Have You Tried Calling the Illinois Phone Number from ‘Stranger Things?’

Stranger Things fans are in a type of way right now following the series finale of the long-running Netflix program. It concluded its run on December 31st, 2025, with a massive, two-hour conclusion, titled Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up, that dropped both on the streamer and in select theaters across the country for an exclusive engagement.

Easter eggs run amok in the show, and one caught my eye, and that of a southern Illinois journalist, for it has a local connection. If you're anything like me, you love calling phone numbers you find in movies. I remember the 2007 thriller Vacancy had a number that was "connected" to the fictional Pinewood Motel; I'd call it as a kid to creep myself out. The Will Ferrell comedy Semi-Pro also had a promotional phone number for those looking to get tickets to Tropics basketball games.

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An Illinois Phone Number in Stranger Things:

Freelance journalist Sarah Boyles, who covers the southern Illinois region, posted on Facebook that she caught wind of a local phone number being in the show Stranger Things. The phone number is that of Murray Bauman, played by Brett Gelman (who I actually interviewed back in 2024). Gelman's character was once an investigative journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times, and was a staple character from season two through the series' epilogue, serving as an investigator for a barrage of different cases.

Murray resides in Sesser, IL, and his phone number, included as an Easter egg in the show, reflects that. The phone number is 618-625-8313. Boyles asked her followers on Facebook if they'd be willing to call the number just to see what would happen. Catherine and I couldn't resist:

What Happens if You Call Murray Bauman:

If you call the phone number, you're immediately directed to Murray's "voicemail." He starts off the answering machine by saying if his mom is trying to reach him to call him on a specific date/time. He adds that if it's Joyce (as in Joyce Byers) calling, to continue to try and reach him.

But if it's any other "nimwit" who is calling, who thinks they're clever because they got his number, Murray tells us that we should know that'll the closest we'll ever get to him is "this prerecorded message." He ends the message by calling the dialer a "parasite." Following the "beep" is a message that says Murray's mailbox is full and cannot accept anymore messages.

It might not be much, but it's a fun little aside for those Stranger Things diehards. Like I said, I never fight the urge to call a phone number I see in a movie. One other quick diversion: in the mostly forgotten comedy 30 Minutes or Less, there's a phone number on the side of a building in a blink-and-you-miss-it scene. I decided to call it.

When the person answered, he was clearly disgruntled. Being the pissant teenager I was at the time I saw the movie, I said, "can I speak to Jesse Eisenberg?," one of the stars of the film. The guy scoffed and said, "if you're calling from that stupid movie, it's not real!" and hung up on me. I can't imagine how many calls that poor soul must've endured from curious parties like myself, who had nothing better to do.

Lastly, the aforementioned journalist, Sarah Boyles, compiled a list of Stranger Things phone numbers on her Facebook page, which you can view here!