Stuff You Should Know Short Stuff: The Call is Coming... FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE
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Oct 8, 2025 Explore the chilling origins of the urban legend about calls coming from inside the house. Delve into a grisly 1950 murder case that may have inspired this terrifying trope. The hosts discuss how technology, from landlines to cell phones, has changed the fear factor. They share personal horror stories that resonate with childhood fears and compare this legend to other campfire tales. Hear how the story influenced iconic horror films, leaving a lasting impact on the genre.
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Structure Of The Trope
- The classic urban legend features a young babysitter receiving escalating calls asking about children upstairs until police trace the line.
- The twist "call is coming from inside the house" creates the core terror by reversing expected safety assumptions.
Technology Shapes The Fear
- Technological context made the legend scarier because most listeners then couldn't imagine a call truly coming from inside their own house.
- Cell phones later eroded that impossibility and changed how the trope reads to modern audiences.
Campfire Horror Examples
- Chuck and Josh share several campfire-style legends like the Hook and the Drip Drop Maniac to show cultural context.
- These examples illustrate how the babysitter legend fit into a broader set of sinister youth tales.
