'You Know I Will Be Watching': All About the New Jersey Home that Inspired 'The Watcher'

In 2014, a married couple bought what was supposed to be their dream home at 657 Boulevard in the idyllic suburb of Westfield, N.J. But no one could have guessed what would happen once they completed their purchase — and their plight is chronicled on Netflix's newest series The Watcher.

Derek and Maria Broaddus bought the stunning six-bedroom Dutch colonial home for $1.3 million dollars with plans of renovating it for their family. But before they could move in, ominous letters began to arrive in the mail. The first one was addressed to "The New Owner."

Initially the correspondence started out innocently by welcoming the family to the neighborhood, but it quickly took a dark turn.

"My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s," the letter read. "It is now my time. Do you know the history of the house? Do you know what lies within the walls of 657 Boulevard? Why are you here? I will find out."

The letter also mentioned the contract workers the Broadduses had hired to renovate the home.

"I see already that you have flooded 657 Boulevard with contractors so that you can destroy the house as it was supposed to be. Tsk, tsk, tsk … bad move. You don't want to make 657 Boulevard unhappy," the typed letter read.

The anonymous letter writer continued and asked if there were more children on the way for the couple, who already had three children. "Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? Better for me," they wrote.

The letter ended with a line foreshadowing that more letters would soon arrive: "Welcome my friends, welcome. Let the party begin," it read. The letter was signed "The Watcher."

Derek — who was at the house alone when he read this letter — called the police, but authorities couldn't do anything for him at the time.

The next morning, Derek and Maria contacted the previous owners of the home. They said they'd received a letter shortly before they moved out of the home — but it was the only time they were sent a letter from "The Watcher" in more than two decades of living at the home.

Two weeks after the Broaddus family received the first letter, another one — which was a bit more personal — arrived. This letter addressed Derek and Maria directly, calling them "Mr. and Mrs. Braddus" and misspelling their last name. The creepy letter writer was proud to announce that they now knew the children's names as well.

"I am pleased to know your names now and the name of the young blood you have brought to me," the second letter read.

One especially chilling excerpts of the letter read: "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."

Another read: "All of the windows and doors in 657 Boulevard allow me to watch you and track you as you move through the house. Who am I? I am the Watcher and have been in control of 657 Boulevard for the better part of two decades now."

The writer ended the second letter with the creepy line, "You know I will be watching," before signing off once again as "The Watcher."

When the couple stopped bringing their children to the home and then halted their moving-in plans, a third letter arrived. "Where have you gone to? 657 Boulevard is missing you," The Watcher wrote.

With no idea of who The Watcher could be, the couple began their own investigation. Derek set up cameras and hired a private investigator, but answers remained elusive. Instead of moving into the home, the family rented it out for two and a half years after purchasing it. The third letter also mentioned the renter — and it was full of threats of revenge, too:

"Maybe a car accident. Maybe a fire," the newest letter read. "Maybe something as simple as a mild illness that never seems to go away but makes you fell sick day after day after day after day after day. Maybe the mysterious death of a pet. Loved ones suddenly die. Planes and cars and bicycles crash. Bones break."

The Broaddus' went to great lengths trying to figure out who the eerie letter writer was, and although they had plenty of theories — including neighbors — they never did discover The Watcher's identity. The frightening letters were enough to make the family regret their purchase.

The Broaddus' owned the house at 657 Boulevard for five years, but they never lived there. In 2019, they sold the home for $400,000 less than they originally purchased it for.

To this day, The Watcher remains anonymous. Nobody knows if the letter writer is still out there, watching over 657 Boulevard.

The Watcher is now streaming on Netflix.