Thomas Carnacki

Thomas Carnacki was an Earth detective who investigated supernatural occurrences.

Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]

This section's awfully stubby.

Info from The Haunter of the Shore ^[+]Loading...["The Haunter of the Shore (audio story)"], The House ^[+]Loading...["The House (audio story)"] and The Institute of Forgotten Souls ^[+]Loading...["The Institute of Forgotten Souls (audio story)"] needs to be added

Early life[[edit] | [edit source]]

Thomas Carnacki was born within a year of November 1877. (AUDIO: The Institute of Forgotten Souls ^[+]Loading...["The Institute of Forgotten Souls (audio story)"]) His mother always told him that he was impudent (AUDIO: The Haunter of the Shore ^[+]Loading...["The Haunter of the Shore (audio story)"]) and he grew up without a father.

He first met Arkright at Harrow, as a boy, and went with him to Arkright's family home in Sussex in order to investigate the House, whose carpet, wallpaper and furnishings seemed to be following him. While there, he set fire to the old building, though this remained a secret well into adulthood. (AUDIO: The House ^[+]Loading...["The House (audio story)"])

As a young man[[edit] | [edit source]]

Carnacki in his youth. (AUDIO: The Doctor and Carnacki ^[+]Loading...["The Doctor and Carnacki (audio anthology)"])

In the 1890s, Carnacki encountered Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax in Castle Kraighten. He was naive and was distracted by Vastra and Strax not being human. He learnt that the house was an alien being. After this encounter, Vastra promised him lessons in dealing with the supposedly supernatural. (AUDIO: The Screaming Ceiling ^[+]Loading...["The Screaming Ceiling (audio story)"])

Carnacki met the Seventh Doctor for the first time in 1897, when he came to Edgemere Manor for an investigation. (AUDIO: The Haunter of the Shore ^[+]Loading...["The Haunter of the Shore (audio story)"])

In the 20th century[[edit] | [edit source]]

Carnacki met the Second Doctor and Zoe Heriot in 1900, becoming involved in the events surrounding the Spirit Gate. (PROSE: Foreign Devils)

In 1904, Carnacki encountered Iris Wildthyme and her companion Panda while he was investigating Mocata Grange. (AUDIO: Iris Rides Out)

Ultimate fate[[edit] | [edit source]]

During World War I, he was sent out to fight for Britain. In April 1918, Thomas Carnacki originally died in the trenches, in Ypres. However, the Actuary, employing the power of the White Guardian, pulled him out of time.

The Seventh Doctor later returned him to meet his original fate, but eventually took him away to another planet, in the Epsicilian system. Here, he was able to continue having adventures, as well as entertaining various visitors in a faux Edwardian parlour. (AUDIO: The Institute of Forgotten Souls ^[+]Loading...["The Institute of Forgotten Souls (audio story)"])

Physical appearance[[edit] | [edit source]]

The young Carnacki described his older self as "reasonably handsome". (AUDIO: The Haunter of the Shore ^[+]Loading...["The Haunter of the Shore (audio story)"])

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Carnacki the Ghost-finder was the fictional creation of author William Hope Hodgson. In the Doctor Who universe, two of Carnacki's three appearances were written by Guy Adams, who also featured Carnacki in the Titan Sherlock Holmes book The Breath of God.
The story surrounding Carnacki's death in World War I was inspired by Hodgson's own demise in that same war, which meant the end of the original stories. (BFX: The Institute of Forgotten Souls ^[+]Loading...["The Institute of Forgotten Souls (audio story)"])
- Indeed, William Hodgson also died on 19 April 1918^{[nb 1]}, in Ypres.
- Their ages also line up perfectly^{[nb 2]}, suggesting that Carnacki may have been born on 15 November 1977 in the DWU, by authorial intent. However, this has not been made explicit.
In Big Finish Productions' Carnacki series, he is played by Dan Starkey. Starkey appeared as Strax alongside Joe Jameson's take on the character in The Screaming Ceiling, in October 2019.
- The Doctor and Carnacki, released in November 2024, employed both actors in the role, with Joe Jameson credited as "Young Carnacki".

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

↑ The Institute of Forgotten Souls ^[+]Loading...["The Institute of Forgotten Souls (audio story)"] only says that Carnacki is meant to have died in April 1918, without establishing a more specific date.
↑ In The Institute of Forgotten Souls ^[+]Loading...["The Institute of Forgotten Souls (audio story)"], set in "1936", Carnacki says he is 59. However, it's established later in the story that he was meant to have died in 1918.

[1] The Institute of Forgotten Souls ^[+]Loading...["The Institute of Forgotten Souls (audio story)"] only says that Carnacki is meant to have died in April 1918, without establishing a more specific date.

[2] In The Institute of Forgotten Souls ^[+]Loading...["The Institute of Forgotten Souls (audio story)"], set in "1936", Carnacki says he is 59. However, it's established later in the story that he was meant to have died in 1918.

[nb 1]

[nb 2]