Scared Stiff (short story)

Scared Stiff was a short story published in the Doctor Who Storybook 2010. It featured the Tenth Doctor and the Gelth, who reappeared for the first time since their debut in The Unquiet Dead.

Summary
Dennis wakes up in a Travelodge, with a headache and a cough. He mentally prepares for his day in Cheltenham, giving a live performance of his show Scared Stiff, in which he becomes “possessed” by the spirits of local ghosts.

At the Abbey, Corynne interviews one of Dennis’ guests ahead of the live performance. Simon, also working on the show, informs Corynne that Dennis is hungover, and that the previous night he seemed “possessed”. Corynne reassures Simon that Dennis will come through for the live performance, and hasn’t let them down before.

Tonya speaks to Preston Gilchrist, a magician involved in Scared Stiff, and asks him if he’s going to say anything that would show Dennis up again. She says Dennis still hasn’t gotten over the last time Preston embarrassed him, and Preston replies by saying that Dennis is a fraud. He then contacts the ghost of Tonya’s uncle George, and Tonya is amazed by the detail about their relationship that Preston picks up on. Preston then reveals that he’s performing a Victorian parlour trick – using generic names and recounting details of Tonya’s life that she had already revealed about herself – in order to expose the medium act as fraudulent. Tonya is taken aback, and implores Preston not to say or do anything like that during the live performance.

On a webcam livestream of the Abbey's crypt, a glowing blue skeleton shuffles towards some stairs. When it disappears, a tall blue box materialises.

As Corynne and Pat apply their makeup, and camera crews set up, three hundred audience members file in to the Abbey, ready for the live recording of Scared Stiff. Corynne is excited – people have reported ghosts in the Abbey for hundreds of years, and more recently have reported sightings of skeletons. As Dennis prepares in his dressing room, Corynne hopes Preston won’t try to upstage him again. Elsewhere, Preston is plotting to expose Dennis live on-stage, in order eventually to take his show and his assistant Tonya. When Preston turns to walk down one of the Abbey’s dark stone corridors a skeletal hand reaches out from the dark, grabbing him and breaking his neck.

The live show begins. A viewer at home, Mandy, calls in to speak to Corynne. She reports seeing white smoke with a face on the webcam in Room Three. The audience gives an enthusiastic “woooo”. Mandy then begins to describe a mysterious blue box, but Corynne cuts her off to introduce the show’s first guest, their resident sceptic Preston Gilchrist. The audience applauds, but Preston does not appear. A tall man walks on to the stage. He tells Corynne she needs to stop whatever she’s doing right now. He introduces himself as the Doctor, then, noting the cameras, clarifies that he’s “Doctor John Smith”.

Preston’s body lay in the Abbey corridor, undiscovered by anyone except the Doctor. With a whispering, chattering sound, a wisp of spectral smoke circles the body before entering Preston’s mouth. Preston’s eyes flicker open, and his corpse staggers to its feet before shuffling towards the crypt.

On stage, the Doctor tells Corynne that Preston has been detained, and that he is filling in for him. A voice in Corynne’s earpiece says “go with it”. The Doctor asks about the Abbey, and Corynne explains that it’s haunted. She reports seeing “orbs” on their night-vision cameras, clarifying that these are “spectral organisms”. While footage of the orbs plays for the audience, Corynne quietly asks the Doctor what’s going on. He tells her that the Abbey is a weak point in space and time, and that something in trying to get through. Corynne then loudly asks “Dr Sceptic” what he thinks of the orbs, and the Doctor quickly dismisses them as dust. He tells Corynne to take the show off the air, and she announces an ad break.

With the show paused, the Doctor tells Corynne he’s found Preston’s dead body in a corridor, and believes a non-human creature has killed him. Simon tells Corynne that they have the webcam footage Mandy called about, and Corynne asks to see it. She and the Doctor watch as a smoky blue light swirls in the dark footage. The smoke nears the camera and a face appears in it. Turning the volume up, the Doctor and Corynne hear it saying “Pity us… Pity the Gelth!”.

In the crypt, the Gelth inhabiting Preston uses his body to open tombs which have been sealed for hundreds of years. With the skeletal remains inside newly exposed, the Gelth calls to his brothers and sisters.

The Doctor explains the Gelth to Corynne and Simon, and Corynne is convinced that he’s telling the truth. Their conversation is interrupted when the audience in the Abbey suddenly grows noisy. Dennis has appeared onstage, flanked by the corpse of Preston and six re-animated skeletons. Corynne declares that they need to go back on-air ASAP.

Dennis is delighted, taking the arrival of these ghosts to mean that he truly has the medium’s gift. The Gelth tell Dennis that they need to be quick, as the rift is closing. Dennis feels a duty to help them. From the side of the stage the Doctor yells to Dennis, saying he’s been “well and truly Freaked Out”, suggesting that the Gelth he sees are part of an elaborate prank. He explains to Corynne that Dennis is acting as a medium for the Gelth, keeping the rift open and allowing more Gelth to get through. Corynne joins in, pretending that "Freaked Out" is a new show on ITV3 that pulls pranks on celebrities. Dennis’ delusions of being a spiritual medium collapse. Preston’s corpse pleads with him to keep the rift open, but Dennis has retreated into his own thoughts. The skeletons around him shudder, then collapse to the floor. The spirits once inhabiting them disappear into the ether. With the audience applauding wildly, the Doctor walks on stage and announces the end of the show.

Corynne receives a call saying the show has been a hit. She tells Dennis, but Dennis is too distracted by the fact that the Doctor seems to have disappeared. While they talk, Simon looks down at the corpse of Preston Gilchrist.

Characters

 * Tenth Doctor
 * Dennis Bridger
 * Tonya
 * Corynne Fletcher
 * Simon
 * Preston Gilchrist
 * Pat

Worldbuilding

 * Dennis stays in a Travelodge hotel.
 * Cheltenham had some famous ghosts – an evil Squire who supposedly haunted a 16th century coaching inn, and a haunted schoolroom.
 * Clarins was a brand of makeup, and makeup was sometimes called “slap”.
 * Preston speaks French and mentions werewolves.
 * The audience wear winter coats and anoraks.
 * Hallowe’en was a spooky time of year.
 * Scared Stiff had previously aired a live show from a Scottish castle.

Food and beverages

 * Alcohol could be purchased from an “offie”.
 * Dennis recently had milky tea and Jaffa Cakes.
 * Dennis has biscuits with ginger in them.
 * Dennis enjoys scotch whisky and brandy.
 * Tonya was drinking Merlot the night before the live show.

Continuity

 * The Doctor uses his alias John Smith. (TV: The Name of the Doctor et al.)