Carrionite The Carrionites were a species of humanoid s which used word - based science or " witch craft " to reshape reality . Biology . The true form of a Carrionite resembled a giant skeletal raven or crow . They were able to assume a more humanoid form but this used a lot of energy , and so they usually had wrinkled skin , large , clawed hands , and sharp canine teeth . The Carrionite Lilith could assume the form of a beautiful young woman , a trick she used to ensnare male victims . ( TV : " The Shakespeare Code " ) Technology . Carrionite technology was described as witchcraft . It was actually a word - based science , as opposed to the mathematics of most species , and may be similar to quantum mnemonics . It relied on the right words and the right places , such as the Carrionite ' s use of the Globe Theatre ' s structure . They also placed great importance on knowing the name of an individual to give them control . With this linguistic technology for a basis , the Carrionites had a wide variety of abilities . They used both and as DNA replication module s to cause damage from afar or control a person ' s actions . This required a tissue sample , such as a hair , to work . They could also fly , dematerialise and rematerialise at will , communicate with other Carrionites from a distance and had the ability to discover a person ' s name and use it against them , even sensing if those they named were out of their time , like Martha Jones . The Doctor , however , was mostly immune to such , though Lilith could detect a name that strongly connected to him ; Rose . ( TV : " The Shakespeare Code " ) History . At " the dawn of the Universe " , the Carrionites evolved in their 14 - planet star system and developed their word - based science . ( TV : " The Shakespeare Code " ) Eventually , the Carrionites got into a war with the Hervoken . This war threatened the structure of the universe , so the Eternal s stepped in and banished both races to the Deep Darkness . ( PROSE : " Forever Autumn " ) Ancient Time Lord s were aware of the Carrionites , and shunned them . In fact , Lady Scintilla was imprisoned in Shada for " conspiring with Carrionites " . ( PROSE : " Shada " ) Several million years later , in the late 16th century , a group of three Carrionites — 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 planet s of their star system , and , in 1599 , planned to use his new play , " Love ' s Labour ' s Won " , to free the rest of their race from the Darkness and take over Earth , removing human ity from it as a pestilence , to establish the " Millennium of Blood " . The last few lines of the play were written by Shakespeare in a trance as a spell said by one of the cast to open a portal from the Deep Darkness to this universe . However , the portal was closed and the race of witch es and all copies of " Love ' s Labours Won " vanished into the Darkness , thanks to the help of the Tenth Doctor . He told Shakespeare 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 — " " " " — from the " Harry Potter " series of novels . The escaped Carrionites were trapped within a crystal ball . ( TV : " The Shakespeare Code " ) The Doctor kept the crystal ball in his TARDIS . ( TV : " The Unicorn and the Wasp " , PROSE : " The Taking of Chelsea 426 " ) Other references . When the Skith Leader scanned the Tenth Doctor ' s mind , a Carrionite was among the alien creatures shown to him . ( COMIC : " The First " )