A dark and stormy night, a haunted, ancient manor and who's that rapping, tapping at the door? (Not quite the Ghostbusters, but pretty close.)

In Neil Cross's "Hide", episode 10 of series seven, we see classic horror tropes come together with "Doctor Who" science fiction to make for a rather satisfying follow-up to Cross's previous episode, "The Rings of Akhaten". Cross first wrote "Hide" and then was brought back for "Rings", but may find himself redeemed after less-than-stellar feedback from his previously aired episode.

Other than Matt Smith's Doctor and Jenna-Louise Coleman's Clara Oswald, we only have two additional characters: Professor Alec Palmer (Dougray Scott) and his psychic assistant Emma Grayling (Jessica Raine), as ghost hunters with an unspoken romance. 

The episode centers around the Caliburn Ghast, also known as "the Witch of the Well", a spirit haunting an old mansion for centuries (Tyntesfield, a property near Bristol, was used as the location). All the classic cold spots, candles flickering out, strange noises and the ensuing ghost stories have lead Palmer and Grayling to the house, which was purchased by the professor so that he could solve the mystery of the ghost. Because this is "Doctor Who", it seems that ghosts can always be explained by something else (read, "The Unquiet Dead" in the first series)—enter the Doctor and Clara, posing as ministry officials looking to help solve the mystery. 

The first quarter of the episode is largely your standard ghost story fare, with the Doctor and Clara wandering through dark passages and investigating bumps in the night. On the brink of an epiphany, the Doctor and Clara rush into the TARDIS and investigate the history of the property and its location, from the birth to the death of Earth, prompting Clara to ask the Doctor exactly what he sees in "us" (humans), to which he replies: "You are the only mystery worth solving," especially applicable to the "impossible woman". 

The apparition is actually a time traveller trapped in a "pocket" universe, lost and scared in a decaying forest world with what seems to be a hungry, unseen monster. The jarring effect of transitions between the forest and the house, especially once the Doctor is trapped in the forest after rescuing traveler Hila Tacorien (Kemi-Bo Jacobs), could have been dizzying, but in this, it only added to the feeling of dread. 

The unreconciled romance between the professor and the psychic could have also felt hokey, but the performances Scott and Raine bring to the characters make it feel mature. Their romance is paralleled by the twist at the end, which did feel unbelievable, if I have to admit it, wherein the monsters in each world—both the largely unseen creature in the house and the one in the forest world—are actually lovers separated by the division between their worlds. 

There was a little bit of "Doomsday" and Rose Tyler apparent in the episode, what with the individuals in love separated due to the division between dimensions, which may be an indicator of what will happen in the 50th Anniversary special, as David Tennant and Billie Piper are confirmed to return. 

The development of Clara's character continues to be what fascinates me most. Although we don't know why exactly the TARDIS dislikes her initially (although it could be something to do with paradox), the "old cow" begins to warm up to her, even letting Clara fly her into the pocket universe. Additionally, we see Clara continue to realize exactly what responsibilities and trials a time traveller must face, including coming to the realization that everything has an end. She sees, in the span of what is likely a few minutes, a time where she hasn't been born, a time where she has been dead for centuries, the start of the Earth and when it dies. She says to the Doctor, "We're all ghosts to you". Clara has some of the best quotes in the episode, but it's Emma Grayling who tells us that the Doctor has "a sliver of ice in his heart."

The episode could possibly be better than last week's "Cold War". It continues the recent theme of explicit references to Classic Who, this time from the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) with the blue psychic crystals of Metebelis 3, which were last featured onscreen in "Planet of the Spiders" (1974), tying into this episode's setting of Nov. 25, 1974. Its segues between horror and sci-fi genres are seamless, although there are some aspects I'm not sure I understand—some of the issues with the exchange and differences of time flow between the two universes, as well as the question regarding the TARDIS's ability to travel to the decaying world (although I suppose the added benefit of the enhanced psychic energy may have aided somehow). All in all, though, a very good episode, possibly a good intro episode for those who want to ease skeptical friends or family into the Whoniverse. 

Reach Staff Reporter Christine Bancroft here. Follow her on Twitter here.