Cloven Hoof Bar Curtains

Jo Grant and Captain Yates pull these curtains shut at the Doctor's request, plunging the Cloven Hoof Bar into darkness for his slide projector demonstration. The heavy fabric blocks external light, sharpening focus on projected images of horned deities and Daemon history amid the pub's wooden interior. Miss Hawthorne and Sergeant Benton watch as the room transforms into an impromptu lecture hall.

2 appearances

Purpose

Darken the bar for slide projector use during the Doctor's presentation

Significance

Enables the Doctor's revelation of Daemons as ancient aliens manipulating human myths, escalating the threat from local haunting to planetary extinction and uniting UNIT against cosmic horror

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S8E23 · The Daemons Part 3

Doctor reveals Daemons as ancient cosmic threat

The Cloven Hoof Bar’s curtains play a functional role in this event, as the Doctor directs Jo and Yates to draw them shut. This action plunges the room into darkness, creating an ideal environment for the slide projector’s images to stand out against the dimly lit walls. The curtains’ heavy fabric blocks external light, sharpening the focus on the projected slides and the Doctor’s lecture. Their role is practical, but their effect is atmospheric, transforming the bar into a makeshift lecture hall and heightening the sense of urgency and secrecy. The curtains’ closure symbolizes the group’s collective focus on the Doctor’s revelations, as they shut out distractions to confront the cosmic threat.

Before: Open, allowing natural or ambient light to enter the bar, creating a casual atmosphere.

After: Drawn shut by Jo and Yates, plunging the room into darkness and isolating the group with the Doctor’s lecture and the projected images.

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S8E23 · The Daemons Part 3

Doctor reveals Daemons as ancient cosmic threat

The Cloven Hoof Bar’s curtains play a practical but symbolically significant role in this event. At the Doctor’s direction, Jo and Yates draw them shut, plunging the bar into darkness and sharpening the focus on the slide projector’s flickering images. The curtains act as a threshold, marking the transition from the mundane to the revelatory. Once closed, the bar becomes a sealed space for the Doctor’s lecture, its dim interior amplifying the eerie quality of the projected horned figures. The curtains also serve a functional purpose: they block external light, ensuring the slides are visible and the group’s attention is undivided. Their drawing is a small but deliberate action, reinforcing the event’s gravity.

Before: The curtains are initially open, allowing natural light to filter into the bar. They are heavy and functional, designed to keep out drafts and prying eyes. The Doctor notes their open state and directs Jo and Yates to close them, setting the stage for the lecture.

After: The curtains remain drawn, casting the bar in a focused, intimate darkness. The slide projector’s beam cuts through the dimness, creating a sense of isolation and urgency. The curtains’ role is complete: they have transformed the Cloven Hoof from a ordinary pub into a temporary war room, where the group grapples with the Daemons’ terrifying truth.

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