One of the most common ideas of modern horror stories are scary phone calls. There is the story of the babysitter and the man upstairs, a famous urban legend that has been adapted many times, including in old classics and even new Scream movies. And then of course there are phone calls that people WANT to have… for a fright. There are many scary numbers to call that have been floated around the internet for years. But what about 2022? Many of them are described as “cursed phone numbers” but if they still actually work now, you can be the judge.
A phone call can feel a bit more personal than just flipping on a horror movie. There is nothing like hearing something that seems real and could come right out of the phone to get you.
Here we take a look at a selection of scary phone numbers and see which ones are still active in 2022… and which ones are long gone and remain only a ghostly memory.
913-535-6280 (Pennywise, is that you?)
This line usually gives a busy signal when you call. Can you get through?
The number is either this or 207-536-8474 (an actual Maine number).
What is on the other line? Why, Derry, Maine of course. If you ever wondered what Pennywise’s phone number is, here you have. Watch the video below to hear what you get. It begins with the fictional police department of Derry, Maine (featured in many Stephen King books, most notably IT). And as you listen, Pennywise shows up and… well, you can imagine where it goes from there.
701-347-1936
This line usually gives a busy signal when you call. Can you get through?
As far as scary phone numbers to call, this one presumably has the worst consequences: the urban legend is that you will die within 24 hours of calling it. Yes, sounds very The Ring. But it’s not quite so scary when you actually make the call. It would be hard to describe it as a cursed phone number, but maybe for some, it is the closest you are going to find.
The sound and voice you hear is muffled, but a man seems to be saying, “Votre toast, je peux vous le render.” This comes from a French song called the Toreador Song, from the French opera Carmen.
And once you hear that, what the call is and what it is connected to is actually quite clear. It’s a Five Nights at Freddy‘s thing. How exactly it connects to the famous horror video game is not clear. It may not have any direct connection other than a fan of the franchise wanting something creepy to be heard when creating a scary number to call.
Here is what you hear when calling this number.
216-333-1810
No longer in service.
Apparently at one point you could hear a daughter pleading with her mother to not kill her. The urban legend involves hearing the girl screaming while she is being locked in her room, along with gunshots. When you dig deeper it sounds like years ago it had something to do with promoting the rock band Nine Inch Nails.
Many of these calls, when you dig deeper, are often part of some kind of viral promotion attempt. Sure, they would love to be described as a cursed phone number in order to get some curious people to call it. But many of them will be disappointing.
210-960-3826
This line usually gives a busy signal when you call. Can you get through?
Have you heard of the Donkey Lady? Well, learn about her. Then call this number. Pretty creepy. You can read more about the number here… if you’re interested in more of the cryptid type of creepy, this is a good phone number to call.
201-404-2404
Mailbox is full, generic automated message.
While no longer active, this was apparently connected to the movie Carrier as part of a marketing stunt. When calling this scary number people would hear screaming, creepy music, and eerie whispering.
877-772-7377
No longer in service.
Or in other words, 877-77-CREEP. This was a number tied to real company, and that is Chicago’s Creepy Co. They set this up so people could call and get various options, such as hear scary stories or ASMR. Here you can see them promote it in 2020. It does not seem to be active anymore.
408-634-2806
This line usually gives a busy signal when you call. Can you get through?
There are a lot of rumors regarding this number.
A lot of numbers refer to them as a “red room number”… these are urban legends involving scary phone numbers that you can call that allow sinister people to be able to track down your exact location. If you call it, supposedly someone is going to show up soon to kidnap, torture, and kill you in… you guessed it, a red room. It is closely tied to rumors regarding the dark web and the types of things you normally see in Hostel or other modern horror movies. Where do you think these movies get these ideas? Urban legends.
Here is what you get if your call goes through.
This particular “red room number” was created for the video game Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP from 2011. When you play the video game and reach the end, you are given this number. It just seems to remain active, so can be a bit creepy to call randomly.
Know Any Other Scary Numbers to Call?
Tell Us! Add in the comments below any scary phone numbers you find and we’ll add them to this list.
Photo by Antoine Barrès on Unsplash
Last Updated on July 21, 2022.
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