The Mystery of Edwin Drood was a novel on which Charles Dickens was working at the time of his death. In Cardiff on Christmas Eve 1869, Dickens told the Doctor and Rose that it "lacked an ending", which he said would be inspired by their adventure with the Gelth. He intended to introduce characters called "the blue elementals" to help him conclude the novel, and hinted that perhaps he might change the title to The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. It was never completed. (DW: The Unquiet Dead)
- As in the Doctor Who universe, the real-life Drood was the final effort of Charles Dickens.
