History Main / InvincibleBoogeymen

Compare and contrast the ImplacableMan, InescapableHorror, SuperPersistentPredator, the LordBritishPostulate, and the EldritchAbomination.

Some monsters are ImmuneToBullets; some are [[NighInvulnerability indestructible]] barring the obvious AchillesHeel; some smother their opponents in [[ZergRush hordes of easily-replaceable drones]]; some just keep coming back no matter how thorough their demise seems... and then there's some that simply cannot be fought at all. ''At all.''

A native of the SurvivalHorror genre and its imitations in other genres, this breed of foe cannot be opposed in any reasonable way, lacking weaknesses, exploitable character flaws, or even opportunities to counterattack. The reasons for this vary: maybe it's because they're simply too powerful to be harmed in any way; perhaps they never give their victims a chance to retaliate; maybe its because they're effectively intangible. In some cases, it's because ''you're'' too weak to fight them and probably never will be strong enough to do any real damage.

A native of the horror genre and its imitations in other genres, this breed of foe cannot be opposed in any reasonable way, lacking weaknesses, exploitable character flaws, or even opportunities to counterattack. The reasons for this vary: maybe it's because they're simply too powerful to be harmed in any way; perhaps they never give their victims a chance to retaliate; maybe its because they're effectively intangible. In some cases, it's because ''you're'' too weak to fight them and probably never will be strong enough to do any real damage.

* Creator/DanielRemar's ''{{Metrojd}}'' features this: the crux of the game is spent jumping across the map as an unseen monster howls in the distance, shaking the area as it gets steadily closer. When it ''does'' show up, it can't be killed, hurt or even attacked; getting too close to its jaws will result in game over. All you can do is run.

* Almost every monster in ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'' is one of these, but they do give up and go away if the player hides themselves well enough. Just ''looking'' at them is enough to drive the player character mad, and as soon as one catches sight of you, you're practically dead. However, the most prominent example is [[EldritchAbomination the Shadow]], as unlike other monsters which you can hide from or distract, theShadow will find you ''wherever'' you go and is truly unstoppable. It will NEVER stop chasing you until it decides otherwise.

* ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' features the Dorocha a MonsterOfTheWeek in "Darkest Hour". Their name literally translates to "Shadow people" and are malevolent spirits of the dead with the appearance of gaseous flying skulls and whereby they come into contact with a person, they are almost always instantly dead (Merlin being the only exception due to his magic). Unlike most monsters on the show, they cannot be fought in any way, being completely unaffected by blades and even magic. The only defense against them is that they are WeakenedByTheLight, but even this only repels them and doesn't kill them. The only way is stopping them is by one person being chosen as a sacrifice to restore the natural order that released them, to which both Arthur and Merlin attempt to, but ultimately it is Lancelot who performs the deed.

* ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho''
** [[HumanoidAbomination The Child]] in "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho014TheHolyTerror The Holy Terror]]". An all-powerful EnfantTerrible, nothing in the castle can kill it or even slow it down; the Doctor can't fight it, dissuade it or technobabble it away. By the end of the story, the heroes are reduced to hiding in the throne room while the Child massacres its way through the populace, knowing that there's nothing they can do but wait until it comes after them. [[spoiler: As it turns out, Eugene ''can'' destroy the Child, but that just results in the entire ViciousCycle repeating itself and the damn thing reappearing later anyway. The only thing Eugene can do to escape is let the Child kill him, ending his suffering and deleting the Child from existence.]]
** [[GrimReaper Death]] in "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho049Master Master]]." Both the Doctor and the Master find out the hard way that there's no way of opposing her in any way, shape or form: attempts to talk her down only end with the recipient being {{Mind Rape}}d; the one attempt to actually attack her [[TimeMaster ends before it can even begin]]. In the end, the only sane thing to do is run like hell, all while pursued by nightmarish stimuli across the house. [[spoiler: The story concludes on a BadGuyWins note, with the Doctor in indentured servitude to Death and the Master still trapped in her schemes.]]

