Last week we asked for your help in deciding a shortlist of the best ever Doctor Who monster. Our friends at the Doctor Who Facebook page helped spread the word, and hundreds of you nominated your favourite monsters on their page.


And so, in no particular order, here’s the shorlist of ten that you chose for our final poll, and why you chose them. Don’t forget to vote for your favourite in the poll at the bottom of the page. You have until Friday at 2pm to make your choice…

Weeping Angels

“Not only are they deadly (look away, you die, blink, you die, look them in the eyes, you die) and fiercely intelligent (as shown when they steal Bob’s vocal chords), but it takes an everyday object and makes you wonder” said Alyssa Woods. “I can’t look at statues anymore without freaking out,” added Erin Louise Johanson.

George Hanson Jnr. explained: “The Weeping Angels are the most frightening Doctor Who Monster because no one knows what their objective is. Are they purely evil, just wanting to kill for joy, or is there a reason to why they do what they do?”

Lizzie Eva Anderson had another theory: “They don’t scare me because they’re evil and they’ll murder me just because, but because they’re what I’ve been afraid of my whole life; that thing that will murder you when you aren’t looking and aren’t expecting it.” And Alexander McGee agreed: “They are the most terrifying because they do not conform to the typical psychology of destruction. Creatures of the abstract, what could possibly be more terrifying?”

Sarina Eden Roose said: “Normally i don’t get freaked ou about doctor who monsters, but every time i’m walking past any statue i always feel the need to stared at them without blinking!!”

Ashleen Macaleff said: “They forced me to keep my eyes wide open in the episodes and made me dread the next scene…almost like in underwater scenes where you feel you have to hold your breath.”

The Daleks

“Daleks hands down. None of the others have given the Doctor even the a 12th of the challenges as them. Seriously, who else has run off with entire planets to get what they wanted?” said Quentin Serling.

Sonja Cook said: “It has to be the daleks,just one simple word EXTERMINATE!!! Just sends shudders down your spine.”

Margaux Lauwaert advanced a psychological theory for their effectiveness as villains: “They are not the scariest of the doctor who monsters, they are the greatest. Because they are not supposed to have any feeling, they are what we are all afraid of : to be inhuman, because human being is all about feeling.”

“The slapstick element is now gone (they can fly, so there is no longer the option of pushing them over or running upstairs),” said Tom Young, explaining the Daleks’ continuing appeal. He added: “Also, they represent implacable hatred. This is, when properly considered, the scariest and most dangerous thing one can possibly encompass. There is no negotiation, there is no mercy, there is only EXTERMINATION!”

And Morgan Looney added: “The Daleks are like cockroaches. No matter how many times you obliterate them from the Universe they just keep coming back.”

The Silence

Victor Zamora Jr. praised The Silence “with their ability to filter themselves out of your own memory and force you to obey their will.” He added: “That’s terrifying.”

“They’re the only ones that could exist in our world and we’d never know,” said Andrea Jacoby, and Anneliese Tierney agreed, adding: “It’s creepy to think that they could influence every decision we make and we’d never know. We would think we have free will, but we’d never really know, would we?”

“I’m going to go with the Silence, because I can very much relate to never remembering why I’m doing something, and the thought of always being watched but never remembering what I see,” revealed Camden Tilley.

Silvia Bettella chimed in too, saying: “The Silence, because how can you fight against something you don’t even remember? They were a great enemy and only the Doctor could have defeated them.”

Cybermen

“The ones that scare me the most are cybermen. Daleks kill you bit cybermen strip you of everything good and make you immortal. Yeesh,” wrote Angel Lawler.

Glenn BA said: “Cybermen all the way. I particularly love Troughton’s Tomb of the Cybermen. They have always been a cool creation and were totally ripped off by Star Trek with the Borg.”

Wade Turner Mondasian highlighted the existential horror of the creatures, saying: “They were creepy because they are human corpses kept alive by machinery. They also make us ask the question, how much of our humanity can we give up, and still be human?”

“Cybermen intend to extract your brain and force you to live a soulless eternity in a metal tin. I can’t think of a more horrifying fate than that,” said Maggie Langdon.

