Short Stuff: The Call is Coming... FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[Music]. Hey and welcome to the short stuff. I'm. Josh and there's Chuck and Jerry's here. too and we are coming to you from inside. your house. >> That's right. No, we're not. Uh trigger. warning on this one by the way. There's. some pretty uh violent content including. uh speak of sexual assault at some. point. >> Yeah, this takes a real hard left all of. a sudden. >> It really does. Uh, and we're talking. about the the sort of trope of the call. is coming from inside the house. And as.

a trope, we want to thank tvtropes.com, Tropedia. >> Yeah. >> And uh, a really good article from. Chrissy Stockton on Thought Catalog, >> plus also Sean Van Horn on Collider and. the good folks on the straight dope. message board. >> That's right. And Principal Seymour. Skinner. >> That's right. So, uh, the call is coming from inside. the house is also often called, um, the. babysitter and the man upstairs. >> Yeah. >> And the just the quick sketch of it. This is an urban legend that probably.

dates back to the 60s. Um, and it essentially says that there. is a um, usually a young teen tween girl. alone at home or more often that she is. alone babysitting some kids who are. younger than her. And she's she keeps. getting calls from some mysterious. stranger who asks her, "Have you checked. on the kids who are ostensibly asleep. upstairs?". >> And she just then, you know, hangs up. She thinks it's a prank call. And as.

time goes on, these calls get more and. more sinister. >> Yeah, definitely more sinister because. the, you know, it's been in quite a few. movies. We're going to talk about uh in. different iterations, but the babysitter. would usually like, I don't know, put. them off or not believe it or whatever, say, you know, is this Johnny? Is this. my boyfriend? uh then hang up. Then the caller calls. back. Um the caller calls back again. It's usually a few times and eventually. the babysitter is going to call the. police. They're going to say, "Ma'am, we're going to put a trace on the call.". She's going to say, "You don't have to. call me, ma'am. I'm 13 years old." And.

they say, "Well, that's just how we say. things.". >> And then the stranger calls, the police. trace the call, and then call back and. say, "You've got to get out of there. The call is coming from inside the. house.". Uh, I know it's it's genuinely scary to. think about, obviously. Um, and then. once she is out, uh, the cops show up. and the the prowler has murdered those. kids upstairs already. >> Yep. And one of the things that makes it so.

creepy, too, is that when this, you. know, was passed around, this urban. legend, um, like the you couldn't really. call your own phone number. >> Yeah. And if you had two lines in the. house, maybe only the richest of your. friends had two lines in their house. >> There's a whole urban legend surrounding. how you could call your own line if you. did certain things. That's neither here. nor there, it turns out. Um, but the the. fact that it's coming from inside the. house means that it's the last place.

you'd expect somebody to be calling. from, which made it even scarier for the. viewer who had no idea or the listener, I guess, for the urban legend who had no. idea what was coming. >> Yeah. And you know what? I remember. hearing these stories like around the. campfire kind of thing and it terrified. me and it never dawned on me that that. was a near impossibility. >> Yeah. Did you have that the little. legends that it was like you could you. could do some something, you know, like. tap thing, tap like the receiver or.

whatever to call your own line or was it. just like you just can't do that? >> I I don't remember hearing any of those, but I do know they existed uh because. you sent them to me. >> That's right. But um yeah, so that the. fact that it was coming from inside the. house when you were it's really not. supposed to have been able to happen. just made it that much scarier and it it. makes it a little harder to understand. or grasp in the age of cell phones where. you can call somebody from inside the. house like it's entirely possible the. call was coming from inside the house.

>> Yeah. And it and it's uh it goes along. with some of the great um scary legends. of the day like the hook. Uh the. vanishing hitchhiker was another one. Um, I remember Drip Drop Maniac. Do you. remember that one? >> No. Did he say um we cause holes in. teeth? No. >> No. Drip Drop Maniac was some version of. a thing where uh there's a like a German. Shepherd um that that sleeps under the. bed that you know the kid was scared.

And the reason and and the way they. would not be scared is they would put. their hand down and the German sheep. shepherd would lick their hand. And so. I'm sure you see what's coming. Uh, it. turns out the German Shepherd, uh, they. hear drip drip drip and the German. Shepherd is like killed and dripping. blood on the floor and the and the. person there was a dude under the bed. licking the person's hand. >> Oh, crazy. That was a good one. >> Yeah, maniac. >> Nice. >> Yeah. Terrifying. >> Uh, you want to take a break so I can. kind of recollect myself after that.

terrifying story? >> You're never going to hang your head. hand off the side of the bed again, are. you? >> Oh, I don't already. >> Okay. Yeah. We'll be right back. [Music]. [Music].

