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Classic [[Urban Legends|urban legend]] horror scenario: Someone, usually a young woman who is home alone, often a baby sitter, gets a [[Harassing Phone Call|creepy phone call]]. The police trace it but learn that the calls are coming from inside the house.
This is a partly [[Discredited Trope]], because the whole urban legend relies on a myth about old analog land lines: the idea that you could, by tapping the receiver button carefully, manage to dial the telephone number of the building/home you were occupying at the time. Before cell phones, it was generally not possible to call someone from the same house you were in (at least without
The sense of dread that a phone call is coming from the very building you are occupying may be lost on people who are used to being able to call anyone from anywhere at any time. However, learning that instead of being safe in your home, you're actually locked in the building with the psycho who's been making [[Harassing Phone Call|threatening calls]], can still be pretty scary, [[Cell Phone]] or not. And no, Caller ID won't make it clear that this is a [[Short Distance Phone Call]].
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== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* Used in the ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'' episode 'Modern Man' where Rodney, annoyed with Del Boy, calls an ad in the local paper to apply for another job, not realising that the ad has been placed by Del who is taking the call in the other room. Although Rodney is ignorant to this Del is fully aware of who he is talking to and milks the situation to optimal comic effect.
* Spoofed on ''[[30
* ''[[CSI]]'' did this once.
* ''[[Criminal Minds]]'': in the episode "Somebody's Watching." Justified because the caller was using a cell phone.
* Frequently spoofed on ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'', usually when a character in the movie being skewered is holding a phone and looking worried about what they are hearing. For example, in the movie ''[[The Giant Spider Invasion]]'', when a NASA scientist is answering a phone call about giant alien spiders invading northern Wisconsin:
{{quote|'''Tom Servo:''' The calls are coming from inside NASA!}}
** Kevin Murphy continues this joke on [[Riff Trax]], as in this quote from one of ''[[Alien]]''{{'}}s many cat-seeking scenes.
{{quote|'''Kevin''': The cat noises are coming from '''''INSIDE THE CAT'''''!!!}}
* Spoofed on ''[[The State]]'', with the call {{spoiler|"coming from inside your pants. YOU'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF YOUR PANTS!!!"}}.
* Parodied on ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''. Ted, working out of his home, gets a call from his personal assistant saying he's sick and won't be coming in. Ted accepts it, but then notices on his cell phone's caller ID that the call came from
* Played straight in the ''[[Twilight Zone]]'' episode "The Living Doll", when a man receives a phone call from his daughter's evil doll, who threatens to kill him.
* Spoofed during ''[[The Daily Show]]'', when Jon announces his Rally to Restore Sanity only to have it be interrupted by Colbert over the phone. It takes Jon a minute or two to realize that Colbert is, in fact, calling from inside the studio. The punchline? They were talking on an [[Tin Can Telephone|aluminum can walky-talky]] the entire time.
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[Mass Effect]] 2'', the Normandy gets upgraded with the IFF of a Reaper to be able to pass through a Mass Relay that destroys every ship that attempts to pass through it. EDI notices a hidden transponder signal in the
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* ''[[
* ''[[Chopping Block
* Variations on this theme are a [[Running Gag]] in ''[[Sent From The Moon]]''.
* ''[[Mulberry]]'' had a variation during a story where [[Straw Feminist]] Jezebel slandered Jack on her website. Eventually, she starts replying to Jack's text messages ''before'' he sends them, causing Mulberry to exclaim that Jezebel's posts are coming from inside the house.
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