Death ( Dead Man Walking ) Death was a mysterious being and a figure in legends . It appeared to Suzie Costello and Owen Harper in the afterlife , and was believed to be a personification of death . Owen stated that it was " " duroc " , " or " hunger . " Biology . In its natural dimension , Death was invisible among the dark void , but its presence could still be felt and heard by the dead there with it . When it entered the universe , Death had the physical form of a human skeleton shrouded in dark grey vapour . Death was capable of communicating with a low , hoarse , whispery voice both in English and in another language , although it was only ever known to say one thing in either language - " " Melenkurion abatha duroc minas mill khabaal ! " " / " I shall walk the Earth , and my hunger will know no bounds ! " The only known method through which Death could enter the universe was if someone were resurrected using the left - handed resurrection gauntlet - after the gauntlet permanently brought the person back in an undead state , Death would feed the person energy to sustain it , while also using the person as a gateway from the afterlife into N - Space . Death would occasionally possess the person , and would gradually change their cell structure . Once the person ' s cell structure was 100 % transformed , Death would fully cross through them into the universe . In the universe , Death would be capable of instantaneously killing living beings by touch or by coming within very close proximity , draining their life and reducing their bodies to shrivelled husks . Though it could apparently kill any living being this way , Death preferred and was drawn to the dying and near - dead . However , Death could only temporarily kill Jack Harkness due to the latter ' s immortality , and the undead beings resurrected by the gauntlet were completely immune to Death ' s abilities . When Death entered N - Space via the resurrection gauntlet , it had to kill thirteen sentient beings in order to enter the universe permanently ; otherwise , after a length of time , it would vanish back into the darkness in a burst of energy . ( TV : " Dead Man Walking " ) Biography . According to Suzie Costello , when one died and entered the afterlife , Death would stalk them in the darkness . ( TV : " They Keep Killing Suzie " ) Death was both worshiped and feared by Weevil s . Once in 1479 , it manifested itself in Cardiff after a girl named Faith was brought back to life with the resurrection gauntlet . Death killed twelve people , but Faith managed to stop it before it could collect a thirteenth victim , which would have enabled it to enter the universe permanently . During this time , contemporary chroniclers also recorded the presence of Weevils , which seemed to have inspired imagery of the Grim Reaper . In 2008 , when Owen Harper was resurrected with the same gauntlet , Death used him as a gateway into the universe , and possessed him repeatedly . While doing so , it repeated " I shall walk the earth and my hunger will know no bounds " in a strange language . Eventually , the energy from Death that was keeping Owen animate fully transformed Owen ' s cell structure ; allowing Death to cross through into the universe . After manifesting in the universe through Owen , Death had the physical form of a human skeleton shrouded in grey vapour . It travelled to St Helen ' s Hospital and began killing and collecting the soul s of the staff and patients that Torchwood failed to evacuate from the hospital in time . Death claimed twelve of the thirteen souls it needed to fully enter the universe , but before it could claim a thirteenth victim , Owen used faith to literally fight off Death and dissipate its energy ; sending it back to the darkness . ( TV : " Dead Man Walking " )