When it comes to the world of The Sims, most players fondly remember the quirky, whimsical, and sometimes slightly eerie moments that made the game feel alive. One of these memorable features—especially for players who experienced it as children—was the terrifying experience of receiving a prank call. These seemingly harmless phone calls, which could come at any time of day (but especially between midnight and 8:00 AM), often felt ominous and sent a chill down your spine, particularly when playing late at night.
In The Sims 1, prank calls weren’t just silly jokes—they carried an unsettling edge that could truly spook young players. Imagine your Sim, going about their day peacefully, only to be interrupted by a phone ringing in the middle of the night. You pick up the receiver, only to hear something cryptic and bizarre like, “Your energy use has just spiked. You’d better be careful,” or the spine-tingling, “The end is near. Make preparations.” For a child playing alone in a dimly lit room, these messages could feel as if the game knew something you didn’t—was something really going to happen to your Sim? What did they mean by “the end is near”?
These prank calls were more than a mere annoyance; they could wake up your Sims, disrupting their sleep and causing confusion or frustration depending on their personality. Serious or grouchy Sims might react angrily, while playful Sims would laugh it off. Children, often more susceptible to the weirdness, would either giggle at the strange message or look genuinely perplexed. But for real-life players, especially younger ones, these calls had the opposite effect—often stirring unease or making the game feel unexpectedly darker than it usually was.
One of the more notorious calls was, “You have been chosen. They will come soon.” It was a simple line, but for those of us who played the game without the full understanding of its mechanics, it seemed like something bad was about to happen. The fact that The Sims could incorporate such a random and creepy element gave the game an unpredictability that heightened its charm—and its occasional scariness.
Looking back, the prank calls in The Sims 1 were harmless. They never led to any real consequences, but the randomness and unsettling nature of their messages played perfectly into the minds of children (and adults!) who weren’t quite sure what was real and what was just a joke. The spooky mystique of prank calls made them one of those tiny, unforgettable quirks that gave The Sims its character and contributed to the game’s ability to surprise its players.
Next time you’re feeling nostalgic for those simpler, scarier times, remember the small details like prank calls. They remind us of the early days of The Sims, when the game was just as likely to make us laugh as it was to send a shiver down our spines.
And don’t forget the scariest prank call of all:
You can view all of the possible The Sims 1 Prank Calls at here.
And don’t forget to check out the Horror themed CC at The Sims Resource, by heading to our Halloween Collection!
