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4[[quoteright:313:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harassingphonecallcroppedbyseptimusheap_9923.png]]
5[-[[caption-width-right:313:[[http://tempesthole.com/images/blog/full/phone_stalker.jpg Original]] by [[http://tempesthole.com/ Tempesthole]]]]-]
6
7There's nothing more unnerving than receiving a unknown phone call in the middle of the night. Except, of course, receiving a phone call that consists of silence for a moment before you start to detect sounds of [[VaderBreath heavy breathing]] or [[EvilLaugh fiendish laughter]] on the other end before the caller hangs up; the caller may even be an obsessive [[StalkerWithACrush stalker]] that will keep calling you, even after you tell them to stop it. Sometimes there may just be a phone ringing and no one answers on the other line or someone just called and hung up without even talking.
8
9Sometimes the voice initially sounds so charming and trustworthy that you can't help but strike up a conversation with the person. When this happens, the caller then switches their kind tone for a more menacing tone and [[NightmareFuel you suddenly find yourself wishing that you had not answered the phone at all.]] Particularly when you find out that [[TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse the calls are coming from inside the house]].
10
11Related to EvilPhone, when the case is more supernatural. Preferred tactic of the EvilDebtCollector, and it used to be common among marketers/salespeople, before they found [[{{Spammer}} spam.]] {{Prank Call}}s can easily become this, especially if the person on the receiving end gets multiple prank calls.
12
13----
14!!Examples:
15
16[[foldercontrol]]
17
18[[folder:Advertising]]
19* The early GEICO Gecko commercials featured the Gecko getting irritated being mistaken for GEICO all the time. In the very first such commercial, Kelsey Grammer supplied the voice of the Gecko, who pleads with the public via a televised press conference to stop calling him.
20[[/folder]]
21
22[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
23* In ''Anime/PerfectBlue'' after Mima [[spoiler: quits her job as a pop idol to begin a career as an actress]] she starts receiving threatening messages and phone calls from her stalker, [[spoiler: Me-mania]].
24* In episode 11 of the anime ''Anime/GhostStories'' Satsuki keeps getting these from a CreepyDoll named Mary.
25* One episode of ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'' has a woman with multiple personalities get numerous harassing phone messages... left by her other personality.
26* ''Manga/DeathNote'': Near keeps calling and harassing Light at odd hours of the day and night and hanging up.
27* In ''Manga/KoharuNoHibi'' Koharu, Akira's stalker and {{Yandere}}, quite frequently calls and texts him.
28* On ''Anime/OruchubanEbichu'' Ebichu gets a perverted phone call while her owner is out. Being a naive little hamster, Ebichu innocently answers all of his questions ("What are you wearing?" "Just an [[NakedApron apron]]!"). He finally asks her to say "pussy", and when she does it almost seems to cause him to lose his mind.
29[[/folder]]
30
31[[folder:Comic Strips]]
32* In ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'', Opus gets an obscene phone call and has Milo listen to a bit of it:
33-->'''Milo''': It's some guy reading off Pentagon weapons contracts.\
34'''Opus''': He's slobbering into the receiver... Listen!
35* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' had a comic where a duck hunter is in a phone booth and playing a duck call into the phone. On the other end of the phone line is a duck in his house with a shocked expression on his face. The caption says "[[{{Pun}} Obscene duck call]]."
36* A strip of ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' has a woman answering a phone only to hear heavy breathing on the other end. She yells at the caller for being a pervert before hanging up. The last panel shows that it was just Odie, who was panting into the receiver.
37[[/folder]]
38
39[[folder:Film]]
40* This is Ghostface's modus operandi in the ''Film/{{Scream}}'' series. Despite there being [[LegacyCharacter multiple people donning the identity]], all of them love psychologically torturing their victims first before killing them.
41* This is parodied, of course, in the ''Film/ScaryMovie'' movies. For instance, Ghostface calls one of his victims (played by Creator/CarmenElectra) while reading a porn mag where she's the centerfold. When he says he wants to know what her insides look like, she tells him to turn the page.
42* Nancy tries to call Glen in ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'' to warn him not to go to sleep. Then the phone rings. She picks it up. It's [[spoiler: the sound of Fred's claws being sharpened.]] She (understandably) freaks out, tears the phone out of the plug, and throws it across the room. Then, despite being unplugged, it starts ringing ''again''. ''This'' time, it's [[spoiler: Freddy again, telling her that "I'm your boyfriend now, Nancy", and then his tongue sticks out the phone.]]
43* Played for comedy in ''Film/SerialMom''. "Pussy Willows!".
44* Alex calls Dan repeatedly in ''Film/FatalAttraction'', but when he keeps ignoring her, she gets more and more [[{{Yandere}} unhinged]].
