Highlights
- Doctor Who's scare tactics rely on creating fear through inconceivable realities and exploring common childhood fears, making for compelling television.
- The show's episodes effectively blend horror with sci-fi elements, creating bone-chilling moments and psychological twists.
- From classic episodes to those of the revival series, Doctor Who delivers memorable and terrifying storytelling that captivates audiences.
It is no secret that the revival series of Doctor Who encompasses all aspects of fictional fear with aliens and monsters extending the possibilities of terror. Many episodes throughout the show are memorable for creating bone-chilling fear in their simple design and clever scripts.
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From creating an inconceivable reality to a created fear of the mundane, the scare tactics of the show rely on its audience to question what they understand. Despite previous debates over whether the show could still be considered family viewing, the sense of adrenaline from every horror-induced episode makes for some compelling television. These episodes recount The Doctor's scariest moments and how he, and those around him, suffered the consequences of fear.
Updated October 27, 2023 by David Heath: It's been a busy time for Doctor Who fans. The specials featuring the 14th Doctor are drawing to a close, and Ncuti Gatwa's debut as the 15th Doctor is due to arrive over the holiday season. Then all the episodes (bar the first for silly reasons) became available for streaming on the UK's BBC iPlayer and Disney+ in the US.
As such, this list has been spruced up with a few of the scariest episodes of Doctor Who's classic era. Or more accurately, serials. Most of Classic Doctor Who consisted of multipart stories, ranging from 4 to 6 episodes of 25 minutes apiece. But since they tell one, overarching story, they'll count as single entries for this list.
18 Listen
- Series: 8 (New Who).
"Listen" is fairly low on the list as it's more of a character study, though it still has some chilling moments as it's about a fear nearly everyone had growing up: about something lurking under their bed or in their closet. The Doctor postulates this is due to evolution. Just as there are creatures that are great at hunting and defending, there are some that are perfect at hiding.
He and Clara travel back in time to explore his hypothesis, coming across a children's home where strange things happen. But it goes further than having some beast burst out from the darkness. It's more psychological, as the time-twisting narrative reveals the Time Lord has the same neuroses as humanity, and they drive him more than he knows.
17 The Unquiet Dead
- Series: 1 (New Who).
"The Unquiet Dead" is more direct by combining aliens, ghosts, and zombies into one, Victorian-themed adventure. The Doctor and Rose arrive in 1869 Cardiff just in time for Christmas, and to see the dead roam the streets. It turns out a rift in space and time is pulling a gaseous alien race called the Gelth from one side of the universe to the city, where they can only survive if they possess dead bodies.
It's up to the Doctor, Rose, and Charles Dickens to help stop the Gelth killing off and possessing all of humanity. With its character trope blending, it makes for a nice, unique take on a zombie story with some strong, atmospheric visuals. However, the subtext of the episode is questionable, as the Gelth present themselves to the Doctor as hard-done-by refugees before revealing themselves to be evil once they've made it through the Rift.
16 Kinda
- Series: 19 (Classic Who).
Comparing old-school Who to the newer series can feel unfair, like comparing the original Star Trek series to all its newer series. The performances could be more theatrical, and the effects much cheaper, but at its peak, it could provide some great sci-fi storytelling and some eerie twists on horror tropes. For example, "Kinda" saw the 5th Doctor and his companions try to help a research party imprisoned by the Kinda tribe.
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However, Tegan happened to be possessed by the Mara, a snake-like spirit that feeds on emotions, and she passed it on to one of the Kinda. It made for a neat combination of sci-fi, demonic possession, and a thriller as the Doctor has to stop it from destroying both the research party and the Kinda tribe from within.
15 Hide
- Series: 7 (New Who).
Inspired by The Haunting of Hill House novel, "Hide" is about ghost hunters who seek to contact a spirit inhabiting Caliburn House in 1974. Featuring a cameo appearance from Jessica Raine portraying a psychic, she continues to reach an apparition of a trapped woman. The Doctor and Clara embark upon a ghost hunt on a stormy night and run along creepy corridors.
The episode stands out as scary with its jerky camera angles and fast-paced scenes inspiring a great feeling of horror. There are plenty of twists and turns and blind corners perfect for jump scares and the camera will not quite reveal what is hidden in the background. Keeping the cast small makes it most effective as quiet fear creeps up on the viewer.