I'm still laughing, by the way. Are you you got to be under the sheets. and stuff still? >> Mhm. >> Yeah. I got over that at some point. I. used to be like that uh in like well. into even my 30s. I think I was probably. in my 30s or 40s when I was finally. like, you know what? I'm a hot sleeper. I'm just going to brave whatever's out. there and sleep on top of the sheets. >> Good for you, man. >> Yeah. >> I've gotten better in my older age, but.

if I'm watching like a particularly a. good ghost movie, horror movie. >> Oh, sure. Yes. at night and Yi and Momo. have already gone to bed. >> when I have to turn out all the lights. I I will basically run down the hall to. the bedroom like. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> I try not to and I just can't not. >> No, I'm with you. If if it's some. something like that and I'm truly scared. by a movie and I'm up late by myself, the the getting back to the bed scene is. truly ridiculous for a 54 year old man.

Um, I'm also one of those people who if. you jump out and scare them, I go up. like both feet off of the ground. >> and make like a sound kind of thing. Like you can really get me if you I used. to scare people like that on occasion. and I finally learned that like that's. just not cool to do. >> Oh, I think it's great after like about. 30 seconds afterward. I think it's. hilarious and wonderful, but it takes me. a second. >> Oh. Oh gosh. Do we have time? Yes. Very. quickly in college after we saw the.

movie Misery, my roommates and I, at the. Dollar Theater at the Alps Theater in. Athens, Georgia. >> Oh yeah. >> Uh my we had ridden separately and my. one roommate and I, Chris, raced home. and he was a real sick twist. >> Uh and he was like, "Let's scare Eddie.". You know Eddie? >> Uh cuz Eddie was right behind us. And uh. Chris went home and unscrewed all the. light bulbs in the main room. And uh we. hid in the closet and Eddie Eddie came. in, turned on the lights, no lights came. on. and he was like, "Yeah, you guys are.

pretty funny." And smartly turned on the. television to provide some light. And um. >> you know how when you're like hiding in. a closet and it's just barely cracked, you see people kind of looking in at. you, but they're not focused on you. because they can't see you. >> That was Eddie. He was coming closer and. closer and we jumped out of the closet. and uh got him pretty good. I think he. knocked a frame picture off the wall and. broke it. >> You had framed pictures on your wall in. college. >> Uh you know, >> that's impressive. >> Yeah. Uh, have I ever told you my um. being scared from the closet story?

>> No. >> Um, I was just sitting there in my room. I was probably like 14 or something. I. was just reading in bed and I noticed. that the closet door was cracked just a. little bit, which was unusual. I didn't. usually do that. And I even made like a. little joke to myself like, "Oh, probably something in the closet.". >> And I looked over a minute or two later. and the door was open further than it. had been. God. >> And I just immediately jumped up and. started running for the door. Like I. didn't go to look. I didn't say like,

"Oh, that's weird." I immediately jumped. up, right? I would totally survive a. horror movie. >> And my dad came barreling out of the. closet like, "Ra.". >> And I just basically flipped on my back. like a turtle and started screaming. >> Oh man. >> Even after he was like standing over me. like, "Are you okay?" I was just looking. at him. I couldn't stop screaming. My. mom had time to make it upstairs and. into my room and say, "What did you do. to him?". >> And I'm looking at them like talking,

screaming, still on my back. Like, he. got me that good. Like, he go definitely. shortened my life. >> Poor guy. I feel so bad for you. That is. not certainly not something a dad should. do to their. >> exactly. >> All right, so we're back and we're going. to tell the the possibly what inspired. this real story. Um, I got this. particular version from Chrissy Stockton. that I mentioned from Thought Catalog, but I looked it up and it was in plenty. of other places. So, >> um, >> this is where it turns pretty dark. >> Yeah, it goes very dark. So, if you have.

kids listening, they may want to tune. out. Uh, in the 1950s, in fact, March of. 1950, there was a young 13-year-old. named Janet Chrisman, uh, hired to. babysit a three-year-old for the Romax. Uh, Mr. Gregory Romac and his wife. Uh I. you know just like with our live show, I. couldn't find his wife's name because. they didn't print stuff like that back. then. >> But uh she decided to babysit uh rather. than go to a school party. Um at 7:30. she got to their house. This is in.

