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Phantom Phone Calls

Phantom phone calls are a fascinating phenomenon that can happen to practically anyone. And although most ghost-related websites ignore this topic, I find it quite interesting and decided to gather some information on it, along with several specific cases.

Since the beginning of mobile phone usage (and, rarely, landlines), a large number of phantom calls have been recorded. These calls can be divided into three categories:

  1. Calls from the dead

  2. Calls from the living

  3. Calls from unknown sources

Calls from the Dead

Calls from the deceased are an unsettling experience. While they are not dangerous, they can certainly be very disturbing and would likely frighten most of us. Most of these calls occur before the recipient learns that the caller was already dead at the time of the call.

At first glance, these calls seem completely normal. The phone rings as usual, but the signal is very weak and there’s often heavy static during the call. The caller’s voice is usually unclear, and there's often an echo in the background. These calls are not recorded in the phone call logs by the carrier.

Most of these calls are short, usually under a minute. Occasionally, longer ones have been reported. It seems it is not easy for the deceased to make such contact. Often, the caller repeats just one phrase or a short sentence, such as "Mom, is that you?" The vast majority of these calls come from the newly deceased, usually not more than 24 hours dead. However, there are a few known cases involving people who had been dead for longer. These are the cases where the caller most often repeats a single short sentence over and over.

Calls from the Living

This may sound paradoxical, but phantom calls can also originate from living people. These are situations where the person supposedly making the call never actually placed it. The cause of such calls is still unclear, but they are often emergency-related.

In one documented case, a doctor received a call from his neighbor. She uttered a brief sentence asking for help. When he arrived at her home, she was already unconscious on the floor. Thanks to his timely arrival and medical intervention, her life was saved. The woman later claimed she had never made the call — though she had wanted to before losing consciousness, she hadn’t managed to do so.

Calls from Unknown Sources

This is the most common category. These are calls from sources that cannot be clearly identified as dead or alive. They are often associated with the UFO phenomenon. People receive calls from unknown numbers or numbers not recognized by any carrier. No voice is heard on the other end, just strange beeping, static, or the call ends immediately after answering.

What’s strange is that these calls tend to recur to the same people, even after they change their phone numbers.
John Keel, the author of The Mothman Prophecies, mentioned such phone calls in connection with sightings of UFOs and the Mothman.

Of course, there are phantom calls that don’t fit into any of these three categories. If something similar has ever happened to you, let us know.

Now, let’s look at some specific cases. Parapsychologists Scott Rogo and Raymond Bayless wrote an excellent book called Phone Calls from the Dead, which was based on two years of research and numerous witness testimonies. While most reports involve mobile phones, some witnesses were contacted on landlines by their deceased relatives.

Notable Cases

One of the most well-known phantom call cases occurred in 1969 in Montclair, New Jersey, involving a young rock musician Karl Uphoff. One day, Karl’s grandmother passed away. At the time, Karl was only 18 years old and deeply saddened by the loss. He wasn’t interested in anything paranormal and believed he’d never hear his grandmother’s voice again.

He was wrong.

One evening, while visiting a friend, the phone rang and an unknown woman asked to speak to Karl. He immediately recognized the voice of his deceased grandmother. Before he could ask how she was able to call him if she was dead, the line disconnected. But that wasn’t the last call. Karl received several more, and every time he asked how she could communicate or what the "other side" was like, the call abruptly ended. After a while, the calls stopped entirely.

A similar case happened to Mrs. Wilson in 1995. When she answered the phone, she recognized the voice of her deceased grandfather. He only said that he was doing well and loved his children. Then his voice slowly faded until only static remained. When Mrs. Wilson tried to trace the call, her carrier told her that the number didn’t exist.

Another strange case involved Chuck Peck, who died in a Los Angeles train crash on September 12, 2008. That same night, his fiancée, brother, and sister received calls from his number. When they answered, they only heard static. When they tried to call him back, the phone wouldn’t connect. These calls occurred around 3:30 AM — even though Chuck had already been dead for hours, and his phone had been completely destroyed in the crash.

Types of Phantom Calls (according to Rogo and Bayless):

  • Simple – the most common type. The caller usually says a few words, or just a short sentence or question, possibly repeating it multiple times.

  • Extended – in most cases, the living person doesn’t yet know that the caller has died. The conversation seems normal but is accompanied by weak signal and lots of static.

  • Intentional – these don’t involve the dead. Instead, they involve people who want to make a call but cannot. Yet the recipient still receives the call — such as the doctor who got a call from his unconscious neighbor. The voice often sounds robotic or barely comprehensible.

Is it possible that mobile phones or landline systems can somehow capture voices of the dead, or even process human thoughts?

Many experts remain skeptical, mainly because this phenomenon can’t be reliably proven. Unlike EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena), where the living tries to contact the dead, here the dead contact the living. The calls happen randomly and irregularly, making them almost impossible to prepare for. In theory, they could be recorded — but how many of us record our phone calls?