45* ''Film/SpiderMan1'': Peter is worried about Mary-Jane and calls her home to make sure she's okay but instead of Mary-Jane he gets the Green Goblin on the other line who giggles and says in a creepy sing-song voice, ''"Can Spider-Man come out to play?"''
46* ''Film/LostHighway'': At Andy's party Fred meets a strange looking Mystery Man in Black who tells Fred that he is at his house right now and is the one who sent the videotapes to him. He then tells Fred to phone his house, Fred does so, and the voice of the Mystery Man answers at the house while he's standing right in front of Fred.
47* ''Film/TheRing'': Whenever someone watches the cursed video tape they receive a phone call with a child's voice on the other line warning, "Seven Days."
48* ''[[Film/BlackChristmas1974 Black Christmas]]'' (the original) featured disturbing phone calls throughout, as did [[Film/BlackChristmas2006 the 2006 remake]] (though far fewer, and considerably less disturbing).
49* ''Film/ThePeacemaker''. George Clooney's character knows that the RenegadeRussian he's after is in a truck stuck in a traffic jam near a war zone; he can see them via satellite but can't tell which truck it is. So he call his old enemy's mobile and makes him think a cruise missile is coming down on his head. The Russian naturally loses his cool and pulls the truck out of the traffic, giving away his position.
50* In ''Film/TheCrush'' [[StalkerWithACrush Darian]] does this to Nick.
51* Ramsley calls Jim in ''Film/TheHauntedMansion2003'' before hanging up without answering.
52* ''Film/{{Lolita}}'' (1962). While sick of a fever in a hotel room, Professor Humbert gets a phone call in the middle of the night from Claire Quilty posing as an "investigator" asking questions about Humbert's relationship with his step-daughter. It's clear Quilty is doing this just to MindScrew Humbert, as he's already made off with Lolita.
53* ''Film/{{Memento}}''. The protagonist gets several of these, despite one of his rules being 'don't answer the phone', as due to his lack of long-term memory he'll forget who he's talking to. When he does remember to ask, the caller hangs up.
54* In ''Film/EyesOfAStranger'', the villain likes to make obscene phone calls (which include heavy breathing, promises of intercourse and music box tunes) to his would-be victims before going after them.
55* In ''Film/PromNight1980'', the killer makes a harassing phone call to each of his intended victims. Most assume it is some kind of joke and hang up. Jude mistakes hers for an obscene phone call, and then complains to her mother that it wasn't even particularly obscene.
56* In ''Film/ActOfVengeance'', Gloria contacts the Rape Squad after she receives a series of obscene phone calls from a man called Bernie (a.k.a. 'Foul Mouth'). The Squad track him down and put the fear of God into him.
57* ''Film/{{Tommy}}'': In the movie, Uncle Ernie dials a number and pants loudly into the phone before he molests Tommy.
58[[/folder]]
59
60[[folder:Jokes]]
61* A woman was expecting an important phone call when she had an asthma attack. Of course the phone rang in the middle of it, and she had to answer. It turned out to be an obscene phone caller who upon hearing the woman's wheezing asked "Wait - did I call you or did you call me?"
62* A woman receiving an obscene phone call:
63--> "Hhhhh... Guess what I'm holding in my hand?"
64--> "Buddy, if [[TeenyWeenie it only takes one hand to hold]] then I'm not interested." *click*
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Literature]]
68* In the novel ''Literature/TheWindUpBirdChronicle'' by Haruki Murakami, the main character, a married man, keeps getting calls from some random woman trying to initiate phone sex. [[spoiler: It's his wife. Maybe?]]
69* Referenced in the ''Literature/{{Temps}}'' story "[[TheNounAndTheNoun Sortilege And Serendipity]]" by Brian Stableford, where one of the Talented kids has the superpower to [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway pick up a telephone and tell you where everyone who used it in the last day is now]]. He's nicknamed "the Phone Freak Kid", because tracing these people is the only use anyone can see for his powers.
70* In ''Literature/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency'', Susan Way gets a number of phone calls with nothing but the sound of faint wind whistling. She's more perplexed and annoyed than frightened, describing it as a minimalist heavy breather. [[spoiler:It's actually the ghost of her recently-deceased brother Gordon, trying to complete [[DisconnectedByDeath the phone call he was making when he died]].]]
71* In Peter Moore's "Caught In The Act" Ethan receives frightening ones from [[{{Yandere}} Lydia]].
72* In ''Literature/GodelEscherBachAnEternalGoldenBraid'', Achilles begins the dialogue "Air on G's String" by telling the Tortoise about an obscene phone call he received in which the caller merely shouted twice before hanging up, "Yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation!" When the Tortoise teaches him about quines, he realizes that the caller was stating a logical paradox, which he considers truly obscene.
