Doctor Who has been running since 1963 and has, in that time, given us an aliens and monsters back catalogue so vast it could fill its own museum (and basically does, at the BBC archive). Some are silly. Some are genuinely terrifying. Some look like a wheelie bin with a sink plunger and have nonetheless dominated British nightmares for sixty years.
Here are the best aliens and monsters in the Doctor Who universe, ranked by a combination of cultural impact and how badly they ruined your childhood.
1. The Daleks
Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash
The originals. The most famous fictional villain in British TV history. The Daleks shouldn't work, they're armoured pepper pots with bathroom fittings for weapons, and yet they are universally terrifying.
The "EXTERMINATE" is rent-free in three generations of British heads. Genuinely peerless.
2. Weeping Angels
The single scariest thing Steven Moffat ever wrote. Statues that only move when you're not looking. Don't blink. Don't even look away. The Blink episode redefined what a one-off Doctor Who villain could be, and Weeping Angels have been quietly traumatising people in churchyards ever since.
3. The Cybermen
Less iconic than the Daleks, arguably scarier. Cybermen want to convert you, not exterminate you, which is a much worse outcome when you think about it. The "Delete. Delete. Delete." rhythm and the sound of metal feet marching down a corridor: pure horror.
The two-part series two finale where they appear is one of the show's best moments.
4. The Silence
Starry Night TARDIS phone case, available at Fun Cases
You forget them the moment you look away. Suit-wearing, faceless, telepathic, and somehow already in your head. The Silence are the Moffat-era at peak nightmare. The fact that you might already have one in the room with you and not remember is, frankly, rude.
5. The Master
Not technically an alien-monster but always in the running. The Doctor's oldest friend, longest-standing nemesis, and an absolute joy whenever they show up. From Roger Delgado to Michelle Gomez's Missy to Sacha Dhawan's frankly unhinged version, every Master has been brilliant in their own way.
6. Vashta Nerada
"What's in the shadows?" Carnivorous swarms that live in darkness and pick your bones clean. The "Silence in the Library" two-parter is one of the best in the modern run, and Vashta Nerada are the kind of monster you genuinely cannot fight. You can only run. And they're in every shadow on Earth.
7. The Zygons
Shape-shifters with suckers. Classic-era stalwarts that got a brilliant modern revival in the Capaldi-era two-parter. The way they can become any human is creepy in a way the Daleks just can't replicate. Plus their actual form is genuinely gross. Top tier.
8. The Beast (The Satan Pit)
A literal devil-from-the-dawn-of-time creature chained on a planet at the edge of a black hole. Massive, ancient, terrifying. The Beast appears in arguably the show's bleakest two-parter and stays in your head long after. Big horns, bigger vibes.
9. The Empty Child
"Are you my mummy?" Three words that ruined Doctor Who for an entire generation of kids in 2005. The gas-mask zombie children of "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" are still genuinely upsetting on rewatch. Moffat's first contribution to the show and arguably his finest.
The Universe Is Mostly Trying To Kill You
Doctor Who's enduring appeal is partly that the universe is enormous, full of unspeakable things, and the Doctor still gets up every week and goes back out into it. Honestly, that's heroic.
If you want to wear your Whovian credentials with pride, our Doctor Who phone case collection covers everything from the TARDIS to the iconic monsters. Pair with a Vincent and the Doctor rewatch for full effect.
