16 People Who Answered the Phone and Got a Story That Sounds Like Fiction

We all know how an unexpected call can turn a quiet, ordinary day upside down. Sometimes it’s about something your relatives have pulled off, sometimes a stranger shares something extraordinary, and other times we accidentally find out something very important. The heroes of this article had the most unusual calls in their lives and shared these stories online.

• Saturday, early morning, I wake up from a call from an unknown number, pick up the phone and hear something like: “Hello, I’m closing a video rental store and collecting videotapes that haven’t been returned to me. So, on October 21, 2004, you rented a zombie movie. Can you return it today?” I thought it was some stupid prank, hung up, and forgot about it.
  A couple of weeks later, I was tidying up the apartment and accidentally unearthed a VCR in the closet, and under it — a whole box of VCRs, including one with zombie movies. I called back, apologized, went to the store and returned it. I have only 2 questions: how did it survive so long? And why does he need that tape? © Ward № 6 / VK
• Usually, I don’t pick up calls from unknown numbers, but I was in the mood, decided to answer and chat. A girl said, “Tim, my husband is away, should I wait for you today?”
  I then regretted not being Tim, but replied, “Sure, I’ll be at your place at 8.” The girl asked what I would be eating, and I replied — as always. The call ended there, and I went back to work.
  I get home in the evening and receive a call from the same girl asking where I am. I reply that I’m at home. She’s confused. “Why are you at home and not with me?” And I’m like, “You didn’t give me your address!”
  Silence on the line. Apparently, she started suspecting something. “Tim, is that you?” “No, I’m Max, but I can be Tim if necessary!” But the girl hung up and never called back. © Work Stories / VK
• Ring. A woman on the other end asks:
  — Who are you?
  — And you?
  — I’m Mr. Brown’s wife.
  I recognize the voice of my neighbor, a sweet elderly lady.
  — Mrs. Brown, it’s me (say my name and surname).
  — What kind of relationship do you have with my husband? Why is your number in his phone?
  It would be nothing, but her husband is almost a hundred years old. That’s how I was suspected of trying to steal a grandpa from his lawful wife. © Overheard / Ideer

• The phone call that stands out most in my mind is the one I received while I was waiting in the airport for my flight. I had gone through a second round of security screening right at the gate and was killing time in the secure area.
  My phone rang, I picked it up, and all I heard was a computerized voice saying, “Goodbye.” A fraction of a second later, alarms started sounding and lights started flashing. I was a little freaked out, admittedly!
  Turns out, an airport employee went through an incorrect door. As for the call, I’m pretty sure it was just an automated telemarketer-type phone call. Weird timing though! © friendofpyrex / Reddit
• My boyfriend and I rented an apartment, everything was fine, but we really wanted a dog. We took in a tiny, quiet, smart stray from a shelter. Of course, we didn’t tell the landlord. We thought we’d live for a while and then come up with something.
  But the neighbors ratted us out, and a week later, the landlord stormed in like a hurricane, yelled at us, and kicked us out. We were in shock, running around responding to ads, facing refusals everywhere. We lived out of suitcases, struggling financially, sleeping in turns at friends’ places wherever we could. The little dog stayed with us the whole time, cuddling up to us as if she understood her fate was hanging by a thread.
  And then, as we were sitting in the park, seriously considering giving her up, our hearts were breaking because she already felt like ours. Just then, a call came in. It was the former landlord.
  He said, “I’m sorry. Please come back. The ones without a dog trashed my apartment in 2 weeks.” We were nearly in tears with joy. © Not everyone will understand / VK

• Last spring, I tweeted something to the effect of, “I wish I could do my homework outside, but there’s nowhere to plug my laptop into.” Almost immediately after, I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize, with a creepy voice saying, “We’ve got outlets in the treeeees.” © Unknown author / Reddit
• I’m sitting at home, minding my own business, and suddenly there’s a phone call. I pick up. And there: “Hello, this is the registry office, we want to inform you that your application has been reviewed and approved, your marriage registration will take place on February 25 at 9:00 a.m., congratulations.”
  I was speechless, looking at my boyfriend, and he’s laughing, saying through his chuckles, “Will you marry me?” © Palata 6 | Anonymous Stories / Telegram
• I was at work. A call from my wife, I picked up the phone, and there was a man’s voice, “Good afternoon. Nick? Your wife is currently in the 26th hospital, can you come?”
  Without asking anything, I rushed over. Found her, and I see she’s sitting there in a cast. I asked what happened.
  She, lowering her eyes, quietly said, “I was ju-u-umping.” — “Jumping where, why? What on earth is going on?” — “I was jumping from the sofa to the chair, pretending there was lava below...” © Palata 6 | Anonymous Stories / Telegram