73* In ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'', one of the many sick pleasures of VillainProtagonist Patrick Bateman is to call random women and threaten them while making grunting and sucking noises. He enjoys this immensely, but mentions his enthusiasm for it coming to an abrupt halt when one of the women he calls calmly asks, [[CrossesTheLineTwice "Dad, is that you?"]]
74* In ''Literature/NakedCameTheStranger'', Gillian tries to flirt with an obscene caller. To her amusement, he accuses her of attempting a PhoneTraceRace and hangs up.
75* ''Literature/TheSilenceOfMurder'': While Hope investigates Coach Johnson's murder, she keeps getting mysterious phone calls with heavy breathing and sometimes threats. [[spoiler:Turns out they're from Sheriff Wells, trying to scare her off the case.]]
76[[/folder]]
77
78[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
79* One particularly memorable scene from ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' has Lois receiving a phone call from a guy breathing heavily. She chews him out [[note]] Listen pervert this is the third time you've called here now I've had just about enough of [[/note]] and the caller is revealed to her and the viewer to be the asthmatic Stevie.
80* ''Series/SesameStreet'':
81** The song "Telephone Rock" by Little Jerry and the Monotones, an all-Muppet (of course) band. The song is about a teenager (Jerry) who intends to spread the good times and great sounds of old-time rock and roll music over the telephone, but he and his buddies wind up harassing a telephone operator (an old spinster woman) in the process. After several warnings to cease and desist, she makes good on a threat to call the police ... and it isn't long before an officer shows up to lock them in the telephone booth and carry them away, presumably to jail. The segment first aired in the winter of 1975, with later airings continuing through the early 1990s, and even got some minor airplay on Dr. Demento's radio programs, but surprisingly the song -- unlike others from ''Sesame Street'', either by their original Muppet performances or [[Music/TheCarpenters covers by other artists]] -- was never released as a single. [[note]]Incidentally, a follow-up (of sorts) was produced for a new Children's Television Workshop home video, "Rock & Roll!" (a compilation of classic shorts featuring musical performances from ''Street''), where the prank call from "Telephone Rock" framed the major backstory. A giddy teen-aged girl (Allison O'Reilly, best known as Gina) kept calling in requesting the song but the host (Jackman Wolf, a parody of legendary radio personality Wolfman Jack) was unable to connect her with her favorite band. Eventually, the police officer(from the original segment) physically carries the phone booth, with Jerry and his bandmates locked inside, into the radio station to corroborate their claim that they were intended as guests of his program. When Jackman indeed backs up Jerry's claims and lets them perform, the phone operator disgustedly gasps in disbelief while the police officer has no choice but to drop the charges.[[/note]]
82** First aired around the same time as "Telephone Rock" in 1975 was a "''Sesame Street'' News Flash" segment with Kermit the Frog (in his news reporter role) getting a phone call from an unnamed source claiming someone has been standing outside in a blizzard for a long time. Kermit, determined to get a juicy news story, asks passersby if they were the person the caller was referring to; all of them deny the claim, saying they've been outside just a short time. Eventually, Kermit has been outside so long he is almost (literally) buried in snow, when notorious prankster Harvey Kneeslapper admits ''he'' made the prank call and duped Kermit into making a fool of himself. Harvey walks off laughing (and fortunate he avoided arrest on, at the very least, harassment charges) while Kermit is too frozen to care.
83** In 1993, Gina, while working the afternoon shift at Hooper's Store, gets a harassing phone call; viewers hear only Gina's side of the conversation, but from the context, the call apparently was from someone who objected to a white girl (Gina) dating an African-American (Savion)[[note]]; indeed, there is evidence their movie date and foreplay prior to said scene went more than what viewers were shown[[/note]]. Telly Monster is also at the store, has overheard the call and Gina becoming upset at what the caller told her, and immediately starts to get upset, wondering why some people hate others just because of their race, religion, etc. -- especially since the ''Street'' is racially mixed but everyone is friends. Gina and Savion explain and help Telly understand that there are "just some really stupid people in the world, who can't stand to see it when people of different races are friends." [[note]](They also explain a way to deal with hate calls in the future, which most people would not recommend ... BlowingARaspberry; the recommended way is to simply hang up and if the calls persist call the police.)[[/note]]
84* The one off BBC drama series ''Series/PigHeartBoy'' (about a boy who receives a heart transplant from a GM pig) has the fact his parents have been getting these as [[TheReveal the reason his parents had been acting so stressed]].
85* Ryan's obsession with Dr. Nathan in ''Series/{{Oz}}'' led him to write letters and call her non-stop. It unnerves her to the point where she eventually tells him to cut it out. Unfortunately, this makes his obsessive behavior even more extreme.
