I am a native New Jersyian and I grew up, and currently live, just 20 minutes away from the infamous ‘Watcher House.’ The house has been the recent center of cultural obsession due to Ryan Murphy’s newest adaptation of The Watcher on Netflix. The Netflix show is filled with drama and horror and the general basis of the show is accurate to the true events. Yet, the supernatural elements obviously differ rather far from the actual story of the Watcher House. If you’ve seen the show, or even if you’re just into creepy (and true) stories, then you may enjoy this account of the actual history of the Watcher House.
The infamous Watcher House is located in an affluent neighborhood in Westfield, New Jersey. The house originally got its fame after Derek and Maria Broaddus bought the home in 2014 and began renovating the house, including painting and redecorating. Before they even officially moved into the house, they received threatening letters in their mailbox signed by “The Watcher.”
One of the spookiest things about these letters is that they were only addressed to “The New Owners” with no actual street address. This means that whoever the writer was had to physically put the letters in their mailbox by hand. The first letter they received contained this quote:
“657 Boulevard is anxious for you to move in… Will the young blood play in the basement? Or are they too afraid to go down there alone? I would be very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream.”
The Broadduses were evidently freaked out. Imagine you just move into your dream house in a picturesque suburban neighborhood and not even three days after you buy the home you receive a handwritten note from a threatening stalker. I’d run screaming as far away from Westfield, NJ as I could. But, they decided to stay even after they continued receiving letters creepily detailing aspects of their lives, including their children. In my opinion, the most unsettling part about the letters was the author’s indication that he/she had been around for a very long time and would always be watching the house and harassing the owners. Apparently, the job of The Watcher had been passed down from person-to-person for over two decades.
“I pass by many times a day. 657 Boulevard is my job, my life, my obsession. And now you are too Braddus family.”
The couple worked with the police and lawyers to try and resolve the issue of The Watcher but to no avail. The story strays heavily from Ryan Murphy’s adaptation on Netflix because the Broadduses never even moved into the home while they were receiving the letters. Smart decision. Eventually, they decided to sell the home but with difficulty. The couple were transparent to buyers about The Watcher and the harassment they had incurred just because they bought this apparently significant house. The Broaddus family lost $400,000 in the sale of the home but they eventually sold it to an anonymous buyer. However, the story gets even more eerie because the police never discovered the identity of The Watcher. This means that he or she is likely still out there keeping close tabs on 657 Boulevard.