Audiences see The Doctor at their best throwing themselves into oblivion in search of answers. This moment in the series also deepened the dynamic between The Doctor and Clara as they questioned each other, leaving fans guessing.
14 Spearhead From Space
- Series: 7 (Classic Who).
"Spearhead from Space" is famous for introducing one of the Doctor's most iconic incarnations with Jon Pertwee, and the Doctor's new role as an exile on Earth aiding UNIT against threats. In his debut, the third Doctor has to help them stop the Nestene Consciousness from using their Autons to wipe out humanity and take over the UK.
The Autons would go on to reappear in future episodes, including New Who. But they looked scarier in the Classic series. The later series made them look exactly like living plastic dummies, while the earlier ones used masks that made them look more uncanny and alien like they were something more sinister than walking fashion store props.
13 Sleep No More
- Series: 9 (New Who).
In a 38th-century laboratory, Le Verrier, "Sleep No More" consists primarily of found footage of a rescue team learning the truth. The recordings mark a twist in the usual Doctor Who format as the viewer is told to pay close attention to what happens next.
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The camera is embedded in the action like a member of the rescue team. CCTV-esque shots make the characters seem as though they are being observed constantly, making for dramatic irony. It effectively builds fear and suspense of 'The Sandmen' as they wreak havoc across the lab, without giving the viewer a good look at first.
12 The Waters Of Mars
- Series: 2009 Autumn Special (New Who).
The existence of water on Mars has tantalized scientists since the Victorian days, either as signs there could be life on the planet or that it used to be a tiny Earth with its rivers and oceans before it became the dusty, red rock it is today. "The Waters of Mars" made viewers glad it doesn't, or at least not as presented here.
The Doctor ends up on Bowie Base 6, a Martian base fated to blow up, killing the entire crew, leaving only one last message: "Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it. Not one drop". For it contains the Flood, a liquid alien race that can possess its hosts. Aside from the special making a key fluid scary, it also showed a darker side to the Doctor: one whose arrogance and thirst for power made him more like his old nemesis the Master than anything else.
11 Night Terrors
- Series: 6 (New Who).
Inspired by writer Mark Gatiss' fear of dolls, "Night Terrors" is a classic horror episode situating a boy, George, who is scared to fall asleep. This episode is classic of 'The Ponds' era, as it has all the charm and wit along with classic jump scares.
It is made more terrifying from the perspective of a child being scared of the dark: a simple anxiety multiplied. Fear lies in the episode's ability to build suspense and the viewer having to solve the mystery of creepy shadows and singing and laughing dolls. A story of overcoming fears ultimately ends with a sweet resolution, but true to form nothing is ever resolved in Doctor Who.
10 The Girl In The Fireplace
- Series: 2 (New Who).
What is scarier than a masked ball? A masked ball in Eighteenth-century Paris with clockwork service androids. Focusing on The Doctor and Madame de Pompadour, "The Girl in the Fireplace," a fun and fearful historical episode, plays with the passing of time as the androids gain power.
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Taking the simple idea of masquerade costumes and masks and making it evil is experimental for a Doctor Who episode, but makes it memorable today. Despite key characters like Rose having a smaller role, its attention to detail in the characterization of famous historical figures being wrapped up in a horror story is spectacular.
9 Gridlock
- Series: 3 (New Who).
In "Gridlock," horrors come to life on the motorway (freeway) five billion years in the future in New New York, where The Doctor and Martha get separated by thousands of flying cars who fear the anonymous beast below. This fast-paced episode deals with a myriad of worries about what the future could hold for humanity, specifically a killer virus and human self-destruction.
The killer Macra feeding on the gases below presents a new challenge for The Doctor as he cannot rescue Martha easily. Confusion and suspense rule as he struggles to problem-solve. He learns that he needs to be honest with her and the episode ends with hope.
8 The Ark In Space
- Series: 12 (Classic Who).
"The Ark in Space" sees the fourth Doctor and his companions appear on an old space station. They discover it's an ark preserving its crew in cryonic suspension. But while they were asleep, an insectoid creature called the Wirrn sabotaged their controls, keeping them on ice to feed on them and use their bodies to cocoon their eggs.
If that wasn't creepy enough, the episode goes on to feature stalking monsters and possession. It becomes a race against time as the Doctor has to figure a way out to stop the Wirrn before they polish off what's left of the human race. The serial's storytelling overcame its effects to tell a tense story that's surprisingly similar to Alien, except it precedes the movie by two years.