86* PlayedForLaughs in one episode of the BritCom ''Nelson's Column'', in which TheDitz is phoned by the police and told a phone perv is going to call her and they need to trace the call, so [[PhoneTraceRace could she keep him talking]]. So she discusses her underwear with him for ten minutes, before Nelson asks her what's going on and, on being told, asks "How would the police know that?"
87* ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'': In the episode "The Tale of Laughing in the Dark" the character Josh is talking to his friend on the phone when the MonsterClown BigBad of the episode suddenly speaks up on the other line "If you don't give it back, I'll come up and get it!"
88* The "333" arc on season 4 of ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' had Mac getting these for quite a while. They always came at 3:33 am or pm and usually had only silence. The guy behind it escalated things to cryptic jigsaw puzzles and was eventually found to be the brother of a boy Mac knew as a teen, who was set on avenging his brother's death. They had all tagged along with one of the boys on a delivery job and got attacked. Mac grabbed a gun but he was just a scared kid and couldn't pull the trigger, resulting in the attacker's brother dying. It ended with a hostage plot, but with the team's help Mac escaped and got the guy.
89* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Gordon and Dean's relationship starts as Ho Yay in "Bloodlust" when they bond and find they're very much alike, with Gordon acting like a sort of mentor for Dean following the Winchesters' dad dying. Then Dean finds out Gordo's a whack-job and leaves him tied-up in his own mess for three days. When Gordon comes back, he tries to pit Dean against Dean's Not-Love Interest Sam and holds him hostage to lure Sam in, all the while trying hard to convince Dean that he's right, because A.) he still respects Dean as a fellow hunter, and B.) he feels a kinship with Dean as Gordon killed his own vamped sister and now must kill Dean's brother, who might join Hell. When he's turned into a vampire, his first action is to go to where Dean and Sam were, get Dean's scent and track him, leading to a very unpleasant phone conversation in which he tells Dean that no matter where he goes or what he does, he'll find him.
90* ''Series/TheSketchShow'': In one sketch, a harassing caller tries to do this to a woman by claiming to know where she lives and that he is calling from upstairs. He's saying this to [[EpicFail someone who's standing in a phone box]].
91* ''[[Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook The Mitchell and Webb Situation]]'' had a set of sketches about harassing phone calls, including calling the wrong person, going to an answering machine ("I'll try your mobile"), calling someone who is completely unphased to hear that the caller can see what she is wearing seeing as she is on live television and finally calling ''another'' harasser and hitting it off.
92* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'': Barbara gives one to both Jim and Leslie. To Jim she tries to accuse Leslie of having attacked her and being insane when its the other way around and to Leslie she calls her a bitch and says she hopes she dies screaming because she's jealous of her for having Jim's affection.
93* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' contains romantic and non romantic ones:
94** Russell repeatedly called Elaine after he fell madly in love with her.
95** Crazy Joe Davola left a harassing message on Jerry's phone due to his particular hatred for him.
96** A coworker Elaine pissed off left a message on her phone threatening her: "Elaine, I'm going to find you! If not in the kitchen then (she goes on to list various rooms in their workplace leading Elaine to comment she must have a blue print of the building)
97* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' features an episode in the third season during which one of Frasier's call-ins rings up to complain about this happening to her and becoming traumatized by it. The call is fielded by Roz as Frasier is running late. He then runs into the studio in an exhausted state and picks up the phone while trying to regain his breath. Suffice to say, the woman at the other end completely misinterprets what she hears.
98* ''Series/BeverlyHills90210'': Brandon's ex-girlfriend Emily makes multiple ones of these to the Walsh home after Brandon breaks up with her, either repeatedly calling and hanging up whenever anyone answers or leaving dozens of messages.
99* ''Series/{{Aquarius}}'': Charlie Manson does this often to his victims.
100* On ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', Dennis explains to the rest of The Gang his system for manipulating and tormenting women. One example is to nurture dependence on you, which he achieves by disguising his voice and making threatening phone calls to her, then "taking care of" the guy harassing her. A later step in the plan has him completely severe all contact with her and not explaining why, during which time he starts making those calls again.
101-->'''Dee:''' Oh, my God! You're a complete sociopath!
102* ''Series/PortCharles'''s Courtney repeatedly calls Karen, the woman dating her ex-boyfriend Joe, and hangs up whenever Karen answers, [[RelationshipSabotage wanting Karen to think that Joe's cheating on her]].
103* In the ''Series/{{Shoestring}}'' episode "Mocking Bird," a mugger calls Radio West after each attack to taunt Eddie about his inability to catch him.
