Stuff You Should Know

Short Stuff: The Call is Coming... FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE

October 8, 2025

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  • The urban legend "The Call is Coming from Inside the House," also known as "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs," likely originated in the 1960s and relied on the technological limitation that one could not easily call their own landline number. 
  • The chilling urban legend may be rooted in the unsolved 1950 murder of 13-year-old babysitter Janet Chrisman in Columbia, Missouri, who was sexually assaulted and strangled after calling the police. 
  • The effectiveness of the urban legend has diminished in the modern era due to the prevalence of cell phones, which makes calls originating from inside a house entirely possible. 

Segments

Introduction and Trigger Warning
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(00:00:37)
  • Key Takeaway: The Short Stuff episode on “The Call is Coming from Inside the House” includes a trigger warning for violent content, including sexual assault.
  • Summary: The hosts Josh and Chuck welcome listeners to The Short Stuff, immediately issuing a trigger warning for the episode’s content. The topic is the urban trope of the call coming from inside the house. Sources for the discussion include TVTropes.com and articles from Thought Catalog and Collider.
Defining the Urban Legend
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(00:01:22)
  • Key Takeaway: The core plot of “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs” involves a stranger repeatedly calling a babysitter to ask if she checked on the children upstairs, culminating in the reveal that the call originates inside the house.
  • Summary: This urban legend, often called “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs,” likely dates back to the 1960s. The caller escalates the threat until the police trace the call, revealing the source is inside the house, often just before the prowler murders the children upstairs. The legend was particularly effective because tracing calls on landlines was nearly impossible for a teenager at the time.
Other Scary Legends Comparison
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(00:04:35)
  • Key Takeaway: The concept of the call originating internally is compared to other popular scary legends like ‘The Hook’ and the terrifying ‘Dripdrop Maniac’ involving a dog and a hidden assailant.
  • Summary: The hosts briefly mention other classic scary legends, including The Hook and The Vanishing Hitchhiker. They detail the ‘Dripdrop Maniac’ legend, where a child is comforted by a dog licking their hand, only to discover the dog is dead and a maniac was licking their hand from under the bed.
Personal Scares and Reactions
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(00:07:41)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts share personal anecdotes about being easily startled, including one host’s extreme reaction to being scared out of a closet by his father.
  • Summary: One host admits to still being afraid to walk down dark hallways after watching horror movies, even in his 50s. Another host recounts a college prank where roommates unscrewed light bulbs, leading to a severe fright when he jumped out of the closet. The resulting shock caused the listener to flip onto his back and scream until his mother intervened.
Origin of the Legend: Janet Chrisman
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(00:11:18)
  • Key Takeaway: The inspiration for the trope is strongly linked to the 1950 murder of 13-year-old Janet Chrisman, who was babysitting in Columbia, Missouri.
  • Summary: Janet Chrisman was babysitting a three-year-old when she called the police shouting, “come quick,” before the line was cut; police at the time could not trace the call. She was found sexually assaulted and strangled, with the porch light on, despite being instructed on how to use the homeowner’s shotgun for protection. Robert Mueller, an acquaintance who had previously groped the homeowner, was suspected but never officially charged, as the murder remains unsolved.
Film Adaptations and Modern Impact
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(00:15:43)
  • Key Takeaway: The most famous cinematic use of the trope is in the 1979 film When a Stranger Calls, though cell phones have largely neutralized the terror of the premise.
  • Summary: The trope was famously used in When a Stranger Calls (1979), Black Christmas, and Halloween (1978). The concept was also briefly featured in the 1973 movie The Severed Arm. The widespread use of cell phones has made the core fear of the legend—a call originating from inside the house—less terrifying and less plausible as a horror device.