Doctor Who: 10 Best NuWho Villains That Only Appeared Once

2. The Vashta Nerada=

Episode: Silence in the Library/The Forest of the Dead The shadows who melt flesh are the perfect example of the Doctor Who writers taking something that scares us, (the dark) and creating a monster even more frightening. The Vashta Nerada are basically a bit like locusts, except deadlier €“ individually they're non-sentient creatures who can cause little damage, but as a swarm they can form a hive mind of human intelligence and strip the flesh from bone in a matter of milliseconds. According to The Doctor, all civilisations in universe have an irrational fear of the dark, except they're wrong, it's not irrational. The scenes where The Doctor and Donna hightail it, as the lights flicker out, are utterly terrifying. And the choice to give the swarm a voice was a risk that ultimately paid off. By giving us a window into how they arrived at the Library and an idea of their motivations, we were drawn further into their world. Ultimately they just want the Library to themselves, and a piece of fresh meat now and then. The idea of having the final thoughts of the archaeologists repeated through the suits speakers was a nice touch, and made for a few tense and terrifying chase sequences in the second half of the story. Of all the villains to feature on this list, The Vashta Nerada are probably the most likely to appear again sometime in the future, something which would be a welcome surprise to many fans, as they have undoubtedly left their mark on the show. So here's hoping we see the piranhas of the air in the future.