104* ''Series/{{Decoy}}'': Betty Hodges from "The Phoner" keeps getting obscene phone calls from a man who calls himself Carl. Casey moves in with her and pretends to be her sister while she investigates.
105* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E29FourOClock Four O'Clock]]", Oliver Crangle tells FBI Agent Hall that he calls the supposedly evil people in the middle of the night to accuse them of various crimes.
106[[/folder]]
107
108[[folder:Magazines]]
109* ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'': Parodied when some police officers catch an obscene caller in the act and arrest him. When he's given his OnePhoneCall, he uses it to pick up where he left off.
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Music]]
113* Music/DieArzte made a song about this, "2000 Mädchen" (2000 girls), which is told from the [=PoV=] of the caller.
114* Rockwell's 1984 hit [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC12-VMMvpc "Obscene Phone Caller."]]
115* "It's Me Again, Margaret" by Music/RayStevens is a darkly comic version.
116* Music/WeirdAlYankovic:
117** The sung-by-a-stalker song "Do I Creep You Out?" (sung to the tune of "Do I Make You Proud?") has the lyric:
118-->Call you every night and hang up/ Gonna carve your name in my leg/ In my leg, oh, oh!
119** "Phony Calls," a parody of "Waterfalls," is all about making annoying prank phone calls.
120* {{Music/Madness|Band}}'s "Close Escape" from ''Music/{{Absolutely|Album}}'' is a black comedy number from the [=PoV=] of an obscene phone caller.
121* "Under the Wire" by Music/TheCramps has Lux Interior take the role of an obscene caller. Mostly PlayedForLaughs.
122* Music/BillyIdol's "Crank Call"
123* In the music video for Music/BillyJoel's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhJg1finpyU Sometimes a Fantasy,]] he calls a woman and sings the song to her, much to her annoyance. [[spoiler:The ending shows she never answered and the whole thing was in his head.]] Rather creepily, Joel's nervous movements and the presence of another man in the room suggest he's being forced into making the call.
124* Music/{{Tencc}}'s album ''How Dare You!'' has a title track about this. The sleeve design even shows a woman on the receiving end of a dirty phone call.
125* "My Downfall," on [[Music/TheNotoriousBIG The Notorious B.I.G's]] "Life After Death" album, begins with Biggie receiving two harassing phone calls, as the first call is heavy breathing (which he thinks belongs to his wife, Faith Evans), and the second call is a man whispering death threats, whom Big mocks and insults before hanging up.
126* Music/{{Adele}}'s "Hello" is about a woman who won't stop calling her ex and leaving messages on his voicemail or answering machine ''years'' after the breakup. It's clear that the calls are unwelcome, as the ex in question has learned not to answer the phone when she calls, and never returns the calls. (Apparently, he either has never heard of call blocking or changing his number, or perhaps his PsychoEx [[StalkerWithACrush keeps getting his new number]], or is calling him from a private number or payphone to get around whatever blocking/screening mechanisms he may have.)
127* Meta example concerning JennysNumber. The song "Jenny's Number" by Music/TommyTutone contained the singer's ex-girlfriend's phone number, and it was meant to attract nuisance calls to that number to drive "Jenny" crazy.
128[[/folder]]
129
130[[folder:Radio]]
131* In ''Radio/NewDynamicEnglish'', Max received a phone call from someone who claimed to be his "brother", making him and his wife upset. [[spoiler: It turns out to be Max's childhood friend from when he's under 5 years old.]]
132* The opening to at least one episode of ''Radio/AmericanCountryCountdown'' during the Don Bowman-era has the host blowing a raspberry. This was likely an episode from 1975, when several episodes had CouchGag-style openings.
133[[/folder]]
134
135[[folder:Recorded and Stand-Up Comedy]]
136* On Creator/AdamSandler's comedy sketch album ''They're All Gonna Laugh at You!'', one of the sketches is "Mr. Spindel's Phone Call," which features an Algebra teacher getting completely hysterical over a prank call and hang-up by one of his students.
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:Theatre]]
140* ''Theatre/CityOfAngels'' has an obscene phone call as NarrativeFiligree in a part of Stine's screenplay which he reads:
141-->Scene 18. Exterior. Downtown LA Day. Overcast.\
142Medium shot of a public phone booth at the corner of Sunset and Anywhere. The camera intrudes on one of the city's slimier angels, a rather smudged carbon copy of a human being, as he tries to set the record for a nickel's worth of heavy breathing.
143[[/folder]]
144
145[[folder:Video Games]]
146* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'': Joker starts leaving Batman voice mails like he's a clingy girlfriend. The Joker straight up mentions their FoeRomanceSubtext in one of his voice mails, commenting on Batman's "repressed sexual tension".