** The [[UndeadChild eponymous child]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E10TheDoctorDances The Doctor Dances]]". On top of having a host of powers that make him effectively unstoppable, any physical contact with him will only [[TheVirus turn any attackers into more gas-masked zombies]]; plus, he might not be inclined to run after his targets, but once he's gotten interested in something, ''he will not stop following you.'' As such, the only sensible move is to either run or hide. [[spoiler: He's stopped when he finds his real mother, allowing the nanomachines infesting him to correct [[CameBackWrong their original mistake]] and restore him to normal.]]
** [[AngelicAbomination The Weeping Angels]], especially in their original appearance in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink Blink]]", when they're up against ordinary humans. The Angels are not only indestructible in their stone state, but [[CantMoveWhileBeingWatched when nobody's looking at them]], they move too quickly to be attacked; all it takes is one blink at the wrong time, and you're dead. [[spoiler: In their first outing, they're defeated when they're tricked into looking at each other, freezing them in place. They are not completely indestructible as another instance has them be frozen... and unable to escape being sucked into a ''black hole.'']]

** [[GeniusLoci House]] quickly becomes one of these in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife The Doctor's Wife]]" once he [[GrandTheftMe transfers his mind into the TARDIS]]. Not only is it impossible to harm him since his body is now a pan-dimensional time machine, but he's also capable of using his control over the TARDIS's internal systems to MindRape Amy and Rory in particularly cruel ways. For good measure, during his scenes, the tone of the episode takes a sharp turn away from drama and comedy and into flat-out horror. [[spoiler: The only way to defeat him is to sneak the TARDIS' current body on board and allow her to force House out of the system.]]

** The [[{{Mummy}} Foretold]] of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E8MummyOnTheOrientExpress Mummy on the Orient Express]]". Effectively intangible, its touch kills instantly, ''and nobody else can see it except for its victims''. As with most monsters on this show, it's ImmuneToBullets -- but also to all potential technobabble solutions. Once you're targeted, you have exactly sixty-six seconds to live before it catches up with you, amping up the horror and tension significantly. [[spoiler: The only way to stop it is to surrender to it.]]

** [[HumanoidAbomination The Veil]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent]]". A childhood nightmare empowered with a lethal touch, it can't be harmed, persuaded, intimidated, outsmarted, or technobabbled away -- meaning that all the solutions that the Doctor usually resorts to are officially useless. The Doctor has only two options: confess his deepest secrets or run for his life. And though the Veil doesn't move very fast, it's impossible to escape [[PsychologicalTormentZone the Castle]] through conventional methods, and the Doctor has to stop long enough to eat or sleep -- meaning that the Veil ''will'' catch up sooner or later. [[spoiler: It's defeated by the Doctor finally breaking through the wall between him and the exit, causing it to collapse into inert junk.]]

* ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' features the Dorocha a MonsterOfTheWeek in "Darkest Hour". Their name literally translates to "Shadow people" and are malevolent spirits of the dead with the appearance of gaseous flying skulls and whereby they come into contact with a person, they are almost always instantly dead (Merlin being the only exception due to his magic). Unlike most monsters on the show, they cannot be fought in anyway, being completely unaffected by blades and even magic. The only defence against them is that they are WeakenedByTheLight, but even this only repels them and doesn't kill them. The only way is stopping them is by one person being chosen as a sacrifice to restore the natural order that released them, to which both Arthur and Merlin attempt to, but ultimately it is Lancelot who performs the deed.

* ''TabletopGame/TheEndOfTheWorld''

* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':

* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' features the Dorocha a MonsterOfTheWeek in "Darkest Hour". Their name literally translates to "Shadow people" and are malevolent spirits of the dead with the appearance of gaseous flying skulls and whereby they come into contact with a person, they are almost always instantly dead (Merlin being the only exception due to his magic). Unlike most monsters on the show, they cannot be fought in anyway, being completely unaffected by blades and even magic. The only defence against them is that they are WeakenedByTheLight, but even this only repels them and doesn't kill them. The only way is stopping them is by one person being chosen as a sacrifice to restore the natural order that released them, to which both Arthur and Merlin attempt to, but ultimately it is Lancelot who performs the deed.

* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' features the Dorocha a MonsterOfRTheWeek in "Darkest Hour". Their name literally translates to "Shadow people" and are malevolent spirits of the dead with the appearance of gaseous flying skulls and whereby they come into contact with a person, they are almost always instantly dead (Merlin being the only exception due to his magic). Unlike most monsters on the show, they cannot be fought in anyway, being completely unaffected by blades and even magic. The only defence against them is that they are WeakenedByTheLight, but even this only repels them and doesn't kill them. The only way is stopping them is by one person being chosen as a sacrifice to restore the natural order that released them, to which both Arthur and Merlin attempt to, but ultimately it is Lancelot who performs the deed.

* ''VideoGame/{{Slender}}'': The Slender Man pursues you for the entire game. You can't fight it, hinder it, or even look at it (or else it'll kill you instantly). Your one defense is to run from it while collecting the 8 pages scattered through the woods, with each page collected making it more aggressive. The kicker is, even when you win complete the objective of the game, "Slendy" ''still'' catches you and kills you.

** [[GrimReaper Death]] in ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho049Master Master]].'' Both the Doctor and the Master find out the hard way that there's no way of opposing her in any way, shape or form: attempts to talk her down only end with the recipient being {{Mind Rape}}d; the one attempt to actually attack her [[TimeMaster ends before it can even begin]]. In the end, the only sane thing to do is run like hell, all while pursued by nightmarish stimuli across the house. [[spoiler: The story concludes on a BadGuyWins note, with the Doctor in indentured servitude to Death and the Master still trapped in her schemes.]]

* In ''VideoGame/SpookysJumpScareMansion'', all of the hostile specimens are this. They cannot be fought and all you can do is continue running from them from room to room, until you eventually lose them. But if they catch you, they will attack you and eventually kill you.

* ''VideoGame/{{Slender}}'': The Slenderman pursues you for the entire game. You can't fight it, hinder it, or even look at it (or else it'll kill you instantly). Your one defense is to run from it while collecting the 8 pages scattered through the woods, with each page collected making it more aggressive. The kicker is, even when you win complete the objective the game, Slenderman ''still'' catches you and kills you.

* Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos features one of these as the main character: the eponymous monster is not only unkillable, but his sheer power means that few of his victims ever get a chance to ''try'' attacking him. Most of the stories featuring him end with Slendie winning hands-down, and on the rare occasions in which he does have some kind of weakness, it can't actually do any real damage -- it just dissuades him from pursuing his current target.

* In general, most of the monsters in the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' franchise are nearly impossible to defeat (and hard to kill if this is the case), the most famous example being Pyramid Head from ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' the TropeCodifier of the franchise. And this is also the main difference with the rival franchise ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'', in which protagonists come from police and military; in ''Silent Hill'' the main characters civilians that hardly can manage a gun or another kind of weapon, so the possibility of defeating ghosts and monsters from hell are nil.

* In ''VideoGame/SpiritTracks,'' as you progress through the game, the tracks on the overworld feature Dark Trains and Armored Trains which can't be destroyed (the Dark Trains can be temporarily stunned by shooting them enough times, Armored Trains NoSell your shots). They don't actively chase you (fortunately), but it's all too common to be trapped between two of them on a portion of track where you can't move out of the way, which is an instant GameOver. There's a grand total of one time in the game where they can be hunted down and killed, and that's just before the final boss.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' has Phanto, a flying living mask that pursues you whenever you grab a key and never stops hunting you... while you're holding the key. Dropping it causes it to leave, but it returns once you pick it up.

* The Hairshreaker in ''VideoGame/TheMissingJJMacFieldAndTheIslandOfMemories'' occasionally shows up, and shifts the gameplay from solving puzzles to advance to simply running and clearing obstacles as quickly as possible. [[spoiler: Later inverted; J.J turns into the Hairshrieker herself, and has to slay Emily in a boss battle (representing the fact that it represents her own self loathing and suicide ideation, and how it hurts other people).]]
* The ''VideoGame/{{Outlast}}'' franchise leaves the player at the mercy of opponents who cannot be fought, only evaded; as the first game reminds you, you're not a fighter -- and the fact that many of your opponents are unnaturally strong or heavily armed doesn't help. However, many of your pursuers do end up getting killed in cutscenes, sometimes even by the protagonist. As such, the purest example of this is [[HumanoidAbomination the Stalker]] of ''VideoGame/OutlastII,'' which cannot be killed or fought in any way whatsoever; [[spoiler: the fact that it's actually a representation of Blake's childhood trauma brought out by Murkoff's brain-warping radio signals doesn't help.]]

