Doctor Who has been causing kids to hide behind the sofa in terror of aliens for 50 years. Today we celebrate two of the greatest creations of reboot era Doctor Who: The Weeping Angels and the Silence.

As we rev up to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, we’ll be celebrating some of what made Doctor Who successful when it came back to TV screens in 2005. One of the best parts of Doctor Who are the new monsters and aliens.

In this article, Hypable writers Laura Byrne-Cristiano and Tariq Kyle try to explain why they think either the Angels or the Silence are scarier. Let’s start of with Laura’s choice: The Weeping Angels.

Appearance

You want real terror, pick something that you can’t avoid. One of the best parts of The Weeping Angels is that they are everywhere in real life where they naturally look creepy. Let’s face it, who wasn’t freaked out by decaying angel statues in graveyards before Steven Moffat ever penned the words “Don’t Blink”? Stone angels are kind of like the Mona Lisa, only in 3-D. Wherever you go their sightless eyes always seem to follow you. Those ominous, and decaying due to acid rain, stone faces haunt you, even if you won’t admit it.

Longevity

The Weeping Angels, so far, have played a major role in 3 episodes over 3 seasons. The tenth and eleventh Doctors have faced them as have River, Martha, Amy, and Rory. Each time we learn more about them and we discover just how much they are survivors. Not only can they zap you back in time, “killing you” and feeding off your energy, but they can also seemingly do it in an endless loop. For example, if it weren’t for Amy and Rory creating a paradox, Rory’s life would have been nothing but an endless food chain for the Weeping Angels.

Level of Threat

It comes down to two words: Don’t Blink. Seriously, just try it. How long can you last before your eyes tear and your face feels like it will burst as your muscles spasm. To quote the tenth Doctor, “Blink and you’re dead.” It’s just that simple. No one can fight that urge, not even the Doctor. It’s not often that we see the Doctor helpless and reduced to tears, but that is exactly what he was when the Weeping Angels zapped Rory back in time again, and Amy chose to follow. Any being that can face the Doctor multiple times, and claim victory (even a small one) is a being to be feared.

Fan Reaction

Ask any Doctor Who fan what is the scariest episode in the reboot era and chances are they are going to say Blink. Even somewhat jaded, old-timer Whovians who are devout Tom Baker fans give props to the Weeping Angels. It was the first proper scare in the reboot era that had kids cowering behind the sofa, and adults peeking out between their fingers. The Weeping Angels are on tee shirts, mugs, etc. Perhaps the only alien to appear on more merchandise is the Daleks.

Check out page 2 for why the Silence are creepier!

Appearance

How can someone look at the Silence and *not* be scarred for life? Their faces look like someone tried to melt their skin off and gave up halfway through because whenever they looked away they’d forget about them. They have the type of face where if you saw one crying in a corner you wouldn’t empathize, you’d want to turn around, run away and forget you ever saw such a thing.

Level of Threat

While we know the Angels can be anywhere, not all angel statues are necessarily Weeping Angels, whereas if you ever see one of these guys you absolutely know you’re f****d. You literally cannot run away from these guys because the second you do you’ll forget what you even had to run for. It’s like going into the kitchen because you wanted something, arriving and then forgetting why you’re there. Only in that case it’s more forgiving because if you forget the mustard you won’t be obliterated to death.

Getting Help

If you see a Weeping Angel you’re not supposed to be blink, which is hard, absolutely. However if you can manage to find someone else to look at them for you for a few minutes/seconds you can go off and find help. With the Silence, the only way to track how many times you saw them (or rather, one of our favorite ways) is to mark yourself with a counting line to let you know how many times you’ve almost been royally screwed. This brings us to the dilemma: If you try running around with marks all over yourself talking about a monster you can’t remember is chasing you, no one is going to help you because they’re going to think you’re CRAZY.

Which ‘Doctor Who’ villain do you think is scarier?

Let us know in the comments below which monster you think is scarier, because we’re split! And don’t forget that the Doctor Who 50th anniversary airs this month, Nov 23 on BBC!