147* The killer in ''VideoGame/KillerFrequency'' eventually calls in to the protagonist's radio show, and his first few seconds are spent breathing into the phone before he tells the protagonist to stop helping his victims and that he's coming for him.
148* ''VideoGame/LoveAndPies'': An anonymous caller who claims to be Amelia's frenemy occasionally calls her to try stopping her investigations, threatening that she'll be in more trouble if she continues it.
149* PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/ManiacMansion'' where you can distract Nurse Edna by phoning the extension she has in her room. She immediately recognizes it as a joke call but scolds the caller for their poor technique. There's no heavy breathing, you see. And she proceeds to demonstrate HOW you perform a proper obscene phone call...
150* In ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'', Heather gets a number of harassing phone calls dropping unsubtle hints about her true nature.
151* In ''Videogame/WelcomeToTheGame'', the Breather is a local SerialKiller who taunts the player via phone call some time after they begin browsing UsefulNotes/TheDeepWeb, before attempting to break into their house.
152[[/folder]]
153
154[[folder:Visual Novels]]
155* One of the more disturbing scenes in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' involves Keiichi taking a phone call from a distressed Shion, who supposedly went missing a number of days previously. He has only recently found this out, and pleads with her to tell him that he's wrong. All she can do is sob. He then begins to poke holes in her confession that she spoke to another person who went missing around the same time; if she's telling the truth, the only way she could have spoken to them is to have done so after they went missing. There's a moment of silence after he points this out to her, and then she begins to laugh hysterically. Without another word, she hangs up.
156** The PS 2 version of the scene is much creepier. The scene plays out the same right up until the moment of silence. Then Shion starts laughing in a more psychotic style than the anime, then out of nowhere, the volume suddenly become ten times louder as the screen goes, black, is then filled up with text that is Shion's laughter, and then we get a shot of Shion in a completely dark room where all that can be seen is her face, which can be only describe as a clown-esque deranged smile, all while the laughter goes on.
157* Natsuhi receives several in Episode 5 of ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' from a man who pretends to be her adopted son from 19 years ago. He gives her strange orders, and at the end we realize that [[spoiler:he wanted to frame her for the murders occurring, leading Erika to designate her as the culprit.]] [[KangarooCourt And that's only]] [[TraumaCongaLine the beginning]] [[DarkestHour of her troubles.]]
158[[/folder]]
159
160[[folder:Webcomics]]
161* ''Webcomic/SilentHillPromise'': Vanessa is continually harassed by a "Weird phone lady" (later revealed to be named Marissa) who wants her to leave town. [[spoiler:Turns out Marissa is Maria, who is also Alessa Guilespie and the Order's God, who wanted to get rid of Vanessa so she could "play" with James for all eternity]].
162[[/folder]]
163
164[[folder:Web Originals]]
165* ''WebVideo/TheAnnoyingOrange'': In a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9D8Z4SfrXM parody of "The Ring"]] a guy gets a call from Orange after watching a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J5hZWQs-vI cursed video tape]] who laughs repeatedly and warns him that in seven days he and his friends will become onion rings.
166* ''WebVideo/EconomyWatch'': The {{Cold Open}} to Episode 30 is the [[spoiler: Stock Stabber]] harassing David on the phone.
167* The Website/SCPFoundation has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-145 SCP-145,]] a phone which, if answered, connects to an unknown woman who pleads for help and describes torture being inflicted on various individuals (who can be heard screaming in the background). Using the phone without someone else watches causes the listener to vanish and join the other victims.
168[[/folder]]
169
170[[folder:Western Animation]]
171* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Peter gets these from his boss, Angela, in the episode "Peter-assment". Also, while the Griffins were out on vacation [[StalkerWithACrush Herbert]] kept calling the house and leaving creepy messages for Chris.
172* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'':
173** In [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E19JellyfishHunterTheFryCookGames "Jellyfish Hunter"]], [=SpongeBob=] gets a phone call late at night after spending the day hunting jellyfish for Mr. Krabs. The call consists of menacing heavy breathing on the other line, and the camera cuts to reveal that the caller in question is No Name, the mysterious blue jellyfish that [=SpongeBob=] has been trying to catch since the start of the episode and who was just shown stalking him on his way home. No Name soon hangs up, leaving [=SpongeBob=] highly unnerved.
174** Spoofed in "Enemy-In-Law". when Plankton falls for Mr. Krabs' mother, he calls her up to ask her out. After stepping on the phone buttons to dial the number, he's left gasping heavily as Mrs. Krabs answers. Upon hearing it, she nearly hangs up but Plankton manages to catch his breath and speak clearly in time.
