History Main / TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse

* ''Literature/TheExecutioner''. A favourite MindScrew tactic of Mack Bolan is to ring some Mafia boss, and halfway through the call mention that he's looking at them through a telescopic sight. After the inevitable OhCrap reaction the Mafioso assumes Bolan is bluffing, because he would have fired by then. Mack then concludes the conversation by doing something impressive like shooting the phone or blowing up a nearby building.

* In ''Film/EyesOfAStranger'' the serial killer is in the habit of placing [[HarrassingPhoneCall harrassing phone calls]] to his victims before he kills them. In one case he is waiting to ambush a victim [[DangerTakesABackseat in her parking garage]] and terrorizes her by calling the elevator she's riding down in.

A DiscreditedTrope from the early days when residences had only one phone line. The terror comes from the fact that the "caller inside the house" would presumably have to be using the house phone line, so most people couldn't call someone else in the house - inside the house was the last place expected.

* ''Film/NorthByNorthwest'' has a variant of this. Thornhill gets a call from the bad guys while casing "Kaplan"'s room at the Plaza Hotel. He then finds out from the hotel's switchboard operator that the call came from the lobby.

* ''Film/BlackChristmas1974'' was the first horror film to use this line. The cast has been receiving disturbing phone calls throughout the movie, and when the police with the help of the phone company investigate the matter, this is the conclusion.

* ''Literature/ScaryStoriesToTellInTheDark'' has "The Babysitter", who starts receiving threatening calls from upstairs. [[spoiler: She calls the police, who arrive promptly and catch the creep before he can hurt anyone. [[WrongGenreSavvy You expected a scary ending, didn't you?]]]]

[[folder:Film]]

* Downplayed in the Disney Channel Original Movie ''Film/{{Hounded}}''; the calls are coming from the ''pool house'' of the Van Dusens' mansion as they seek out the person responsible for dognapping their prize show dog, Camille. While the police are in the main house, Jay and Mike sneak Camille into the pool house and frame Ronny for her disappearance, planting the voice disguiser they used for further incrimination.

* Downplayed in the Disney Channel Original Movie ''{{Hounded}}''; the calls are coming from the ''pool house'' of the Van Dusens' mansion as they seek out the person responsible for dognapping their prize show dog, Camille. While the police are in the main house, Jay and Mike sneak Camille into the pool house and frame Ronny for her disappearance, planting the voice disguiser they used for further incrimination.

* Downplayed in the Disney Channel Original Movie ''Hounded'', where the Martin Brothers sneak onto the Van Dusens' property while they have the police over to trace the calls of the person who supposedly dognapped their show dog, Camille. While the police are in the main house, Jay and Mike sneak Camille into the pool house and frame Ronny for the dog's absence, planting the voice disguiser they used for further incrimination.

* Used loosely in the first ''Film/{{Scream 1996}}''. In the age of cell phones and caller ID, however, the trope was lost in the sequels.

* Another variation happens in ''Film/{{RED}}'', where after capturing the female lead, the antagonist receives a phone call at work. It's the protagonist, telling him of how bad one can feel when their loved ones are threatened, and how he'd be capable of anything if she ever gets hurt. When his colleague announces he has traced the call, the antagonist learns to his horror that it came from his own house, giving him a taste of "how bad one feels".

* Another supernatural twist, but similar to "Ghosts with Teeth," comes in Creator/StephenKing's "Sorry, Right Number," in which the heroine is disturbed by a mysterious late-night call from a distraught, unknown person. The caller turns out to be [[spoiler: [[MyFutureSelfAndMe herself]], calling from her own phone [[HelpYourselfInTheFuture to warn her past self]] of an upcoming tragedy.]]

For the modern variant, see ICanSeeYou. See also ShortDistancePhoneCall, EvilPhone, DisconnectedByDeath. Not to be confused with TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive.

* Referenced in ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'': Sydney manages to convince [[TheDitz Heatwave]] that the call originates inside the phone. (And then two of her co-Superhero's get sympathy shoulder pat's for the fact that [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder they have to work with her]]...)

* Parodied in ''Series/Psych'' . In one episode, Shawn and Gus investigate possible ghosts at the house of Gus’ boss and when a phone call comes from the attic, they quote this classic line directly. It turns out that it was Shawn messing around the whole time.

* Parodied at the beginning of the ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' episode "[[HalloweenEpisode Terror Tales from the Park III]]". In it, Thomas totally botches telling a horror story, ending it with "...and the maniac was calling from ''outside the house''! Wait, is that right? I mean, I mean, ''inside'' the house!"

* In ''Cadillac Beach'' by Creator/TimDorsey, Serge [[LaserGuidedKarma makes harassing phone calls to the head of a telemarketing firm.]] In the final call, he poses as a cop and claims that the man who's been calling him is a SpreeKiller and that they've traced the calls to somewhere inside the telemarketer's house.

* Played straight in the ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' episode "The Living Doll", when a man receives a phone call from his daughter's evil doll, who threatens to kill him.

* Budweiser spoofed this trope with ads showing penguins calling some guy from upstairs and asking him how his Bud Ice is. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVWtq-_VYk8 Beware of the penguins.]]

* Spoofed on ''Series/ThirtyRock''.

--> '''Kevin''': The cat noises are coming from '''''INSIDE THE CAT'''''!!!

--> '''Kevin''': The steam is coming from '''''INSIDE THE KETTLE'''''!!!
--> '''Kevin''': The tea is coming from '''''INSIDE THE TEABAG'''''!!!
--> '''Kevin''': The ennui is coming from '''''INSIDE THE TEENAGE GIRL'''''!!!