* ''Film/TheBabadook'' may eventually be repelled [[spoiler:with screaming]], but it is also the AnthropomorphicPersonification of depression and connected mental illnesses and it's [[InescapableHorror utterly inescapable as a result]] -- the best Amelia can do is accept that the damned thing is going to haunt her basement from now on and if she ever slips up, all of the horror she had to endure is going to start all over again.

* Freddy Kreuger from ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' is more or less this trope distilled to its core. He's literally a boogeyman, having transcended the boundaries of life and death to haunt the world of dreams, and in that world he has the ImaginationBasedSuperpower writ large. If he wasn't a {{Sadist}} and a CombatSadomasochist he'd probably be completely invincible; as it is his personality disorders inevitably allow the FinalGirl to (temporarily) slay him after he's inevitably killed off the rest of the cast.

** [[AngelicAbomination The Weeping Angels]], especially in their original appearance in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink Blink]]", when they're up against ordinary humans. The Angels are not only indestructible in their stone state, but [[CantMoveWhileBeingWatched when nobody's looking at them]], they move too quickly to be attacked; all it takes is one blink at the wrong time, and you're dead. [[spoiler: In their first outing, they're defeated when they're tricked into looking at each other, freezing them in place.]]

* Sadako from the ''Ringu'' movies is even worse: she eventually evolves her curse into a literal disease, an airborne virus that is incurable and subjects it's victims to die the same way that those tho saw the tape did. Even tossing another Boogeyman at her doesn't works -- the film ''Sadako vs. [[Film/JuOn Kayako]]'' ends with both homicidal ghosts undergoing a FusionDance and spreading a combined version of their respective modus operandi onto the world.

->''They killed us. They got out. The Variants. You can't fight them... You have to hide... Can unlock the main doors from security control. You have to get the fuck out of this terrible place...''
-->--'''Stephenson,''' ''VideoGame/{{Outlast}}''

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Manga/VentoAureo'': Carne's Stand, Notorious B.I.G, is unique in many respects: it only activates [[DeathActivatedSuperpower after Carne's death]] and thus, the standard strategy of "knocking out/killing the Stand user to stop the Stand" is useless. It's a BlobMonster that consumes everything in its path, is nigh-indestructible - having pieces of it chopped off will just make the pieces sentient - and it will chase after sufficiently speedy thing nearby, and it can move really fast. Its only weakness is that it only acts in primal instinct, so it can be fooled in various ways; the protagonists only get rid of it after it hijacks the plane they're flying in (by partly consuming it) and they escape in midair, while the plane's failing engine causes it to fall towards the ocean. Even then, it's still alive, thoroughly confused with the ever-moving ocean currents (which trigger its instinct); it's said that the ocean it fell in becomes a scary place, with multiple ship sinking incidents caused by the still-living Stand.

[[folder: Audio Drama]]

** [[HumanoidAbomination The Child]] in "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho014TheHolyTerror The Holy Terror]]." An all-powerful EnfantTerrible, nothing in the castle can kill it or even slow it down; the Doctor can't fight it, dissuade it or technobabble it away. By the end of the story, the heroes are reduced to hiding in the throne room while the Child massacres its way through the populace, knowing that there's nothing they can do but wait until it comes after them. [[spoiler: As it turns out, Eugene ''can'' destroy the Child, but that just results in the entire ViciousCycle repeating itself and the damn thing reappearing later anyway. The only thing Eugene can do to escape is let the Child kill him, ending his suffering and deleting the Child from existence.]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Film]]

[[folder: Literature]]

* Par for the course in the works of Creator/HPLovecraft and the Franchise/CthulhuMythos: more often than not, the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s encountered over the course of the stories cannot be fought or killed in any way, and the main characters usually have no choice but to run for their lives. The nearest thing to a fight in humanity's favor was when Cthulhu himself got his head split open by the prow of a ship - and even that ended with Cthulhu easily regenerating.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