“Cybermen are the most realistic of Who villains. I can imagine a real scientist inventing them. If that doesn’t seem scary, consider this chilling thought: Cybermen do not have to invade Earth, like most other Who villains. WE have the potential to be the Cybermen,” she added.

And Jennifer Cain lamented “the fact that they were once just ordinary people with hopes and dreams and fears and are now just machines.”

The Vashta Nerada

“The enemy you can’t see is by far the most terrifying. They could be anywhere, anytime,” said Bonnie Kate Wolf .

Kate Martin revealed: “The Vashta Nerada freak me out like mad. For someone who likes to read as much as I do and whose room is practically a library, the idea that there’s a possibility that the shadows might want to eat me and could be breeding in my books is terrifying.”

Vickie Stengel Sylvain concurred: “The Vashta Nerada FREAKED ME OUT!!! So much so that I am weary of and actually avoid dark shadows now!! A grown woman – afraid of the dark!!! WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS????”

Raini Way called them “the creepiest or most terrifying monster of Doctor Who,” and said: “A sentient shadow that attaches itself to its victim and can strip your flesh in less than a second? Thank you, Moffat, for the late onset of a common childhood fear of the dark.”

The Master

“He is the most deceptive of all, and he never seems to be able to properly die,” explained Malek Bloodlust.

Don Fitzsimmons said “He is the dark side of The Doctor, wanting to rule rather than save. He has the same powers/abilities as The Doctor, is humanoid in appearance, and is strongly motivated by his goal of enslavement.”

“From Roger Delgado to John Simm, here’s one of the most complex, fun, and effective villains in Who history,” said Douglas Pinheiro, who added: “He is the Doctor’s dark foil. He and the Doctor respect each other’s intelligence and ingenuity so much that they’ve let each other go when they could have put an end to each other countless times.

“The Master is one of the all-time greats because he gets under the Doctor’s skin, reminding him how wrong he could’ve gone and still could. He commits unspeakable evil but always does so with over-the-top charm and you can tell he’s having fun every step of the way. Who could ask for more from a villain?”

Ice Warriors

“Ice Warriors should win. Nothing has come close to them. They are menacing, and just watching Patrick Troughton’s episode Seeds of Death was quite scary enough. It’s a shame the 4th,5th, 6th and 7th Doctors didn’t have them onscreen,” said Gwyn Jeffers.

She added: “Terrifyingly huge, with scary faces and the way they talked had me terrified as a little girl. I absolutely love them to bits.”

Richard Fréderique Morten concurred, saying: “Ice Warriors are scary when they need to be, but over the course of their appearances their society evolved from a menace, to global peacekeepers – which gives them far more depth as a race than almost any others featured.”

And Simon Thorpe admired the monsters for similar reasons, saying: “Physically imposing, so they’re a real threat. But more than that, they’re the series’ first attempt to introduce a multi-faceted alien society made up of individuals with unique personalities rather than ranks of interchangable, single-function monsters.”

Zygons

Iain Lowson described them as: “The ultimate enemy within, and surely massively relevant to today’s paranoid society.”

Thomas Chiverton said: “Both of my parents are terrified of Zygons, they should be brought back!”

Trevor J Williams added: “The Zygons were utterly terrifying – plus they could masquerade as anybody … even your parents. In fact, for all you know, maybe YOU’RE a Zygon. (brrr)”

Sontarans

Ross Meikle said: “ Their appearance is intimidating and their obsession with war and the glory of their race is greater than that of the Daleks, for me, because of the ability to express emotion: anger against the opposition, glee in battle and even joy in an ‘honourable’ death. I find their irrationality combined with emotion terrifying!”

David Brider called them: “squat, ugly, brilliantly imagined and realised…”

And Ewan Shepherd didn’t need a reason beyond: “they’re just kind of cool ;p”

Davros

Cascel Bromfield summed up the creator of the Daleks: “No comedic element, just hands down evil.”

Athena Stewart added: “it is his twisted genius and jingoistic world view that the Daleks inherit. He is just as smart as the Doctor, but has no mercy.

I think that is the real key to the villains and monsters on Doctor Who— it is their lack of mercy and compassion which brings them into eternal conflict with the Doctor.”

Gary Wallis said: Davros was much worse than the Daleks as it was him that made them what they are.”


And Phillip Taylor summed up many people’s feelings calling Davros “the most evil being ever”