Carrionite

The Carrionites were an apparently entirely female species of humanoids. (DW: The Shakespeare Code)

Physical appearance
The only notable differences in appearance between a Carrionite and a Human were their wrinkled faces and their teeth, which were prominent and sharp. However, at least some of them could shapeshift into near-Human form at will. (DW: The Shakespeare Code)

Abilities
Carrionites could fly, dematerialise and rematerialise at will and use poppets to cause odd deaths in enemies. Their abilities were described as witchcraft. In fact, their science was based on words, as opposed to the mathematics of most species. (DW: The Shakespeare Code)


 * ''The fact their science was largely implemented using words alone, without much use of instrumentality, suggests that their powers were derived from the lexical equivalent of block transfer (which used pure mathematics to reshape reality).

History
At "the dawn of the Universe", the Carrionites evolved in their 14-planet star system and developed their word-based science. However, the Eternals banished them to the Deep Darkness using a special word of power.

Several billion years later in the late 1500s, a group of three - Bloodtide, Doomfinger and Lilith - escaped using words of power from the plays of William Shakespeare, partly the result of the writer's grief at the death of his son. They influenced the design of the 14-sided Globe Theatre, based on the planets of their star system, and, in 1599, planned to use his new play, Love's Labours Won, to free the rest of their race from the Darkness and take over Earth, removing Humanity from it as a pestilence, to establish the "Millenium of Blood".

The last few lines of the play were written by Shakespeare in a trance to be a spell said by one of the cast of the play to open a portal from the Deep Darkness to this universe, however the portal was closed and the race of witches and all copies of Love's Labours Won vanished into the Darkness thanks to the help of the Doctor, who told him that he was "the wordsmith" and could create the new words of power to send them back into the Darkness, and Martha Jones, who provided the last word - "Expelliarmus" - from the Harry Potter series of novels.

The Carrionites were probably his inspiration for the Weird Sisters of his play, Macbeth. Shakespeare also gained inspiration for many other of his plays that week. (DW: The Shakespeare Code)