11 Creepy Phone Numbers That

Actually Work (Halloween 2018)

October 15, 2018 by Lucia

Fact: I hate the telephone. I have trouble talking to

people when I can’t see who I’m talking to; I’d much
rather either speak face-to-face or converse in a text-

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 base medium. (I am a writer, after all.) But I’m willing to
make an exception for… shall we say, special cases: I am
more than willing to call creepy phone numbers that
actually work. It helps, of course, that most of these
creepy phone numbers don’t require that you actually
speak with anyone; when you dial them, you almost
always reach a voicemail box set to play a spooky
recording to anyone who rings. Still, though — I will
happily set aside my phone phobia in pursuit of that
delightful frisson one gets from a brush with the
unknown. Especially around Halloween.

[NOTE: Head here for an updated list of creepy phone

numbers that work, all of which are functional as of
February 2021!)]

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 Novelty hotlines are nothing new; indeed, I would argue
that their heyday occurred during the ‘80s and ‘90s, at
which time you could call everyone from Freddy
Krueger to the Ninja Turtles. Their popularity began to
wane during the 2000s — but interestingly, we’ve seen
them evolve in the years since, too. Thanks to free,
online tools like Google Voice, pretty much anyone with
internet access can set up a weird novelty number with
ease. What’s more, the draw of a novelty phone number

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 might even be stronger than ever — possibly because we
so rarely use our phones these days to actually, y’know,
make calls. Distance makes the heart grow fonder and
all.

[ Like what you read? Check out  Dangerous Games To

Play In The Dark,  available from Chronicle Books now! ]

Sadly, a good deal of formerly wonderful creepy phone

numbers are no longer in service (RIP, Call Carrie
White) — but I can attest to the fact that, as of Fall
2018, all of the numbers seen here are in working order.
I know, because I called every single one of them
myself. I am also, you might note, still alive and well, so
it’s… shall we say, unlikely that any of these numbers is
actually “cursed,” “haunted,” or otherwise dangerous to
call. They are, however, all based in the United States,
so you might want to be wary of long-distance charges
if you’re calling from somewhere else. Phone bills can

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 quickly become one of the most frightening things of
all.

So, if you’re feeling brave this Halloween season — or

any other time of year — try giving these numbers a
ring.

Who knows? Maybe you’ll get lucky.

Maybe one of them will call you back.

951-572-2602
Remember the SCP Foundation? This phone number is a
fun little Easter egg pegged to the fictional
organization. It’s basically a tip line: Upon calling, you’ll
be greeted with a recorded message informing you that
you’ve reached the Southern California, Division 19
branch of the Foundation and asking you to leave the
date, time, location, and description of an “incident”

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 you may have witnessed — an incident which you believe
requires the Foundation’s… unique skill set. The number
is based in Banning, Calif., which is located in Riverside
County just south of the San Bernardino National
Forest.

I don’t know if they call you back, though; I didn’t leave

a message. The strangest thing I’ve witnessed so far
today has been my cat running around the house like a
maniac for about 20 minutes before engaging in a
sudden and abrupt nap — which is perfectly normal
behavior for her and therefore did not require SCP
Foundation intervention.

Listen here.

408-634-2806
A lot of rumors surround this number, the freakiest of
which insists that it’s a so-called “red room number” — a
number which can allegedly be used to track down the

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 physical location of people who either call the number
themselves or answer calls they receive from it, after
which they are kidnapped, brought to a “red room,” and
tortured, killed, or both. These alleged torture
sessions/murders are said to be broadcast live over the
deep web.

I can assure you, however, that 408-634-2806 is not a

red room number. As far as I know, red room numbers
don’t even exist; they’re just an urban legend — a
legend which, notably, forms the premise of the of the
video game series  Welcome to the Game. Indeed, it’s
not even totally clear how the number 408-634-2806
gained a reputation for being a red room number in the
first place; the clearest link I’ve been able to find is still
tenuous: YouTube channel MKP Studios’ video on 408-
634-2806 starts out by likening it to an alleged red
room number they had previously called, but fails to
actually connect the two numbers in any meaningful
way.

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 So: If 408-634-2806 is not a red room number, what
the heck is it? Because it’s still really weird-sounding;
when you call it, you hear a recording of demonic
voices, someone saying “All’s well that ends well,” and a
spooky music box. It’s got to be connected to
something , right?

The answer is yes. It’s connected to the iOS game

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, which was
released by Capybara Games in 2011. At the end of the
game, you’re given a number that turns out to be this
phone number. It may have been part of an ARG
attached to the game that never quite took off, or it
may not have been; I don’t know that the meaning of
the message you hear when you call the number has
ever been “solved.”

Then again, maybe it doesn’t have to be. Also, it’s worth

noting that the message reportedly changed a few
times. Just, y’know… FYI.

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 Listen here.