7 Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead
- Series: 4 (New Who).
"Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead" are a two-part set about a flesh-eating shadow that provides more questions than answers about the invisible menace, as well as The Doctor's timeline. Like other iconic episodes, this starts with a simple idea that turns ugly as the Vashta Nerada in the shadows starts killing people off.
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Placing the action in a dusty empty library makes the fears more real and horrific as the episode progresses. This era of Doctor Who's most terrifying episodes is where The Doctor and Donna have no control. As they search for answers, simple terrors and tear-jerking jolts captivate audiences as they dread what horrors lurk in the dark.
6 The Seeds Of Doom
- Series: 13 (Classic Who).
That said, "The Waters of Mars" wasn't the first Doctor Who episode to have people get biologically possessed. It was preceded back in 1976 with "The Seeds of Doom." The fourth Doctor does one more mission for UNIT by heading to Antarctica to investigate a plant pod discovered in the permafrost.
It gradually grows bigger until it stings one of the scientists, slowly transforming them into a plant-based creature called a Krynoid that feeds off animal life. If that wasn't bad enough, the pod gets stolen away back to the UK, where it creates more Krynoids. The episode combines the terrors from The Thing From Another World and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, making for a disturbing finale for Series 13.
5 The God Complex
- Series: 6 (New Who).
Like "Listen" a few series later, "The God Complex" is part horror, part character study, as The Doctor, Amy, and Rory investigate a strange, 1980s-era hotel. Except it takes guests from all over space, and exposes them to their worst fears via their booked room.
The episode delves into the nature of fear and its connection to faith, in how the former can enhance the latter, which isn't presented as a good thing here. It leaves the Doctor's companions at risk, their allies in trouble, and makes the Doctor question himself. The Doctor does see his own worst fear in his room, but it may still take 2nd place behind being responsible for putting his friends in danger.
4 Midnight
- Series: 4 (New Who).
"Midnight" is a one-off episode that places The Doctor in a vulnerable position and visibly scared. A group of tourists trapped in a shuttle with a monster that they do not understand begins to repeat everything that they say before targeting The Doctor. It remains one of the most terrifying episodes in part due to its simple format of a one-room scene and a group of people turning against each other.
The Doctor's curiosity and intelligence have no effect on the tourists who are afraid of what they do not understand. Russell T. Davies' writing serves to show the negative side of being human, with the script taking center stage.
3 The Impossible Astronaut/Day Of The Moon
- Series: 6 (New Who).
Moffat's villain is designed to compete with previous aliens in terms of terror and scariness: The Silence. They are one of the most terrifying species of their era, as whoever looks away from them forgets they exist. They are quiet and terrifying, making an ingenious way of building suspense. Combining all aspects of immense production value that could be expected from a series premiere, it is a spectacle with stellar cinematography and a clever script.
Despite being one of the darker episodes of series six, "The Impossible Astronaut" and "Day of the Moon" still maintain the same level of comedy. The fantastic chemistry between actors makes this episode a nostalgia trip for the Eleventh Doctor days. Fear dominates this episode because it subverts expectations and takes the plot in ways the viewer did not expect at the time. It reveals a lot of major plot points and what is to come, most specifically about the future of Amy and The Doctor.
2 Blink
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- Series: 3 (New Who).
The Weeping Angels are arguably the scariest Doctor Who alien to date with its unpredictability and unknown consequences. It is unclear at first what happens to those who are attacked by the angels and "Blink" quickly became one of the best and most memorable Doctor Who episodes.
The Doctor is not directly in the action for most of the episode, existing purely on screens helping the quickly familiar Sally Sparrow navigate the angels. The tone of the episode is bleak and chilling, as the sudden appearance of the angels is terrifying to those watching. It is timeless and creepy and certainly one for hiding behind the sofa for.
1 The Empty Child
- Series: 1 (New Who).
Most iconic in terms of fear-inducing madness, "The Empty Child" encounters the impossible through a monster taking the form of a terrifying child in a gas mask. In the middle of The Blitz in 1941, The Doctor and Rose encounter an indescribable entity that infects everything it touches and creates a whole new real-life terror for its viewers.
The episode is unsettling as panic and pandemonium is leaking out of every scene. Jump scares and eerie music perforate throughout the dimly lit bombed-out sky. Storyline-wise, it is as classic as Doctor Who comes, with a happy ending that viewers have to suffer spin-chilling fear and dread to get to.