THE CALL (A
ghost story)
Lisa's parents were gone at a party for the evening. And all poor Lisa had to do was stay home and watch her two little siblings, making sure they didn't get in any trouble. Wishing she were out hanging with her friends on a clear and beautiful Friday night instead of at home baby sitting the two brats, Lisa flicked on the TV in the den.
The kids were in the next room, the living room, playing with their toys. After flipping the channels for what seemed like hours, she finally came across a made-for-TV movie that looked pretty good. A romance, her favorite. As Lisa started to settle into the movie, the kids came in, demanding that they were hungry and wanted something to eat. So while the kids took over the television, Lisa went into the kitchen to make spaghetti for the three of them.
Just as everything was about to be finished, the phone rang. Lisa went to answer but her stupid little brother got to it first and said, "Hello? Smith residence." No answer. "Gimme the phone!" Lisa said, snatching from her brother. "Hello, who is this?" Lisa demanded. "I'm near" said the voice on the other side. "Near where?" Lisa replied, but there was nothing but a dial tone. A little shaken, Lisa checked on the kids and finished preparations for dinner. She set up the table and poured out spaghetti for everyone. After everyone chowed down, the kids decided to take a nap on the couch while Lisa finished up the movie. As she turned on the TV, she saw it was almost over. "Great.." she mumbled right before the phone rang again.
Forgetting the previous episode, she ran to the phone before it woke the kids and shattered her peace. Snatching up the receiver, she blurted, "Hello?". "I'm closer" reported the other end. "Huh, excuse me?" said Lisa. But once again, nothing but a dial tone. Lisa was bugging out now. "I'm near, I'm closer? What the hell?" she wondered aloud. Deciding to get to the bottom of it she called the operator. "Yes, how may I help you?" the operator said.
"I'm getting a couple of strange phone calls here and I was wondering if you can tell me where they came from?" asked Lisa.
"No," replied the operator, "but I could put a tap on your line and the next time he calls I can tell you where it came from." Lisa thanked the operator and hung up.
She walked over to the kids and woke them up. She didn't want to scare them but she had to have them awake in case of emergency. Lisa deliberated on calling her parents, but she decided that she old enough to handle this herself. "I'm 17, and I'm tough" Lisa knew, "I can handle this". Just a she was summoning her courage, the phone rang. Lisa told the kids to stay quiet and on the couch. She answered the phone with a faint, "Hello?" The weirdo said, "I'm here now, and my, it is so sharp..." He giggled in the background.. "Huh? Wh.. What's so sharp?" Lisa blurted. "Where are you?" But the man hung up. Instantly the phone rang again. It was operator. "My God, those calls are coming from inside your house! Get out now, and I will call the police!!"
Lisa slammed down the phone, grabbed her keys and the kids and flew out the front door. They got in the car and locked all the doors..All of a sudden, police cars came roaring up the driveway. One car checked on the kids while four policeman burst into the house. They searched everywhere until the finally came to attic. Upon going in they found a young man in the corner with a cellular phone and a huge butcher knife, getting ready to head downstairs.
Now, there are alternate endings and other ways the story was phrased. In another ending, she goes upstairs to get the kids out, finds a trail of blood and a kid missing. He follows the trail...and finds...the kid with a tube of fake blood, successfully scaring the babysitter.
Lets point out a small error here. The original story had him using a regular phone in the house. But you can't call yourself with only 1 phone line! Maybe they had 2 lines...
It's also in a horror movie, like Halloween or something. I don't watch horror movies. The movie had only 1 phone line and no cell phones (not invented yet).
Cletus the Foetus says It was from a movie "When a Stranger Calls" -- Fred Walton; 1979. I know the film study course in college/high school requires you watch it as it is the archetype of the horror movie.
Ah, so QXZ points out that they couldn't figure out the location of the cell phone unless they triangulated, unlikely. So I guess the movie was just flawed, like movies about the Roman Empire, where the actors were wearing wristwatches.
Fitch says Re: Inside the house, it's possible to call the line you're on. You can try this at home, an' tell me if I'm wrong. 1. Dial the number of the phone you're on. 2. Hang up. Phone rings. 3. Wait until the other end picks up. 4. Pick up! Phones used to work like this in the 80s, I'm sure. Maybe the routing systems are smarter these days.