George's psychic abilities caused his thoughts to manifest and alter reality if they were particularly strong. When George was afraid, he put his fears into his cupboard, where they turned into peg dolls. One night when according to Alex he was eight years old, he overheard his parents talking about sending him to see a doctor about his fears. George misunderstood what they meant, interpreting it as a rejection of him as their son, causing the peg dolls to begin kidnapping people and stealing things that scared him. Eventually, his fears grew so strong that his mind sent a plea for help to the Eleventh Doctor's psychic paper.