Not all houses are haunted by ghosts. In the case of the Westfield Watcher house, its ghoul was a phantom stalker. And that’s the reason I included it in the “Cases of Creepy Haunted Houses” episode of the Haunting American True Crimes season of the podcast. The story is creepy AF.
But is it a true story?
Some might argue that’s debatable and the Broaddus family concocted the whole thing.
Why?
Who knows, but all was copasetic with the house at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey until they bought the over 100-year-old Dutch colonial in 2014.
The Letters
Derek and Maria Broaddus allege they received menacing, disturbing letters signed by “The Watcher.” The first one came shortly after they closed on the house.
Among the questions in that first letter addressed to “The New Owner” was: “How did you end up here?” and “Did 657 Boulevard call to you with its force within?”
More letters arrived and got worse because they got more personal and focused on their three children.
They contained things that would surely strike fear in any parent’s heart:
“Once I know their names I will call to them and draw them too me.”
“Have you found all of the secrets it holds yet? 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.”
“Will they sleep in the attic? Or will you all sleep on the second floor? Who has the bedrooms facing the street?”
“I’ll know as soon as you move in. It will help me to know who is in which bedroom. Then I can plan better.”
The Watcher Series
While re-familiarizing myself with the story for the podcast, I learned it had taken a surprising twist. Well, several of them.
A list of suspects was compiled, unfounded accusations were thrown around, which led to lawsuits, surveillance, surreptitious retrieval of DNA samples to test against that found on the envelopes containing the letters, and, finally, a surprising sale related to the house but not of it.
Or maybe it wasn’t all that surprising, given the culture we live in. It’s all about having a story, and the best ones are sold to the highest bidder.
As I talked about in the “Bits & Pieces Bonus Episode,” in the case of the Broaddus family, they sold theirs to Netflix.
According to What’s on Netflix, the streamer acquired the rights a month after The Cut published Reeves Wiedman’s story about the case called “The Watcher” in 2018.
And that’s what the Netflix series about the Westfield Watcher house will be called too. The Watcher.
The Watcher Release Date
No word on a release date yet, but IMDB does list it as 2022.
Who’s producing the Westfield Watcher Netflix series?
It’s being guided under the very capable hands of Ian Brennan (Glee, Scream Queens, Ratched) and his long-time collaborator Ryan Murphy (who has worked on the same shows as Brennan but whose name is almost synonymous with American Horror Story).
Both know a thing or two about creating series with creepy storylines. I’m excited to see what they do with the Westfield Watcher series for Netflix.
One thing’s for sure, they’ve landed a killer cast. Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale have signed on to play the tormented homeowners Maria and Derek Broaddus. Other big-name stars include Mia Farrow and Jennifer Coolidge.
Westfield Watcher Case Remains Unsolved
The interesting thing to point out is that, as LAD Bible put it, the case still remains unsolved and The Watcher’s identity is still unknown.
Unless it was Derek or Maria Broaddus all along, as some of the people interviewed in Lauren Evans’ The Gothamist article contend.
But we’ll likely never know and this case will do one of two things: Either the Netflix series will cement the Westfield Watcher case as legendary American folklore, or it will fade into the annals of weirdness with time.
Check-In
Would you rather live in a house haunted by a ghost or a stalker?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, as well as obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of healing, to learn how she channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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I’d much rather live in a house haunted by a ghost because I think most ghosts are either residual or souls just hanging around, trying to figure things out before moving on.
Umm…egg on my face a little. I thought this question sounded familiar when I typed it but didn’t remember asking it before. (But that’s not saying much. I barely remember what I ate for breakfast most days!) However, your answer reminded me I asked something similar when I wrote about the phrogging movie. And good on you because you still answered and were consistent if memory serves right. Which, we’ve already covered that so… lol