History Main / PhoningThePhantom

In stories with ghosts or fairies or other things that only certain people can see or hear, an extremely common source of comedy is how absolutely ridiculous and awkward this looks to everyone else. There have been far too many protagonists who forget who they're talking to and make hilariously out-of-context outbursts seemingly out of nowhere while surrounded by strangers.

A handful of characters, however, have discovered an interesting solution. Because there's already a perfectly understandable situation where humans talk to people no-one else can see or hear: when they're on the phone.

* Subverted in ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu''. When Tim is in a coffee shop with Pikachu, who to everyone else sounds like a [[PokemonSpeak normal Pikachu who can't say anything but his own name]], he pulls out his phone in an attempt to avoid getting funny looks like before, but gives up when he realizes the stuff they're talking about is still more than weird enough to get him funny looks from the other patrons.

* Dave is surprised to get a phone call from John after John has (temporarily) died in the ''middle'' of ''Literature/JohnDiesAtTheEnd''. Exasperated, John points out the the phone call isn't real, the [[PhlebotinumPills Soy Sauce]] they took the day before is allowing them to communicate. He illustrates this by switching his voice from the cell phone to a hot dog that Dave is holding, but then he forgets how to switch back, so Dave spends the afternoon walking around holding a hotdog to his head.

** In season 2 episode 4, "What Price, Gloria?", while Sam is on a double-date, he uses a public phone near the restrooms to explain why he's talking to the {{Hologram}}, Al. He's interrupted partway through the conversation and pretends he was talking to his mother. Al can [[InvisibleToNormals usually]] only be seen by Sam.

** Also done at the very beginning of an episode, when Sam leaps into a bounty hunter (still handcuffed to his mark) who's already making a phone call in a cabin. Sam pretends making another call and asks for Al to brief him on this case.

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* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfWiglafAndMordred'' has the haunted sword Grace, whose spirit can only be seen and heard by its owner. At one point Grace insists that the owner look at the sword and not the spirit, because it makes him look like ''less'' of a nutcase.

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* Subverted in ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu''. When Tim is in a coffee shop with Pikachu, who to everyone else sounds like a [[PokemonSpeak normal Pikachu who can't say anything but his own name]], he pulls out his phone in an attempt to avoid getting funny looks like before, but gives up when he realizes the stuff they're talking about is still more than weird enough to get him funny looks from the other patrons.
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->'''Jackman:''' How can ''[[SplitPersonality you]]'' be phoning me?\\

* In ''Series/{{Ghosts}}'', the ghost Kitty tries to engage the living Alison in conversation during a party. Alison tries to tell Kitty that she can't talk to her by talking into her phone, but Kitty doesn't realize she's talking to her until Alison explains the next morning.

* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo'', Diavolo and Doppio are SplitPersonalities sharing the same body. When Doppio is in control of the body, Diavolo communicates with him by "calling" him on a conveniently nearby phone. Diavolo's extreme paranoia and efforts to hide his identity suggest this method is to look less suspicious, though it's never directly said. In a twist, however, Doppio appears to believe that these are actual phone calls; he uses obviously broken phones, toy phones, random objects, and (at one point) a live frog, always treating them as if they are actual, functional phones.

* Georgia uses this on several occasions to talk to sentient skeleton Sid when she's carting him (or portions of him) around in public in ''Literature/FamilySkeletonMysteries''.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Subverted in ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu''. When Tim is in a coffee shop with Pikachu, who to everyone else sounds like a [[PokemonSpeak normal Pikachu who can't say anything but his own name]], he pulls out his phone in an attempt to avoid getting funny looks like before, but gives up when he realizes the stuff they're talking about is still more than weird enough to get him funny looks from the other patrons.

The plan is simple: grab a phone or stick a headset in your ear, and then just talk to your inaudible friend while pretending they're the person on the other end of the call. Presto! Suddenly you don't look like a total weirdo who's talking to an imaginary friend.

* In one episode of ''Series/BeingHumanUS'', Josh, a werewolf, is sitting on his front porch with Sally, a ghost who only other supernatural creatures can see. When she starts trying to talk to him, he pulls a headset out and puts it in his ear before he starts replying, explaining that it's so nobody thinks he's insane.

--> '''Jackman''': How can ''[[SplitPersonality you]]'' be phoning me?
--> '''Hyde''': ''Jesus''! I'm ''not'' phoning you, I'm ''in your head''! ...Keep the phone at your ear! People will think we're ''schizo''!

A handful of characters, however, have discovered an interesting solution. Because there's already a perfectly understandable situation where humans talk to people no one else can see or hear: when they're on the phone.

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* In ''Series/{{House}}'' season 5, episode 22, "A House Divided", Dr. House has started consulting his hallucination of [[spoiler: deceased former fellowship applicant Amber Volakis]] for assistance in his diagnoses -- he reasons that the hallucination is a manifestation of his subconscious and has access to information he's consciously forgotten. In order to not draw attention to himself, he clips on a Bluetooth headset so he can freely talk with the hallucination.

* In episode 2 of "Series/{{Jekyll}}", Hyde figures out how to telepathically talk to Dr. Jackman even while Jackman is in control. He first does this by manipulating Jackman's senses to think that Katherine is calling him before revealing it's all in his head, but when Jackman tries to put the phone down, Hyde yells at him to keep it to his ear because the entire point of that ruse was so they could talk without anyone thinking Jackman was crazy.

* ''Series/QuantumLeap'': In season 2 episode 4, "What Price, Gloria?", While Sam is on a double-date, he uses a public phone near the restrooms to explain why he's talking to the {{Hologram}}, Al. He's interrupted partway through the conversation and pretends he was talking to his mother. Al can [[InvisibleToNormals usually]] only be seen by Sam.
--> '''Al''': Calling somebody we know?
--> '''Sam''': You. So we can talk and I won't look like a lunatic.