828-756-0109
[NOTE: If you try this one, make sure you dial it
correctly. It’s 828-756-0109. A common misdial for this
one goes to a real person’s phone number. If you hear
anything  other than the message heard in the video
here, you’ve misdialed. Don’t bug the person, and don’t
be rude or obscene. But, again, ideally, check to make
sure you’ve entered the number correctly BEFORE you
hit the “call” button so as to avoid that whole situation
in the first place.]

This number is a true mystery. I can tell you where it’s

based (Marion, North Carolina, in McDowell County
about 85 miles west and slightly north of Charlotte); I
can tell you what you hear when you call it (some
earsplitting noises and a man’s voice frantically relaying
what sounds like a message coded in binary); I can even
tell you what the binary says when it’s been converted

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 into text (“death”); but I can’t tell you anything else. I
have no idea who made it, what it means, or what it may
or may not be connected to.

It’s super weird, though.

Listen here.

407-734-0254
If you call what is possibly my favorite find from the
research process for this post, you’ll reach a clown
named Wrinkles who lives in Naples, Fla. and will,
according to the Washington Post, “make an appearance
at your party or gathering, prank your friend, or even
scare your misbehaving kid straight” for the low, low
price of a few hundred bucks. Very little is known about
the man behind Wrinkles; he’s in his 60s, retired, and
originally from Rhode Island, but that’s all he’ll say to
reporters. He’s definitely got the evil clown market
cornered, though — and if you call this phone number,

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 you’ll get his voicemail. Leave him a message and he’ll
call you back.

Update, 11/11/19: More on Wrinkles here.

Listen here.

270-301-5797
Technically this one is a video game tie-in, but as one
Metafilter use put it, “You don’t have to know anything
about the game to appreciate the sheer oddity and
scope of what there is to listen to on this phone
number.” That game is Kentucky Route Zero, a magical
realist point-and-click adventure that’s been releasing
episodes periodically since 2013; episodes one through
four are live now, with the fifth and final episode
scheduled for release at some point in 2018. It’s
delightful — as are the auxiliary experiences developers
Jake Elliott and Tamas Kemenczy have been releasing
between episodes.

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 This phone number is one of those auxiliary
experiences. Called Here and There Along the Echo, the
phone tree you’ll reach if you dial 207-301-5797
purports to be “a guide to the Echo River for drifters
and pilgrims” provided by “the Bureau of Secret
Tourism.” It’s weird and surreal, yet also wonderfully
serene — and there’s plenty to explore as you dial your
way through the various menus to which it gives you
access. Pro tip: The first time you’re presented with
some options, dial 5.

If you’re into Welcome to Night Vale or the works of

David Lynch, you’ll probably dig both Kentucky Route
Zero and Here and There Along the Echo. Check ‘em
out.

Listen here.

786-519-3708

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 I’ll confess that I didn’t enjoy the actual gameplay of
Hotline Miami that much — I’m kind of, uh, not great at
top-down shooters — but the story and storytelling are
both A-plus; I’m also a sucker for interesting marketing,
and, well… this phone number and the message that was
placed on its answering machine in advance of the
release of Hotline Miami 2 definitely tick all those
boxes. Bonus points for the fact that the number is
actually a Miami number.

The 786-519-3708 phone number wasn’t new for

Hotline Miami 2 ; indeed, the Hotline Miami Twitter
account has been tweeting the number since 2012, prior
to the original game’s release in October of that year.
But in February of 2015, the number appeared with
some new context on the series’ Twitter feed: This time,
it included an extension number. What’s more, when
fans dialed the number, they found that a new message
recorded—the message that’s still there today. When
properly analyzed, the message combined with the
extension number (10) provided a full title and release
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 date for the second game in the series: Hotline Miami 2:
Wrong Number, to be released on March 10, 2015. And
that’s exactly what happened.

The voicemail message is short, but it’s still pretty

freaky to listen to; give it a call if you like.

Listen here.

858-651-5050
(NOTE: As of January 2021, this number no longer
works.)

“Fishing in a mountain stream is my idea of a good

time.”

“There was water in the cellar after the heavy rain.”

“Smoke poured out of every crack.”

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 “Those words were the cue for the actor to leave.”

These are the kinds of sentences you’ll hear if you dial

858-651-5050. They’re spoken by two people — one
with a male-sounding voice and one with a female-
sounding voice — who just sit there, intoning these
poetic yet meaningless messages for as long as you
choose to stay on the line.

However, there’s a perfectly rational explanation behind

this number: It’s a phone testing tool. The sentences,
known as Harvard sentences, were chosen for their
phonetic balance — that is, “the frequency of sounds in
these lists [match] that of natural language,” as Sarah
Zhang put it at Gizmodo in 2015; they “hit all the noises
a person would typically hear in a conversation.”
According to Ernie Smith writing at Motherboard,
calling this number allows phone companies to “ensure
the signal quality is strong” — that is, it’s the “can you
hear me now?” of phone tests.

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 It’s still weird, though. It’s the lack of context that
makes what you hear when you call the number kind of
unsettling.

