Top 20 Scariest Doctor Who Stories
Those sofas aren’t going to get behind themselves
Halloween is coming!
However, if you’re a coward like me, or want to watch something fairly spooky with children, Doctor Who is an excellent choice.
Allow me to be your ghoulish guide, your creepy curator, as we tour some of Doctor Who’s scariest adventures from the entire run…
And for extra controversy, I’ve ranked them!
20 to 16: Yeah, these are scary…
20. Attack of the Cybermen (1985)
If you want Doctor Who’s answer to violent films: This is it. Rated M15+ in Australia, it features Cybermen being pulled apart and decapitated, a glimpse into the conversion process, and a man being tortured by having his hands be squeezed into pulp.
And for the very brave, there’s Colin Baker’s coat.
19. Tooth and Claw (2006)
One of the sure signs of Doctor Who’s quality over the years, is just how many episodes considered average are really solid tales. My scary average episode to present is Tooth and Claw: David Tennant’s third episode. Scotland, Queen Victoria, kung-fu monks, a mansion, and a werewolf on the loose. A reliable Doctor Who yarn.
18. Planet of Evil (1975)
Never mind how the spaceship looks because the jungle looks terrific. Tom Baker’s Doctor never stops being on guard in this reimaging of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde. A planet that exerts a malign influence on a group of scientists mining it for minerals. An underrated gem during the show’s Golden Era of the mid-1970s.
17. The Haunting of Villa Diodati (2020)
Jodie Whittaker’s only outright unnerving adventure. It’s the evening that Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, and her friends share scary stories. So, the Doctor decides to drop in. After all, nothing induces panic more than unexpected visitors.
16. Nightmare of Eden (1979)
“What?!” scream some Doctor Who fans as they smash the screen in rage. But hear me out: It’s a story about drug-smuggling. While the monsters might be naff, there’s great cliffhangers, and a perverse moment when the captain of a spaceship, high on drugs, watches his passengers being slaughtered and begins to laugh at them.
15 to 11: Hey, who turned out the lights?
15. The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon (2011)
This Matt Smith story almost strains under the weight of the story arc its supporting, making it easy to forget just how scary these episodes are on their own. The Silence are a genius Steven Moffat creation: a monster you forget when you’re not looking at it. Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) in the orphanage, covered in tally marks is a particularly disturbing image.
14. Turn Left (2008)
David Tennant’s Doctor dies. If David Tennant dying wasn’t bad enough, Turn Left tells the story of the year of alien invasions that followed, unthwarted by the Doctor saving the Earth. Like the best of Russell T Davies, it has its funny moments but near the end it is just unremittingly bleak.
13. Listen (2014)
Peter Capaldi’s Doctor becomes fixated on the idea that everyone has the same nightmare: You step out of bed, put your feet on the floor, and a hand comes to grab you. In his quest to find the creature, that he is convinced is hiding, he visits an orphanage and then the end of the universe. But it’s the last place the TARDIS lands that makes this episode stand out… Brilliant stuff.
12. The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)
It’s almost sacrilege not to name this story as one of Doctor Who’s scariest adventures. This Patrick Troughton tale remains a fan favourite. The first story to try out one of the show’s favourite tricks: take a horror film (in this case, a mummy’s curse story) and redo it as sci-fi. Some great set-pieces, endearing Doctor moments, and definitely one of the few black-and-white stories easier for modern audiences to enjoy.
11. Last Christmas (2014)
Peter Capaldi’s best Christmas special. Perfect for watching with the kids: A mix between The Thing and Alien with Nick Frost as Santa. Don’t worry: the show falls more on the side of Santa is real. Do worry about the unnerving scene with the blackboards and the bittersweet coda.
10 to 1: The Top Ten Terrifying Time-Travel Tales!
10. The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit (2006)
David Tennant fights the Devil. You read that right. The Devil. The final episode in this two-parter was broadcast the Saturday closest to 06/06/06. Spooky.
9. Terror of the Zygons (1975)
Tom Baker’s Golden Age is ripe with nightmare fuel. We’re going with this one. Tom Baker’s Doctor goes to Scotland. Investigating the destruction of oil rigs, it turns out to be the work of the Loch Ness Monster. Ignore the B-movie monster, though. It’s the chilling sequences involving the body-snatching Zygons that makes this a classic.
8. The Curse of Fenric (1989)
Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor in his stride: In a World War II base, the Doctor finds a code-breaking machine: the Ultima Device (based on Alan Turing’s Enigma machine). While Russian and British soldiers play games, underwater vampires are emerging to invade.
7. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (2008)
River Song’s debut story (from our perspective). Begins as a tense thriller before evolving into something frightening and surreal. On a planet-sized library, an archaeological expedition arrive to discover what happened to the 402 people who “disappeared”. Better known as the one with killer shadows. Watch with the lights on.
6. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (2005)
It’s the London Blitz and something is stalking the streets. Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor scariest adventure: facing against the Gas Mask Child. Despite the scares, it has one of the warmest endings. A great debut for Steven Moffat and a brilliant story to share with the kids.
5. Mummy on the Orient Express (2014)
Peter Capaldi’s Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara have their final hurrah, enjoying a ride on the Orient Express in space. However, the passengers are being picked off by a Mummy only the victim can see, 66 seconds before they die. (Like this one? Check out Oxygen from Capaldi’s last season: a terrifying space station manned by the dead.)
4. Hide (2013)
This gorgeous Matt Smith adventure is perfect scary fare for children: A ghost in a haunted house with two people trying to find out what it wants. Enter Matt Smith’s Doctor and Clara to join them. It’s got atmosphere, moments of pathos, and jump-scares but most importantly, a brilliantly Doctor Who-esque happy ending that sits perfectly right.
3. Midnight (2008)
David Tennant’s Doctor goes on a space bus to visit the planet Midnight. But along the way, the bus breaks down. While waiting for rescue, something outside knocks, wanting to come in. What makes this particularly chilling is watching all of the Doctor’s normal tricks fail one by one as the creature turns the passengers in on themselves. A masterpiece.
2. Blink (2007)
In some corners of the Internet, it’s become popular to be dismissive of Blink. What contrarian rubbish. The Weeping Angels are a genius concept, statues that only move when you’re not looking. The episode practically begs for you to keep staring. Plus, it’s sweet, funny, has Carey Mulligan, and is really clever. Also, it actually is genuinely scary.
- The Timeless Children (2020)
Hardcore fans and casual audiences unite to be scared of one thing: Doctor Who continuity.
Just the idea of watching this again is enough to give me nightmares…
Disagree? I hope so. Please tell me about it.