The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs(Marae Richard)

The Baby-Sitter and the Man Upstairs”

Legend Summary:

There was a girl who lived in Montreal. She was babysitting three boys one night. Later that night, after all the boys were put to bed, the girl decided to watch t.v.  That’s when the phone rang, and when she answered, she heard a guy laughing on the other end. She tried questioning him but he didn’t answer and hung up. Fifteen minutes later the phone rang again, and it was the same thing, a guy laughing over the phone. She then decided to call the phone operators and explain her situation. She was told if it happened again to keep the call long enough to be traced. Again, fifteen minutes later he calls. After he hangs up, the operator tells her to get out of the house because the man is upstairs. When she made it outside to call the police, they had learned that all three children were murdered.

History:

This urban legend is based on a crime that happened on March 18th, 1950. Janet Christman who was 13 was babysitting 3 year old Gregory Romack in his home in Columbia, Missouri. Between the time of putting the kid to bed and 1:30, which is when Romacks parents got back home, Christman had been murdered. When the parents arrived home, both doors had been unlocked and the side window was shattered. They found Christman by the piano, on a shag carpet, in an excessive amount of blood. The police discovered she had been beaten, abused, strangled, with several holes on her head that mimic that of a mechanical pencil. The main suspect was 27 year old Robert Mueller who was never charged. This crime still remains unsolved. In the coming years many stories have been told that are similar to this crime. That consists of the more common published version of a Canadian boy who was said to have heard it from a friend, who’s brother’s girlfriend was the babysitter murdered. This was in 1973. These rather yet unhinged stories have also led to comical events. There is a version of “The Baby-Sitter and the man Upstairs” which was in 1976 from Arizona. The difference in this one is when the police got to the house to investigate, they found a kid with a tape recorder. They then learned that boy was told to do this by another kid down the street. The kid did this to keep the parents from going out and having a babysitter. Of all of the different versions, they all consist of the same main points. The kids being up upstairs, the babysitter watching tv, the calls, the phone being traced, and the kids being murdered.

Adaptations:

There are many adaptations of this legend. One was made into a movie. The name of the movie is “When a Stranger Calls”. The original movie was made in 1979 but there was a remake of the movie in 2006. In the 1979 version Jill is babysitting a young boy. Late at night when the kids are sleeping she gets a strange call to check on the children. He calls several times. She decided to call the phone operator. They told her to keep him on the line until they could trace the call. When he hung up the last time the operator told her the call was coming from upstairs and to get out of the house. When the police arrive, they learn the two kids have been murdered. Seven years later while Jill is out with her husband, the restaurant gets a call for Jill and it’s the same voice as from before. When they get home the children are okay. Later that night Jill recognizes a candy in her sons room that she didn’t leave there. When she runs to get her husband she finds the intruder, and he tries to kill her. Her husband then shoots the intruder. In the 2006 version, Jill goes to babysit to pay off her phone bill. When she arrives at the house, the kids are asleep. She started getting weird phone calls and realized the caller was watching her. When she calls the police, they tell her when he calls again they will try to trace the call. She then realizes that stance things are also happening inside the house. The police call her and inform her the calls are coming from inside the house. She searches for the kids, and in doing so finds many of her friends dead. After running and hiding she stabs his hand into wood. She later wakes up and has a hallucination of the killer standing behind her in the mirror.

Analysis of Adaptations:

This legend is executed with many very important parts. For one the phone call. The phone call is very important because, not only is she being harassed inside a place that is supposed to be safe, but with the important means of communication. Especially at that time in age. Phones were new and became one of the most important valuables a person could have. Another important part played in this legend is how the women are still being controlled by a male. Much like how women in our society have always been considered the lesser group. That men were held to a better standard than women. With that being said, it also points out how the entire time the kids were being murdered, the girl was downstairs watching the television. And it makes you really think how could you miss kids being murdered upstairs. This contributes to the ideas that women at the time might not be responsible enough to take on more responsibilities. And out of things, it expresses a parent but more importantly a mothers worst nightmare. Coming home and finding that your children had been murdered while they were out. All in all if this legend came out at a different point in time. It may not have the same effect as it did when the legend first emerged.

Work Cited:

When A Stranger Calls (1979) - Plot - IMDB. (n.d.). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080130/plotsummary/

When A Stranger Calls (2006) - Plot - IMDB. (n.d.). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455857/plotsummary/

Scary Short Stories - The Babysitter And The Man Upstairs - Wattpad. (n.d.-b). https://www.wattpad.com/31156076-scary-short-stories-the-babysitter-and-the-man