** The [[UndeadChild eponymous child]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E10TheDoctorDances The Doctor Dances]]." On top of having a host of powers that make him effectively unstoppable, any physical contact with him will only [[TheVirus turn any attackers into more gas-masked zombies]]; plus, he might not be inclined to run after his targets, but once he's gotten interested in something, ''he will not stop following you.'' As such, the only sensible move is to either run or hide. [[spoiler: He's stopped when he finds his real mother, allowing the nanomachines infesting him to correct [[CameBackWrong their original mistake]] and restore him to normal.]]
** [[AngelicAbomination The Weeping Angels]], especially in their original appearance in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink Blink]]," when they're up against ordinary humans. The Angels are not only indestructible in their stone state, but [[CantMoveWhileBeingWatched when nobody's looking at them]], they move too quickly to be attacked; all it takes is one blink at the wrong time, and you're dead. [[spoiler: In their first outing, they're defeated when they're tricked into looking at each other, freezing them in place.]]
** The [[LivingShadow Vashta Nerada]] from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E8SilenceInTheLibrary Silence in the Library]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead Forest of the Dead]]". They are microscopic organisms that appear as {{Living Shadow}}es when gathering in swarms, described as "piranhas of the air" - and their diet includes humans. They seem only marginally WeakenedByTheLight, as it slows them down rather than actually harming or stopping them; worse still, they can also turn characters that they've already devoured into vessels by inhabiting their space suits, allowing them to walk in the light. When asked how to deal with the Vashta Nerada, the Doctor lampshades this trope by listing off weaknesses of various monsters, before adding "Vashta Nerada... run. Just run." [[spoiler: In the end, they aren't really defeated, only intimidated into delaying their advance by the Doctor's own [[TheDreaded feared reputation]] so he has enough time to teleport everyone off the planet.]]
** [[ThePlague The Flood]] from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars The Waters of Mars]]": essentially a waterborne disease capable of infecting any biological lifeform so long as they contain water, its hosts are swiftly converted into zombielike monsters that continue the spread of the virus. While Flood hosts can be slowed down, nothing in the long run can stop them - as the Doctor puts it, "water always wins". One by one the crew of "Bowie Base One" on Mars become infected, as only one drop of water is all that takes to convert someone. In the end the only way to dispatch them is by activating the SelfDestructMechanism on the base while the Doctor evacuates the survivors via TARDIS.

** The [[{{Mummy}} Foretold]] of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E8MummyOnTheOrientExpress Mummy On The Orient Express]]". Effectively intangible, its touch kills instantly, ''and nobody else can see it except for its victims''. As with most monsters on this show, it's ImmuneToBullets - but also to all potential technobabble solutions. Once you're targeted, you have exactly sixty-six seconds to live before it catches up with you, amping up the horror and tension significantly. [[spoiler: The only way to stop it is to surrender to it.]]
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E9Flatline Flatline]]" features [[EldritchAbomination two-dimensional]] [[StarfishAlien beings]] which The Doctor dubs "the Boneless." They will kill anyone they come across by [[BodyHorror turning them 2D as well and dissecting them]]. Due to the bizarre nature of their anatomy, they cannot be fought at all and the only defence against them is to run. The only way the Doctor gets rid of them is by sending them back to their own plane of existence - and only once he's gotten the TARDIS working again.
** [[HumanoidAbomination The Veil]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent]]." A childhood nightmare empowered with a lethal touch, it can't be harmed, persuaded, intimidated, outsmarted, or technobabbled away - meaning that all the solutions that the Doctor usually resorts to are officially useless. The Doctor has only two options: confess his deepest secrets or run for his life. And though the Veil doesn't move very fast, it's impossible to escape [[PsychologicalTormentZone the Castle]] through conventional methods, and the Doctor has to stop long enough to eat or sleep - meaning that the Veil ''will'' catch up sooner or later. [[spoiler: It's defeated by the Doctor finally breaking through the wall between him and the exit, causing it to collapse into inert junk.]]

[[folder: Tabletop RPGs]]

** [[EldritchAbomination Cthulhu]] of "Wrath Of The Gods." As with his original counterpart, nothing can stop him; as you're playing a lone everyman caught up in the apocalypse, you don't have access to the kind of weapons that can even ''mildly'' inconvenience the chief of the Great Old Ones, so all you can do is run like hell and [[GoMadFromTheRevelation avoid looking at him]].
** [[GreyGoo The nanites]] of "Revolt Of The Machines." Most of the time, they're too small to be seen until they start eating something - or someone - leaving you effectively helpless; when a nanoswarm gathers in large enough numbers to be seen by the naked eye, nothing in your arsenal can hurt them. All you can do is put an ocean between you and the infestation, and that won't work for long. [[spoiler: The post-apocalypse scenario features 80% of the human race being wiped out, the survivors either sheltering in Arctic bases or living as nomads just out of the nanoswarm's reach.]]

