite:
So did I leave out any of your favorite NuWho monsters? Feel free to comment below and if you enjoyed this post you can share with your peeps. Sharing is caring.
You can check out my list of the Worst NuWho Monsters here and my list of the Worst Classic Who Monsters here. And for more wibbly wobbly timey wimey lists you can check back redmangoreviews every Saturday for “So Who Saturdays” and we also have other cool TV and movie stuff Monday to Friday.
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