Body-snatcher

The **Corpfures**, (PROSE: *Avatar*) known colloquially as the **Body-snatchers** were a gaseous race of parasites. They were known for possessing the bodies of others in attempts to deceive others, with their end goal typically being to assimilate an entire planet.

Certain groups of Body-snatchers came into contact with the Seventh and Eighth Doctors during various attempts to take over Earth. The former attempt saw them possessing Cybermen in order to stop the Doctor from getting away from them. The latter saw them attempt to take over Arkham shortly after the Doctor's regeneration, attempting to take the body of a Silurian god as their own. After being stopped by the Doctor, he took them into his mind and suppressed them.

## Biology

The Body-Snatchers in their true form were green, gaseous, floating orbs, which glowed in darkness. They had no distinguishing facial features, but did seem capable of both sight and hearing. They spoke in the voice of the body last inhabited by a Body-snatcher, usually the last person to die in a given area, (TV: *Avatar*) or a leader figure. (TV: *Destiny*)

When possessing a body, Body-snatchers were capable of mimicking the possessed person near-perfectly, to the point that they could be able to fool entire towns of people.They seemed to show preference for possessing corpses, with a group of Body-snatchers only attempting to possess the Eighth Doctor after they found themselves unable to possess Caatharn. (TV: *Avatar*) However, they could possess living beings, and did so willingly. (TV: *Destiny*) There were tell-tale signs of a person being possessed, however, such as a slight echo in the possessed person's voice, and the possessed person's eyes periodically glowing green. (TV: *Avatar*) When possessing Cybermen, the eyes of those possessed glowed green permanently. (TV: *Destiny*) Possessed individuals were also much stronger than previously, with the possessed Howard Philips being able to break down a door in only a few tries. (TV: *Avatar*)

When leaving a host body, the host was killed instantly, with effects seeming to vary from species to species. (TV: *Avatar*, *Destiny*) For example, humans would rapidly decompose into skeletal remains, (TV: *Avatar*) and Cybermen would short-circuit. (TV: *Destiny*)

## Culture

The Body-snatchers were natural parasites, with a culture based around usurping power from other races. The Seventh Doctor described them to Ace as "the universe's cuckoo". (PROSE: *Destiny*) Upon arriving on a planet, the Body-snatchers would possess a host, typically a corpse of a recently deceased individual in order to catch people's attention. Their goals of power were gained through manipulation and deceit, causing as many as possibile to believe that they had witnessed miracles, and turning them against any that knew, or could guess the truth. When they had gained what they wanted, they showed themselves en masse to assert their control over the original inhabitants of that area. Some Body-snatchers took advantage of pre-existing myths and legends to build a convincing story, for example using the prophecy of Arkham to turn its inhabitants against the Eighth Doctor and Raine Cunningham. When their plans went awry, they attempted to possess whoever was most powerful in order to try and regain control of the situation. (TV: *Avatar*)

On occasion, the Body-snatchers simply possessed bodies for seemingly no reason, other than a common enemy. (TV: *Destiny*)

## History

### Encounter with the Seventh Doctor

In the 18th Century, the Body-snatchers arrived in England and attempted to take over the surrounding rural area by possessing the owner of a factory. Their plot was uncovered by the Seventh Doctor and Ace, whom they attacked and chased into an open field. (PROSE: *Destiny*) Before they could kill them, however, they were engaged by a platoon of Cybermen, who had been sent to destroy the Doctor's timeline. Sensing an opportunity to take the upper hand, the Body-snatchers possessed the Cybermen, and opened fire on the Doctor and Ace, successfully incapacitating the latter. However, their victory was cut short after Bernice Summerfield, who had been sent by a later incarnation of the Doctor, distracted them, allowing the Seventh Doctor to escape and Liz Shaw to tend to Ace. The Seventh Doctor then teamed up with his third incarnation to dispose of the Body-snatchers by using a gadget the Third Doctor had previously constructed to threaten the Body-snatchers with being trapped in a time loop, prompting them to retreat. (TV: *Destiny*). In reality, the device had already broken down. (PROSE: *Destiny*)

### Invading from Arkham

Another group of Body-snatchers attempted to invade the Earth at a much earlier point in its history, but were stopped by the Silurian Caatharn, who was deified as a result of his actions, becoming trapped in the ground. Overtime, the town of Arkham was built over the site, with the Body-snatchers being located underneath the local cemetery. Upon the arrival of the Eighth Doctor and Raine Cunningham, the Body-snatchers were awoken, and a group possessed the most recently deceased person, Howard Philips. Realising that the Doctor could pose a threat due to his Time Lord nature, the Body-snatchers attempted to stir the town of Arkham up against the Doctor. All the while, they searched for the remains of Caatharn, whom they wished to claim as their new host. They eventually found his remains in the town museum, leaving Howard's body to try and clone Caatharn's. Upon taking Caatharn's body out of the museum, the remaining Body-snatchers in Arkham possessed more corpses and attacked the townsfolk. The Doctor tried to find a middle ground and offered to take them to a planet where they could repopulate its surface, but they refused, citing their lust for power. Their attempts to defeat the townsfolk proved futile thanks to Raine's efforts, and ultimately, through her sabotage, they were unable to clone Caatharn's body either. Seeing no other choice, the Body-snatchers attempted to possess the Doctor, but were diminished due to the sheer scale of the Doctor's mind. (TV: *Avatar*)

## Behind the Scenes

* Initially, director Graeme Harper wanted the original voice of the Body-snatchers, Colin Jeavons, to return to voice them in *Destiny*. However, Jeavons refused, leading to the decision that David Banks would voice both the Cyber-Leader and the Body-snatchers instead.
* The name given to the Body-snatchers in the novelisation of *Avatar*, the Corpfures, is a bastardisation of "corpus fures", which literally translates as "body thieves".