F is for... Foretold

The Foretold was a supposedly legendary creature which killed people 66 seconds after they saw it. Only the victim could see the creature, which appeared as a mummified human cadaver. It would strike wherever an ancient, tattered scroll was present, its writing undecipherable. The Doctor took Clara to the Orient Express for a final journey before she went back to Danny Pink. This was a space-going recreation of the famous train. Clara discovered that there was a sarcophagus on board after one of the passengers had died 66 seconds after seeing something which no-one else could. The Doctor decided to investigate. Another passenger was Professor Moorhouse, an expert in Alien Mythology, who knew much about the legends of the Foretold. Soon other passengers and crew began to die, and the Doctor eventually managed to work out the link between them all. They all had illnesses of some kind - physical or mental. It transpired that the train was really a trap. Some unknown agency, acting through a computer named GUS, had brought various experts to the Orient Express in order that they could analyse the Foretold. They had tried to lure the Doctor here once before, in his previous incarnation, but he had taken Amy and Rory on their honeymoon instead. The agency wanted to understand the creature so that they could use its technology to develop new weapons. In order to learn about the Foretold, the Doctor had to become its next victim, so he took on the grief-filled emotions of the intended target, the granddaughter of the first victim. He then had 66 seconds to deduce everything about it. He realised that it was a soldier, kept alive artificially, and believing it was still at war. The ancient scroll was its flag. He then surrendered, causing the creature to stop as he brought its war to an end. It crumbled to dust, and the Doctor removed the alien device which had been sustaining its life. This device had also given it stealth abilities, so that could slip out of phase by 66 seconds - hence why only its victims could see it.

Played by: Jamie Hill. Appearances: Mummy on the Orient Express (2014).

The Foretold at the Doctor Who Experience in 2015 (top) and in 2016.