* The Xenomorph in ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation.'' It's immune to all weapons, trying to tackle it up close is suicide, and the only item that's of any use against it is a flamethrower - and that's only because it's afraid of fire. More often than not, the safest option is to hide in a locker or run for your life in as quiet a manner as possible.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Outlast}}'' franchise leaves the player at the mercy of opponents who cannot be fought, only evaded; as the first game reminds you, you're not a fighter - and the fact that many of your opponents are unnaturally strong or heavily armed doesn't help. However, many of your pursuers do end up getting killed in cutscenes, sometimes even by the protagonist. As such, the purest example of this is [[HumanoidAbomination the Stalker]] of ''VideoGame/OutlastII,'' which cannot be killed or fought in any way whatsoever; [[spoiler: the fact that it's actually a representation of Blake's childhood trauma brought out by Murkoff's brain-warping radio signals doesn't help.]]
* ''VideoGame/Rayman2'' abruptly takes a turn for the horror genre during the mission to the Cave of Bad Dreams; the finale of this mission pits you against Jano, master of the cave, who cannot be fought - only fled from. For good measure, his massive jaws frame the screen as he closes in on Rayman, ready to slam shut...

** [[StringyHairedGhostGirl Sachiko]]. The ghost of a girl who didn't survive the Fear Nothing Foundation's mind control experiments, she's currently haunting the [[Room101 Third Floor]] of the now-deserted FNF headquarters in search of anyone she can take out her frustrations on - leaving you squarely in her crosshairs when you're sent in to investigate. As her stats make clear, she cannot be beaten, forcing you to hide the moment you hear her approaching, then either run for your life while her back's turned or wait until she loses interest and leaves.

* None of the [[MechanicalAbomination WAU]]-infected monsters in ''VideoGame/{{Soma}}'' can be fought; getting too close causes Simon to black out, forcing you to run or hide. [[spoiler: It turns out this is because Simon is an ArtificialZombie, and the monsters are giving off so much electromagnetism that his mechanical components break down in close proximity.]] As it turns out, most of them were too strong to be stopped by the PATHOS-II personnel, who were usually forced to flee when confronted by them - or risk being violently incorporated into the WAU's LotusEaterMachine.

[[folder: Web Original]]

* Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos features one of these as the main character: the eponymous monster is not only unkillable, but his sheer power means that few of his victims ever get a chance to ''try'' attacking him. Most of the stories featuring him end with Slendie winning hands-down, and on the rare occasions in which he does have some kind of weakness, it can't actually do any real damage - it just dissuades him from pursuing his current target.

[[folder: Real Life]]
* A not-uncommon feature of nightmares, where the monsters often cannot be fought or defeated in any way - after all, it wouldn't be a nightmare if you actually ''won,'' would it?
[[/folder]]

** [[HumanoidAbomination The Child]] in "The Holy Terror." An all-powerful EnfantTerrible, nothing in the castle can kill it or even slow it down; the Doctor can't fight it, dissuade it or technobabble it away. By the end of the story, the heroes are reduced to hiding in the throne room while the Child massacres its way through the populace, knowing that there's nothing they can do but wait until it comes after them. [[spoiler: As it turns out, Eugene ''can'' destroy the Child, but that just results in the entire ViciousCycle repeating itself and the damn thing reappearing later anyway. The only thing Eugene can do to escape is let the Child kill him, ending his suffering and deleting the Child from existence.]]
** [[GrimReaper Death]] in ''Master.'' Both the Doctor and the Master find out the hard way that there's no way of opposing her in any way, shape or form: attempts to talk her down only end with the recipient being {{Mind Rape}}d; the one attempt to actually attack her [[TimeMaster ends before it can even begin]]. In the end, the only sane thing to do is run like hell, all while pursued by nightmarish stimuli across the house. [[spoiler: The story concludes on a BadGuyWins note, with the Doctor in indentured servitude to Death and the Master still trapped in her schemes.]]