Listen here.

630-296-7536
An oldie but goodie: 630-296-7536 is the original
Boothworld Industries phone number. To read the story
that launched a thousand phone calls, head here.

Listen here.

801-820-0263
Aaaand here’s the second Boothworld Industries phone
number. We’ve covered this one in depth before —
check it out here.

Listen here.

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 701-347-1936
(NOTE: As of January 2021, this number no longer
works.)

Like several other numbers on this list, this one is a

video game tie-in — this time for the infamous Five
Nights At Freddy’s series. It’s not clear whether the
number is canon or whether it’s fan made; either way,
though, it’s pretty unmistakably FNaf -related to those
familiar with the games: The voice we hear seems to be
a garbled version of Phone Guy, and about 32 seconds
in, the aria “Votre toast, je peux vous le render” from
the opera Carmen — colloquially known as the Toreador
Song — which signifies the approach of the Freddy
Fazbear animatronic in the game kicks in.

It is not, as some YouTube videos featuring the phone

number have suggested, a “cursed phone number” that
will make you behave erratically and/or kill you “within
24 hours of calling it.”

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 Whether or not you know the source material, though,
it’s still pretty spooky to listen to; give it a ring if you
want to see what the hubbub is all about.

Listen here.

978-435-0163
Perhaps the only number on this list that’s more cryptic
than the one featuring binary code that translates to
“death” is this one. If you call 978-435-0163, you’ll hear
a looped message of a man sobbing. He sounds like he’s
maybe in a cave or a sewer; there’s a lot of echo and
reverb, and it sounds kind of like something’s dripping
somewhere in the background. Oh, and periodically,
you’ll hear something screech — something that sounds
decidedly not human.

It’s a Massachusetts number — as a Massachusetts

native, I recognized that right off the bat — and it turns
out it’s registered in Billerica, a town not too far away

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 from where I grew up. But other than that, I know
nothing about this number — not who owns it, not what
the bigger story might be, not even exactly what’s
going on in it.

And that, I think, is the creepiest thing of all.

Listen here.

Oh, hey — gotta run. My phone is ringing.

Even though I’m, uh… not actually expecting any calls.

It’s probably fine.

Right?

Right.

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 Hang tight, okay? I’ll be right back.

…I hope.

***

***

Support The Ghost In My Machine on Patreon for

behind-the-scenes access and other bonus content.You
can also follow on Twitter @GhostMachine13 and
on Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine. And for more
games, don’t forget to check out  Dangerous Games To
Play In The Dark,  available now from Chronicle Books!

[ Photo via ISO_S_Fotografie/Pixabay ]

Filed Under: Tales

Tagged With: creepy phone numbers, cursed phone numbers,
Halloween 2018, phone number, telephone, telephone number

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 Comments

Cali says
February 18, 2021 at 8:27 am

DO NOT call these numbers. It is very scary and weird. I tried it with
my friend and it was so weird. Don’t call them.

Reply

Malory says
February 8, 2021 at 6:56 pm

Very creepy. Thanks for the info original poster and those who posted
some suggestions.
Anyone who calls, you might be too impressionable (or superstitious,
or young) for this or for horror movies. You’ll be fine except for
maybe some nightmares.

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 Awesome.

Reply

look for me says

February 8, 2021 at 11:11 am

they aren’t that bad once you get to know them

Reply

Tahleia Mccloud says

January 29, 2021 at 4:44 pm

I almost tried every number and at least 9/11, someone picked up. I
hope I don’t die. 🥺😰😖

Reply

Meat pie says

January 29, 2021 at 12:48 am

Too many people blew up Wrinkles’ phone, it no longer goes through

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 Reply

Lucia says
March 2, 2021 at 3:01 pm

It still works as of March 2021 – it goes to his voicemail. Try again;

you may have dialed incorrectly.

Reply

Lolford says
August 2, 2020 at 11:38 pm

“I called this and I hope I don’t die now.”

All of those comments keep reminding me of the Darwin Awards. 😛

Reply

Corah says
May 22, 2020 at 2:39 pm

Omg, I just left a voice mail to the clown thing saying”I Um would like
to set up a party” and I’m so scared if it will call me back. Idk if it will

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 acc call me back.😭😭😭

Reply

Toxicbomber_ says
April 18, 2020 at 10:01 pm

Does anyone know any other scary phone numbers to share?

Reply

Katie says
March 31, 2020 at 4:50 am

I’m in Australia! Lucky me, so these don’t work for me.

Anyone know any cursed numbers you can dial in Australia?

Reply

Meat pies says

January 29, 2021 at 12:47 am

All I did was just put +1 at the start

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 Reply

George says
March 20, 2020 at 9:17 pm

I did the 2703015797 one and wrote down the numbers. In code, it
says A greenish sphere appears. Do you think the person was going to
get attacked. That would explain why at the end he was trying to hurry
up and finish the numbers.

Reply

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