• I have a friend I had lost touch with for a number of years, and we end up friending each other on Facebook. I rarely go to Facebook, but it happened that I spotted him, and so I had given him my number. About 3 months later, I get a call, and the person says, “This is Dave.” We start talking and catching up.
  So this goes on for 45 minutes. Now not everything was completely accurate, when he asked if I was still living in the same city, he was one city over from where I was, but my friend was never all that accurate to begin with.
  Finally, he asks about my girl. I said, “She is doing great.” He says, “You know, you should marry her!” I said, “Well, I did, don’t you remember, it was 8 years ago.”
  There is silence on the other end and then he says “Frank?” We spoke for 45 minutes and didn’t realize it was a wrong number. © Unknown author / Reddit
• One day I got a call, and because of being busy, I postponed it. Afterwards, I received a message from an unknown number, with a woman in the avatar, and it listed a phone number, a name, and something else.
  I had encountered similar scammers before, so I just wrote some very harsh words and was about to block the contact when I got a message, “Sorry, we wanted to know how you’re feeling after the surgery. All the best.”
  At that moment, I was stunned. I didn’t recognize the doctor in the avatar, who I was yet to meet. I almost started apologizing, but what’s the use? They blocked me. It was very embarrassing. © Overheard / Ideer
• It was on my 20th birthday, and I wasn’t surprised at all when an unknown number called around midnight. A woman was crying, talking about how they’re a family with 2 kids, and how could I take away her husband, whom she loves very much. She talked for about half an hour. I listened.
  And only when she had said everything and calmed down did I tell her that she had dialed the wrong number. The woman was embarrassed, apologized, and hung up. Somehow, I think she never dared to make a second call... © Overheard / Ideer

• Yesterday, I got a call from someone whose call I had been waiting for 2.5 years ago. It was a chance meeting on a bus. I was traveling after work, and a young man sat next to me. He asked to use my phone to call his mom because his phone had died.
  He called, and from the conversation, I realized he asked his mom to meet him at the stop with money for the fare, as he had forgotten his wallet at work. He finished the conversation, thanked me, flashed a lovely smile, and got off after 5 stops while I continued on. I really liked the guy back then and was sure he’d call.
  Well, he did call — but 2.5 years later, and now I’m already married. And he called, saying, “Hi, do you still remember me? I’m the guy you let use your phone. Maybe we could meet up?”
  Alas, I had to disappoint him. Seems I’m just too flighty to wait for 2.5 years. © Work Stories / VK
• Today, I got a phone call. It was my former classmate from school who was notorious as a bully and troublemaker, really tormenting many kids in school and the class. Back then, I was his “favorite” just because I wore glasses.
  But today, he called me, even though we haven’t talked all these years, and apologized for all his misdeeds. Turns out, his son is being bullied at school by a kid just like my classmate used to be. Only now did he realize how terrible his actions had been back then. © Chamber No. 6 | Anonymous Stories / Telegram
• I am a sales manager at a small online store. We operate within our city, so we have a courier. One morning, I received a phone call from one of our regular customers, and she told me that our courier had sent her a message, like “I’m so sorry! I won’t be able to deliver your order today because my beloved fish just died.” Now I have to find a new courier. © Work Stories / VK

• There was a time when an unknown number kept calling me. I would pick up, but there would be either silence or laughter. It was creepy. They could call up to 30 times in a row.
  I saved the number in my phone as “Weirdo” and stopped answering. Eventually, the calls stopped.
  A year later, I visited my aunt. She asked me to call her husband and recited the number. Then I dial “Weirdo” and realize it was my uncle. The guy’s 35 years old. © Caramel / VK
• On Monday, I’m doing my work in peace when I get a call from my wife. She’s nearly shouting that the cat broke our laptop, she doesn’t know what to do, and most importantly, she was typing a report before the laptop went dark. It went dark because the cat decided to nap on the keyboard while my wife was making tea in the kitchen.
  My wife asks for help, but how can I assist from a distance? I start giving advice over the phone. I tell her different combinations that might revive the laptop, but nothing works. My wife gets even more frustrated and hangs up.
  An hour later, another call. “As usual, I did everything myself!” — “And how did you do it?” — “Oh, simple! I put the fluffy beast back on the laptop keyboard, it fidgeted with something, and everything started working!” We have quite the lively family, to say the least! © Work Stories / VK

Have you had an interesting story that started with an unexpected phone call? Share it in the comments below! And check out this article about wrong number calls that took an unexpected turn.