Columbia, Missouri. And before they left. for the night, uh Mr. Romax said, "Hey, by the way, see this shotgun? I've got. this shotgun and it's loaded and here's. how you shoot it.". >> Yeah. 13 year old girl in Missouri. >> Yeah, I guess I mean 1950 is going to. 1950. >> 1950 Missouri, I could see that being. pretty standard procedure. >> Yeah. >> Um he also very wisely said, "Do not. open this door until you at least turn. on the porch light to see who it is.

knocking on the door." Right. >> Right. >> So, you would think that um little Janet. was probably going to be just fine. I. mean, it was probably going to be an. uneventful night anyway. Um, but she had. also been equipped with a shotgun by the. people she was babysitting for. Um, the. thing that gets me is that she had. chosen to babysit rather than go to a. school party because she had recently. bought a dress on installment and needed. the money. >> Jeez. >> To pay for her dress like a responsible.

little 13-year-old. >> Yeah. >> So, she shouldn't have even been there. I think at some point around 10:30, the. police in her town got a call um from a. girl just shouting, "Come quick." And. then the line suddenly was cut off. The. police didn't have anything like tracing. calls or anything like that at the time. This is 1950 in Missouri. And um they. had no idea who it was, but it turned. out it was Janet, sadly. >> That's right. Uh the Romax called the. house uh about 30 minutes later, but no.

one answered. And I guess they didn't. sweat it cuz they didn't show up until. 1:30 in the morning. They weren't like, "We should rush home.". >> Uh they opened the front door uh to find. a pretty nasty, grizzly murder scene. Uh. Janet was dead there in a pool of blood. >> Uh she had been sexually assaulted and. strangled to death. And it appears that. she had struggled with her attacker. Uh. there was no shotgunning obviously. Uh. but that porch light uh was on which. makes it even sadder.

>> Yeah. Um Yes. And the reason why that. porch light seems to be important is. that the Romax and Janet's family. believed that a man that was known to. her was the the person who murdered her, a guy named Robert Mueller. >> Yeah. >> He was a friend of Ed Romax. And he also. knew Janet because Janet had babysat for. Robert Mueller's children before. And he. had actually asked her to babysit that. night and she said, "I can't. I'm I'm. babysitting for the Romax already." And. um he was a he was an odd duck to say.

the least and enough of a a creep. essentially from how the Romax and. Janet's family put it that he was always. suspected by them. >> Yeah, for sure. The other detail I. didn't mention was that the phone had. been ripped from the wall. So that would. explain when she shouted come quick and. the line went dead. It seems as you know. that was when the phone was uh ripped. away from the uh wall possibly by Robert. Mueller. Although nobody was ever um. tied to her death officially. No one was.

ever arrested as far as I know. >> No. But there were some reasons why they. they suspected. And one he apparently. had groped Mrs. Romac just a few days. before the murder. Mrs. Romac was like, I I'm not really down with that guy. >> Sure. >> Um he also had told Mr. Romac that um he. liked Janet. >> And later on after the murder, he had. told um Mr. Romac that he could have. murdered Janet and then just forgotten. about it. So, it was some weird stuff.

and like they they Yeah, he died in. 2006. We'll never know. >> Yeah, >> Janet's murder has never been solved and. probably never will at this point. No, but supposedly that is the story that. inspired. uh the calls coming in from the house or. or at the very least inspired um when a. stranger calls was probably the most. famous use. >> of the calls coming from inside the. house from 1979. Uh also Black. Christmas, a great great horror movie. Um, Halloween in 1978. And I'll even.

throw Scream had a had a a sort of. version of this with Drew Barrymore, but. not exactly coming from inside the. house. >> No. I saw the first instance of it on. film, though, was a 1973 movie called. The Severed Arm, but it wasn't like a. plot driver. It was just one of the ways. a person was murdered. The call was. coming from inside like I think the. studio they were working in. >> Yeah. And now cell phones have kind of. screwed this whole thing up. >> For sure. for sure. Uh, one other thing.

real quick though, um, When a Stranger. Calls Back, the sequel to When a. Stranger Calls is one of the finest riff. tracks you can see. So, oh, >> if you're looking for a rift track to. start with, start with that one. >> I'll check it out. >> Uh, that's it, I guess, for the trope of. the call coming from Inside the House, right? >> That's right. I think it means short. stuff is out. >> first. RIP Janet Chrisman. >> for sure. >> Now short stuff is out. Stuff You Should Know is a production of.

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