175* In the ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' episode "Bestest Friends" Zim gets a "best friend" named Keef in order to be seen as more 'normal' by the other students. However, when he tries to get rid of him Keef becomes something of a StalkerWithACrush towards Zim. One scene features Keef calling Zim right after Zim tells him to go away and Zim reacts by pulling the phone cable out of the wall.
176-->'''Keef''': Hey, buddy, wanna go to the circus?
177-->'''Zim''': Hang on, I've got another call. ''Switches to other line.'' Hello?
178-->'''Keef''': ''On the other line'': You're gonna love the circus!
179* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': One of the ways Helga keeps reminding Arnold he has "24 Hours To Live" is by repeatedly calling him.
180* A ''WesternAnimation/FreakyStories'' story involves a babysitter constantly being called and asked "Have you checked the children?". She loses it when she finds out the calls are coming from a second line in the house, but it's strongly implied that it was the children making the calls.
181* One Halloween Special episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' hilariously subverted this trope when the family accidental ran over and killed Ned Flanders. Homer later receives a creepy stalkerish phone call from a raspy-voiced psycho, but when he replies to the caller it turns out that the caller is his friend Moe the bartender, who accidentally dialled a wrong number while trying to stalk Ned's wife Maude.
182** In another episode, Rabbi Krustovski keeps getting silent phone calls, occasionally punctuated by heavy breathing. It's actually his estranged son Krusty the Clown, trying to work up the courage to speak to his father and sighing in frustration before hanging up.
183** Lest we forget all the times Bart prank-called Moe, requesting somebody with a PunnyName that Moe always managed to phrase in the most [[HilarityEnsues hilarity-inducing]] way - "''Bea O'Problem? Do I have a Bea O'Problem?''"; ''"Mya Buttreeks? Does anyone know Mya Buttreeks?''".
184* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'':
185** In "Frannie 911", Francine tries to prove to Roger that Stan cares about him by using a voice modulator and pretending to hold Roger for ransom. When she returns home, Stan is nonchalant and gives surprisingly elaborate explanations for Roger's absence. Ultimately he tells Francine that [[ButNowIMustGo Roger's people came back for him]], and if they stood on the roof waving kitchen utensils they'd receive a special telepathic message. While they're waiting, [[spoiler: Stan points out that he knew it was Francine all along because they have [[DiscreditedTrope caller I.D.]] and she was calling from her own cell phone]].
186** In "Shark?!", Klaus wants to ask out Hayley's friend Danuta. He calls her, but gets nervous and unintentionally creeps her out.
187--->(Danuta is laying on her bed painting her nails. Her cell phone vibrates, Danuta picks up)\
188'''Danuta''': Hello?\
189'''Klaus''' (creepy sounding): Danuta.\
190'''Danuta''': Who is this?\
191'''Klaus''': Danuta.\
192'''Danuta''': Who's calling?\
193'''Klaus''': It is me.\
194'''Danuta''': What?\
195'''Klaus''': Will you go there?\
196'''Danuta''': Go where? What?\
197'''Klaus''': Do you eat?\
198'''Danuta''': What the hell is this?!\
199'''Klaus''': I've got the money...Danuta.\
200(Cut to Hayley on Klaus' end destroying the landline telephone, ending the call)\
201'''Hayley''': Klaus, that was...chilling.
202* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': In one episode Peggy is hired to teach Sex Ed at Bobby's school, to the disapproval of several parents. Later on Hank answers the phone and hears a raspy voice saying "You don't know who I am, but I know where you live, and if you teach that Sex Ed class then so help me I'll..." Hank interrupts, recognizing the voice as his next-door neighbor Dale. Dale then asks to speak to Peggy, Hank hands her the phone, and as soon as she says "Yello, Dale" he launches into exactly the same tirade. At the end of the episode he calls again and gets the Hills' answering machine, launching into the same tirade again before switching back to his normal voice and adding "Oh, and Hank, we changed that tee-off time to 3:00."
203[[/folder]]
204
205[[folder:Real Life]]
206* Harassing phone calls are the bread and butter of bill collectors. In the United States, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) limits calls to between 8 AM and 8 PM, though not every collector honors this; additionally, many individual states have consumer protection laws that further limit such calls. (NOTE: If you live in the US and are receiving harassing phone calls from any company, contact your state consumer protection agency; even if they will not pursue your case, they can direct you to people who will.)
207* Less TruthInTelevision than it used to be, thanks to telemarketers. More people use answering machines and caller ID to filter phone calls, rather than picking up every call. It used to be that any incoming phone call was viewed as important; now they're viewed with suspicion.
