Unearthly Things (comic story)

Fresh from their adventures in Las Vegas, the Doctor and Clara are eager for a change of scenery, but their next destination aboard the TARDIS will prove a SHOCKING change of pace!

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

In Derbyshire, one evening in 1845, Charlotte Brontë and her friend Ellen are riding horses through the countryside. They discuss literature and the failings of men. As mist begins to settle Ellen suggests they return to the house, but the pair are then stopped in their tracks when the TARDIS materialises in front of them. Charlotte falls off her horse, twisting her ankle, and the horse runs away. When the Doctor and Clara step out, the Doctor offers to carry Charlotte to her lodging, and she directs him and Clara to North Lees Hall.

As they approach the house, Ellen says that its owner Lord Marlborough rarely takes in guests, and is not fond of surprises. However, Marlborough then greets everyone as they arrive, and invites the Doctor and Clara to join him and his guests in the drawing room. After they settle in, Marlborough’s butler enters the room and informs Marlborough that one of the servants, Agnes, has succumbed to “dreaming sickness”. When the Doctor asks what dreaming sickness is, the butler dismisses it as a minor fever and tells the Doctor that Doctor Whittaker is already seeing to it. Lord Marlborough then insists that the Doctor and Clara should stay for the night, and has rooms prepared for them.

That evening, Charlotte is woken by a dog barking outside one of the bedrooms. When she opens the bedroom door she finds Marlborough’s valet choking the Doctor. His back is on fire, and he shouts about feeling fingers behind his eyes. Clara then comes in and tackles the valet to the ground, where he stops moving. The Doctor, examining, says the valet's mind has snapped and he’s fallen into a coma. When Charlotte notes that he seemed possessed, like the other servants with sleeping sickness, Clara suggests it could be the work of evil spirits or an alien hive mind. The Doctor suggests they should all get to bed, as they will be busy the following day.

That morning, the Doctor joins Clara, Charlotte and Marlborough for breakfast. Charlotte informs them that Ellen is feeling under the weather, and Marlborough then invites the Doctor and Clara to stay an extra night to attend a party he’s hosting. The Doctor tells him the dream sickness puts all of his party guests at risk, but Marlborough says the guests are already on their way.

After breakfast, Clara joins Charlotte for a walk through the hall’s gardens. The Doctor then emerges from the bushes and fastens a ‘lucky charm’ brooch onto each of their clothes. He tells Clara that something is very wrong with North Lees Hall, then walks away.

Clara and Charlotte head back to check on Ellen and find that they can’t wake her. When the Doctor returns Clara calls him in, and he finds marks resembling a spider bite on her neck. Clara asks if toxin from spider bites could be causing the sickness, but the Doctor is convinced that the sickness is the result of psychic attacks. He tells Clara and Charlotte that their brooches are preventing anything from psychically influencing their behaviour. The Doctor then asks Charlotte to show him the stable block, and when they leave Clara gives her brooch to Ellen.

In the stables, the Doctor and Charlotte find a salvaged space vessel which someone has attempted to repair. The two then leave, unaware that someone has been listening to them.

Emily wakes up and hears the guests arriving for Lord Marlborough’s party. Clara offers to help her get ready, asking her to keep the brooch on, and Emily remarks that Clara is looking unwell.

Marlborough’s guests eat in the dining room, but the Doctor and Charlotte are absent. Suddenly the guests are overwhelmed by spiders climbing over them and biting their skin. The Doctor then bursts in and tells Clara to come with him to the building’s secret attic. The Doctor and Charlotte then head for the attic themselves, and as they leave Marlborough yells for his guests to stop them. The guests, under psychic control, pursue them up the stairs. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to reveal a secret door in one of the walls, and leads Charlotte up a spiral stone staircase. They then reach the attic, and find themselves face to face with giant humanoid insect.

The Doctor tells Charlotte it’s an Aranox, and that Aranox technology is powered by processed stores of sentient psychic energy. He tells Charlotte that the Aranox has been manipulating Lord Marlborough into bringing humans into the house for the Aranox to use as batteries. The Doctor tells the Aranox that he will not allow it to continue. He offers the creature a lift home if it agrees to release all of the humans it’s controlling, but it declines. The Doctor then goes to plan b, putting on a headset the Aranox uses for extracting humans’ psychic energy. The energy from his Time Lord brain is too much for the equipment to handle, and it breaks. The guests are now free from the Aranox’s control, and Lord Marlborough breaks a lantern over the creature’s head. The Aranox bursts into flames. The Doctor tries to save it, but with the fire spreading around the room Clara pulls him away.

Outside the burning building, the guests step into a carriage to leave North Lees Hall. Charlotte thanks the Doctor and Clara for their service, and as they go to leave, Charlotte tells Clara that she has given her inspiration for her next novel. Clara and the Doctor then leave, heading to Margate.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Charlotte gave Ellen a book by Mary Wollstonecraft.
The Doctor and Clara mention Margate.
Charlotte confuses the TARDIS for a carriage.
Ellen carries a riding crop.
The Doctor mentions aliens and demons.
Marlborough wants kippers for breakfast.
Charlotte asks Clara if her clothes are French.
The Doctor can smell celery through the hall and its grounds.
Marlborough serves turkey, apples, grapes and wine at his party.
Marlborough keeps roses in his house.
Clara was part of St Mary's School's rugby team, where she learnt to tackle.
The Doctor states that the Last Great Time War was still raging the last time he met an Aranox.
Charlotte is inspired to write Jane Eyre after learning that Clara is a female schoolteacher.
Clara mentions fish and chips.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Unusually, the title of this story does not appear within the story itself.

Original print details[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Clara, marvelling at Marlborough's library, says she could lose herself for weeks in a room like it, then adds she's sure she already has. (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS)
The Eighth Doctor expressed a desire to meet Charlotte Brontë one day. (COMIC: The Pictures of Josephine Day)