Pick up some of the scariest phone calls in movies

It’s late. It’s dark. Trees are desperately scratching at the windows. Then the phone rings. Your hand hovers above the handle, you hesitate. That’s how it happens in the movies.

The telephone has been a source of drama, romance and terror in the movies since it was invented. Filmmakers have often found creative ways to feature phone calls, and in no genre has that been more evident than horror.

So in honor of Halloween, let’s look at some of the best scary movie phone calls. Pro tip: You might want to turn on Do Not Disturb while you read this.

One Missed Call (2008)

Sometimes the worst phone call you can get is a missed one, like in this 2008 remake of Takashi Miike’s 2003 Japanese One Missed Call horror movie. In both, a group of characters start receiving terrifying voicemails – no, not prerecorded spam calls – they hear how they’re going to die in the future.

On top of that, after hearing the voicemail you’re plagued with hallucinations. All this tugs at a fundamental truth of voicemails from numbers you don’t recognize: You don’t know what you’re about to hear.

Black Christmas (1974)

Bob Clark’s Black Christmas may not be as popular as other horror classics, but it is heavily influential. It was not only the first movie based on the early 1960s urban legend of “the babysitter and the man upstairs,” with a killer calling its victims within the house, but it’s also considered the grandfather of the slasher genre.

The movie’s influence also extends to its series of phone calls in which the killer calls girls in their sorority house. The disturbing phone calls are used to torment the girls with strange noises and voices, and they have since been dubbed “the obscene phone calls.” True to their name, the scenes are still some of the scariest phone calls in film.

When a Stranger Calls (1979)

Just a few years later, When a Stranger Calls—also inspired by “the babysitter and the man upstairs” urban legend—came along. The film has a much more direct line to its inspiration than Black Christmas and uses it to terrifying effect.

In the opening sections of the film, babysitter Jill receives increasingly threatening calls. Scared, she eventually calls the police, who tell her to keep the caller on the line so they can trace it. She does, and that’s when the police call her and tell her the chilling news “the call is coming from inside the house.” Few things are scarier than having an intruder in your house without you realizing it, and that line epitomizes this.

Halloween (1978)

Naturally one of the greatest horror movies of all time features an equally great phone call scene. Lynda calls Laurie to find out where their friends are. Just as Laurie picks up, Michael Myers begins to strangle Lynda.

Laurie, however, just thinks Lynda is messing around since earlier in the film she had a phone call from Lynda and just heard her chewing gum. This scary phone call is amplified when we see Myers approach Lynda as she calls, and we watch in horror as Laurie is oblivious to what’s happening with her friend. It’s all capped off when Myers himself picks up the phone, and his deep breaths give Laurie pause.

The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

Sometimes the creepiest thing someone can tell you is that they’re watching you without you knowing, and that’s exactly what happens in the phone call from The Mothman Prophecies.

Washington Post reporter John Klein receives a scary phone call from the demonic entity that is Indrid Cold, as Cold gradually tells him everything that he’s doing. From the fact that he’s hiding Chapstick in his hand to the words of a book he’s looking at, Indrid Cold knows everything. Chilling.

The Ring (2002)

Often short and simple is the most terrifying thing of all. In The Ring, viewers of a creepy videotape receive a phone call immediately after watching. A little girl on the other end simply whispers, “seven days.” That’s it.

No explanation, just implication. What it means is that you have seven days after viewing the tape. Then you die. This one was so terrifying and so popular that when the film was released people would prank each other by calling strangers and whispering “seven days”.

The Black Phone (2021)

Here’s a movie entirely built around a black phone in a basement. Finney has been kidnapped by The Grabber. There’s a disconnected black phone in the room with him that rings, and on the other end are the ghosts of the victims of The Grabber.

Each phone call is both creepy and heartbreaking – the static, the crackling voices, the warnings and advice all help the film shine in these scenes. It’s hard to listen to these scenes, but it’s even harder to look away.

If you’re looking for more creepy, heartbreaking phone calls, The Black Phone 2 is out now. Finney struggles to deal with life after his kidnapping and finds his sister having nightmares about the black phone and its chilling callers. This eventually leads to more terrifying phone calls that lead them to a frigid winter camp.

Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Just when you think everything is great and wonderful, you get a call from Hannibal Lecter. There’s nothing outwardly scary about this phone call between Clarice and Dr. Lecter, but it does a good job of filling you with dread after everything you know about these characters.

After reassuring Clarice that she was safe, Lecter says goodbye with a chilling reason for ending the call. He’s “having an old friend for dinner.”

Get Out (2017)

Jordan Peele’s modern masterpiece uses smartphones in an interesting way, but one of its most chilling is toward the end when Rod calls his best friend Chris, who is visiting his girlfriend Rose’s family in update New York. Wondering where Chris is, Rod asks Rose what’s going on.

What happens next is a creepy conversation where Rose manipulates everything. Even when Rod tries to record her for proof, she’s one step ahead. It’s an unnerving conversation where Rod can’t win, making the situation feel hopeless, and terrifying.

Scream (1996)

The greatest phone calls in horror movie history take place in Scream. Drew Barrymore’s Casey answers the first call innocently, engaging with the caller’s flirty banter. Personal questions quickly turn into deadly threats. The progression from “What’s your favorite scary movie?” to ”What’s your name?” to the reveal of “I wanna know who I’m looking at” is terrifying and iconic. It builds into the epitome of a scary phone call.

Spoiler alert: The calls are also vitally important to the movie. Drew Barrymore was the movie’s biggest star, heavily featuring in the marketing. Starting the movie off with her, and quickly killing her off, sets the scene that no one is safe in this movie.

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Just a call away

These are just some of our favorite scary movies to watch during spooky season, and it helps that they feature some scary phone calls. Whether you’re looking for a psychological horror film or a call is coming from inside the house movie, this list has got you covered.

While Hollywood has made phone calls terrifying, your real-life phone calls don’t have to be. With features like Contacts-only Calling Ooma can keep you horror-free. And if you want to get your number off the internet so you can’t get any of those terrifying robocalls, be sure to read how you can manage personal info online to boot.