One of the things I love about Dr Who...

[Graham Kennedy]

...is the way it deliberately sets out to make everyday things frightening to children.

Take the new series. View the last four seasons through the eyes of a small child, and then look at the world around you.

Plastic bins - they can reach out and grab you, and pull you in to eat you.
Shop Mannequins - similarly, can come alive and shoot at you
Shadows - any given shadow can contain a swarm of microscopic creatures that can strip the flesh off your bones in seconds.
Christmas - Your Christmas tree can attack and kill you. Street Santas are killer robots armed to the teeth.
Statues - Statues move when you aren't looking at them, attacking you when your back is turned.
Cracks - the cracks in your bedroom wall lead to another universe, a universe full of monsters.

And I'm sure there must be others.

You have to realise, there's a streak of sadism in Doctor Who. It's sold as a family show... but the tradition of Who is that young children watch it and are *terrified* by it. As a little 'un I used to watch Doctor who sitting next to my mum on the couch, cuddled up against her, with a large pillow in front of me to hide behind when it got too scary. Who writers are *gleeful* over the idea that they frighten small children half to death. And I especially love that Moffat seems very on board with this kind of thing, so I'm looking forward to many more everyday things made scary in future!

[Reliant121]

The statues really freaked me out, and gave me nightmares.


I'm hardly a little child anymore (no arrogance intended), even if I'm still 15.

[Captain Seafort]

And I'm sure there must be others.

From the original run, but still famous:

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Yeah, but those never frightened me. They made me... giggle.

[Graham Kennedy]

Lol, that one makes Ian wince every time he thinks about it.