A Lesson for the Babysitter..

No one is exactly sure when it originated, but is believed to have started in the 1960's. Teenagers weren't as responsible as they are now so babysitting was a big deal then. The story was to show that the teenager wasn't only responsible for herself but the children too and she failed to prove herself. She was more concerned about herself to even try to save the children. Watching television could have also been a reason she hadn't known anyone had broken in because she was too absorbed in it. So not only can you use this to scare your children, you can scare your own babysitter into doing their job! There are many ways you can analyze this urban legend.

As the legend goes, a teenage girl is hired by a young couple to babysit their children for the first time. The couple leaves to go to a dinner party. The teenager is to watch the children in a large, somewhat, isolated house. The couple does not expect to be back until late.

In some variations the children are already in bed when she gets there. She is mostly their only so they won't be alone in the house. Another variation is that the children are awake when she arrives. They watch TV until their bedtime and she puts them to sleep.

As the night progresses the teenager continues to watch television, dozing off occasionally. She is jerked completely awake once the phone rings. She answers it only to hear one of two things; heavy breathing and creepy laughter. He says one thing to her that also varies in different stories. The man either tells her that he is coming for her or that he is upstairs with the children. Of course the teenager is frightened but she hangs the phone up and dismisses the phone call as a prank call.


After a short while the phone rings again. He repeats what he says earlier, scaring the girl further. She finally decides to call the police. They tell her it's probably nothing to worry about but they will try to trace the call anyway. They tell her that if he calls again to keep him on the line as long as possible. She is a bit unnerved as she sits back on the couch. She was one hundred percent awake now.

Once again the mystery guy calls her. Instead of hanging up she tries to keep him on the line. She tries to get answers out of him but he eventually hangs up on her. Finally something pops into her head and tells her it would probably be a good idea to check on the children.


As she heads to the stairs the phone once again rings. She answers, expecting the heavy breathing but instead hears the voice of a frantic officer.

"Get out of the house. The man is inside the house. Leave immediately!"

Terrified the girl quickly flees the house. The police arrive not that long after. The man had gotten away. They found the children murdered in their beds. A bloody axe was found by an open window. If the teenager had went to check on the kids she would have been killed as well.

The fact that the man was able to get away is never missed. He is free to terrorize other people which is why this urban legend is so creepy. They never caught him. Who knows who his next victim could be...