#288 The Babysitter

You know the movie When a Stranger Calls? The one about the babysitter who receives a creepy phone call, and the call is coming from inside the house? Well, it was LOOSELY, based on a true story. There have been countless stories, and probably even more film depictions of a teenage girl hired to babysit, and after the children have been put to bed, the babysitter is alone, watching a movie, doing homework, on the phone with a boyfriend, whatever.  Then the phone rings, the caller asks, something along the lines of “have you checked on the children lately”, the babysitter is scared. She locks the door, turns on the light to see if anyone is there, nothing. She eventually calls the police and once the call is traced, she's told the call is coming from inside the house. None of that happened in this story, but somehow this is the source of the urban legend of the babysitter. This is the story of Janett Christman.    Check out our other shows!: Cryptic Soup w/ Thena & Kylee Strange & Unexplained True Crime Guys YouTube EVERYTHING TRUE CRIME GUYS:   https://linktr.ee/Truecrimeguysproductions True Crime Guys Music: True Crime Guys Music on Spotify OhMyGaia.com Code: Crimepine Patreon.com/truecrimeguys Patreon.com/sandupodcast Merch: truecrimeguys.threadless.com     Sources: https://thoughtcatalog.com/christine-stockton/2021/07/the-call-is-coming-from-inside-the-house-horror-trope-is-based-on-a-sady-true-story/ https://medium.com/omgfacts/the-truth-behind-the-babysitter-the-man-upstairs-urban-legend-d41d1722c9e9 https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/news/politics/government/2010/03/07/who-killed-janett-christman/984978007/ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52836495/janett-christman/photo https://cindyparmiter.substack.com/p/a-babysitters-worst-nightmare-the https://truecrimearticles.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/the-unsolved-murder-of-janett-christman/

Episode 394 of the True Crime Guys podcast, hosted by True Crime Guys, titled "#288 The Babysitter" was published on September 18, 2025 and runs 33 minutes.

September 18, 2025 ·33m · True Crime Guys

Summary

You know the movie When a Stranger Calls? The one about the babysitter who receives a creepy phone call, and the call is coming from inside the house? Well, it was LOOSELY, based on a true story. There have been countless stories, and probably even more film depictions of a teenage girl hired to babysit, and after the children have been put to bed, the babysitter is alone, watching a movie, doing homework, on the phone with a boyfriend, whatever.  Then the phone rings, the caller asks, something along the lines of “have you checked on the children lately”, the babysitter is scared. She locks the door, turns on the light to see if anyone is there, nothing. She eventually calls the police and once the call is traced, she's told the call is coming from inside the house. None of that happened in this story, but somehow this is the source of the urban legend of the babysitter. This is the story of Janett Christman.    Check out our other shows!: Cryptic Soup w/ Thena & Kylee Strange & Unexplained True Crime Guys YouTube EVERYTHING TRUE CRIME GUYS:   https://linktr.ee/Truecrimeguysproductions True Crime Guys Music: True Crime Guys Music on Spotify OhMyGaia.com Code: Crimepine Patreon.com/truecrimeguys Patreon.com/sandupodcast Merch: truecrimeguys.threadless.com     Sources: https://thoughtcatalog.com/christine-stockton/2021/07/the-call-is-coming-from-inside-the-house-horror-trope-is-based-on-a-sady-true-story/ https://medium.com/omgfacts/the-truth-behind-the-babysitter-the-man-upstairs-urban-legend-d41d1722c9e9 https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/news/politics/government/2010/03/07/who-killed-janett-christman/984978007/ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52836495/janett-christman/photo https://cindyparmiter.substack.com/p/a-babysitters-worst-nightmare-the https://truecrimearticles.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/the-unsolved-murder-of-janett-christman/

Episode Description