The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs

One of the most popular urban legends ever told is “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs.”

As the legend is told, a teenager is asked to baby sit two young children for the night. At one point, she gets a strange phone call by a man telling her to “mind the children.”

Thinking it was a prank, the babysitter does nothing at first. After a short while, the phone rings and again, a man is on the other end telling her to mind the children. Fear sets in for the babysitter, so she calls the police and tells the operator that she’s getting freighting phone calls from a stranger. The operator asks the babysitter to try and keep him on the line the next time he calls in order for the police to trace where the call is coming from.   

The next time he calls, the babysitter tries to keep him on the line, but he hangs up. A second later, the operator calls back with the horrifying news that the calls are being made from inside the house. Just then, the babysitter hears footsteps walking down the stairs and she makes a break for the front door.  

When the police arrive, they discover a man brandishing a butcher’s knife. He had killed the two children and apparently was ready to kill the babysitter next.  

Like most urban legends, this tale has different versions. In some, the man kills the babysitter and in others she saves the children. But all of them deliver the same warning: Mind the children or harm will be done to them. 

This urban legend was made into a 2006 movie called, “When a Stranger Calls.” The movie follows the original storyline in that a man harasses the babysitter from inside the house until she eventually attempts her escape.