Julien Neaves, Sci Fi Head Writer
In its 60-year run British Sci Fi series Doctor Who has featured several scary antagonists for the various incarnations of its time and space travelling hero The Doctor to contend with. And a few of these have been around so long or had such a strong cultural impact that they have become iconic in their own right, such as the extermination-loving Daleks, the soulless Cybermen or the supremely creepy Weeping Angels. But there are some baddies that showed up for just one story but were so scary that we felt like hiding behind our couches (and maybe some of us did; I ain’t here to judge). This list is dedicated to those one-off villains in Modern Doctor Who that made us go all wibbly wobbly. And to ensure we have a wide spread I have restricted to one villain per Doctor.
With a galaxy-sized SPOILER ALERT let’s dive in:
#6 Thirteenth Doctor: Robot workers (Kerblam! Series 11)
Of all the incarnations, Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth was the most difficult to find scary villains for this list as her era really suffered for interesting bad guys. The robot workers from Kerblam! at least had a creepy looking design, so they win by default. Though Doctor Who has had seen much scarier robots such as the Host from Voyage of the Damned and the titular robots from Classic Who story Robots of Death.
Honourable Mention: Thijarian (Demons of the Punjab, Series 11)
#5 Fifteenth Doctor: Slug-like creatures (Dot and Bubble, Series 14)
These skin-crawling, unnamed creatures are the most recent entry on this list and was the inspiration for it. While not the most inventive design (they are pretty much just giant slugs) there was just something so blood curdling about these slimy monsters. And with the denizens of Finetime perpetually distracted and literally walking into these carnivorous beasts they did make for some breath-taking chills.
Honourable Mention: Sutekh dust zombies (Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death, Series 14)
#4 Eleventh Doctor: The Gangers (The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People, Series 6)
While smiling robots and over-sized gastropods can deliver on the scares, there is something unnerving about a villain that is a deformed human. And we got this and then some with the Gangers. With their pale skin and odd faces, just looking at them is enough to creep one out, and that includes the Doctor Ganger as well. Though their morphing abilities did not always look the best due to the at times janky visual effects, the not-quite Gangers were still quite memorable.
Honourable Mention: The Whispermen (The Name of the Doctor, Series 7)
#3 Twelfth Doctor: Listen creature (Listen, Series 8)
Is there anything scarier than the unknown? Well, this is number three on this list, so maybe not. That said, the creature in Twelfth Doctor episode Listen may or may not exist, but it is absolutely terrifying. From a rising bed spread to a knocking on the ship, the chills were palpable from whatever the heck this thing was (or was not).
Honourable Mention: The Boneless (Flatline, Series 8)
#2 Tenth Doctor: Vashta Nerada (Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, Series 4)
The Tenth Doctor had his fair share of scary one-off baddies during his run. The Midnight creature from the titular episode was unsettling, the possessed Ood from The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit were chilling and the Flood from The Waters of Mars were horrifying. But our silver medal goes to the Vashta Nerada from the excellent Tenth Doctor two-parter Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. They are flesh eating creatures that are indistinguishable from shadows. That is pure nightmare fuel right there. Them eating people, walking around in their suits with their skulls showing and constantly repeating phrases is just icing on the creeptastic cake. And don’t forget to count to shadows!
Honourable Mention: The Flood (The Water of Mars, 2009 Autumn special)
#1 Ninth Doctor: The Empty Child and Gas Mask Zombies (The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, Series 1)
Are you my Mummy? Those four words should be instantly recognisable to any Doctor Who fan. The Ninth Doctor two-parter The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances is not only one of the best stories in the entire franchise, but it is also one of the scariest. Creepy children have long been a trope in horror, but the Empty Child is just next level. From the odd gas mask to the ability to speak through electronics, he will definitely keep you up at night. Add to that the ability to turn others into gas mask zombies and you have the closest that Doctor Who has ever gotten to the horror genre. And that is why this absolutely terrifying one-off villain tops this list.
Honourable Mention: The Gelth (The Unquiet Dead, Series 1)
Which of these one-off villains did you find the scariest? And you can check out more Doctor Who rankings below:
Julien “Editor Jules” Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by the Cryptkeeper, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like “13 flavours of awesome sauce”. Read more.