208* More prevalent since The New 10's with the rise of illicit foreign calls, sometimes made by a live caller but more often being pre-recorded "robocalls" that are designed to trick the person into talking to a live person (merely pressing any button, even one that the recording claims will discontinue calls will register the called number as existing and will increase the volume of calls). Pretty much all of these calls also use a technology to fake the information on a person's Caller ID to make the number appear legitimate or important.
209* Modern cold calling centres have lead to a rise in "phantom" calls - the centres computers dial their calling list till they get an answer then attempt to transfer the call to a live operator. If all operators are busy the computer hangs up without saying anything.
210* Obscene phone calls, where the caller gets off on delivering sexual or foul language to an unknown called party, and which to the person receiving them is a form of stalking and sexual harassment. Making such calls in many cases is a class 1 misdemeanor. Even without Caller ID, the phone company logs such calls, so the perpetrator's phone number can be discovered, but most people who regularly engage in this nowadays use prepaid cellphones or payphones, which requires a more extensive investigation.
211* ''Senior Power'', an old movie meant to teach old people to defend themselves from crime ([[http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/senior-power/ and mockingly reviewed here]]), includes the "obscene phone call" scene. Apparently, when someone harasses you over the phone, the right thing to do is to... whistle really loud into the phone. So that the harassing caller will freak out and fall over. It works. Thing is, you don't just put your lips together and blow, you use a pea whistle such as sports coaches use, and you can seriously inconvenience (if not deafen temporarily) the harasser. Note this is now explicitly ''not'' recommended, as the harasser may retaliate in kind on the next call. The correct procedure is to simply place the phone down and walk away for around 10 minutes, then return and quietly hang up. The caller is looking for a reaction so not giving them one of any kind stymies them.
212* An unfortunate television ad campaign in France for phone company ''9 Telecom'' featured a man being accidentally harassed because his name sounded like the company's... Which triggered a slew of harassing prank calls in real life.
213* Genevieve Sabourin, alleged stalker of Creator/AlecBaldwin supposedly called and texted him a lot.
214* People living in Beijing have apparently been getting phone calls like this recently, from an unknown number which supposedly 'didn't exist' when they tried to call back. The calls featured noises like a woman screaming, a baby crying or cries for help. It's [[http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/783639.shtml#.Ul3dFhCkjIV mentioned in this article.]]
215* Taking this trope's title quite literally, telephone calls can constitute the crime of harassment in some jurisdictions. Even if the report of harassment by telephone is insufficient to support a criminal conviction, the pattern of calls may, if made by particular individuals, be sufficient to support entry of a restraining order forbidding the person in question for making calls. (Consult your local domestic violence laws for precise details.)
216* At one point, Swiss man Dominic Deville provided a service where he'd dress up [[http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/821591-evil-clown-hired-for-stalking-threats-and-a-pie-in-the-face as a monster clown]] to stalk small children a week before their birthday. He'll leave phone calls, post notes about how he's watching them and how he'll attack them and on their birthday, he'll smash a cake in their face.
217* If you find yourself on the receiving end of these, especially if you are fielding large amounts of them [[note]] For example, you pissed off the wrong person on the Internet and [[DisproportionateRetribution they retaliated by publishing your contact info]], or you have a legitimately PsychoEx or StalkerWithACrush [[/note]], [[http://800notes.com/arts/harassing-phone-calls-what-to-do here's what you can do.]]
218* If you are receiving calls from [[EvilDebtCollector bill collectors]], [[http://800notes.com/arts/harassing-calls-from-a-debt-collector-here-is-what-you-need-to-know the approach is somewhat different]]. (Even if you know the debt is not yours.)
219* This is how the late Dr. Albert Ellis, who was a psychologist, sexologist and sex and love researcher described the guys who make obscene phone calls to women and teenage girls:
220-->They are crazy and compulsive. I think they are essentially harmless and are the sort of [[CannotTalkToWomen people who lack the guts to do more than make a telephone call]] and hide behind the anonymity of the telephone. The act is a toned-down form of sexuality.
221* Many telemarketing companies and outbound call centers are using what are termed "scrubbers." These are people (or machines) who go through numbers on their lists, to make sure the numbers still work (and aren't just fax lines or the like). They don't talk to anyone or try to pitch the product or service; they just hang up and confirm that the number is operational, so the telemarketers can use it later. If they call a number and find that it's ''not'' a working number, they'll "scrub" it from the list.
222* Bart Simpson's prank calls, mentioned above in Western Animation, were based on the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tube_Bar_prank_calls Tube Bar prank calls]] that circulated within the underground tape-trading network during the 1970s & '80s. The threats made by the real target of those calls, bartender & former boxer Louis "Red" Deutsch, once he realized he had been made the butt of the tapers' joke, were if anything more unhinged than anything the Simpsons' writers came up with.
223[[/folder]]
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