The Watcher true story

2022 - 10 - 14

The Horrifying True Story Behind Netflix's <i>The Watcher</i> (TIME)

In the series, streaming now, Dean and Nora Brannock (played by Bobby Cannavale and Naomi Watts) move to an idyllic New Jersey neighborhood where they assume ...

Former students claimed to The Cut that he had talked in his classes about the obsession he had with a home in Westfield and had written at least 50 letters to not the owners, but the home itself. In October, New York Magazine’s [The Cut](https://www.thecut.com/2022/10/the-watcher-657-boulevard-update.html) reported that when the new owners moved in, the Broadduses gave them a note via their real estate attorney: “We wish you nothing but the peace and quiet that we once dreamed of in this house.” They also included a photo of The Watcher’s handwriting just in case any new letters arrived. [the Broadduses sold the home](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/09/nyregion/the-watcher-house-sold-new-jersey.html) for $959,000, resulting in a $400,000 loss for a house they never lived in. The new letter was more aggressive than the previous three with the writer complaining about the media attention the Broadduses had brought to “my neighborhood,” but celebrated how the locals had “saved the soul of 657 Boulevard with my orders.” The Watcher even threatened revenge on Derek and Maria, seemingly plotting their deaths: “Maybe a car accident. (The complaint was later dismissed by a judge.) “You wonder who The Watcher is? They were unable to find a buyer due to the creepy letters, which the Broadduses chose to disclose to anyone who came and looked at the property. The writer questioned whether they would let their kids, who the writer referred to as “young blood,” play in the basement. In time they will.” This time around, The Watcher referred to the Broadduses by name (misspelling their surname as “Mr. Let the party begin.” It was signed “The Watcher” in a typed cursive font. Inside was a typed note that started cordially enough, according to the 2018 [New York Magazine](https://www.thecut.com/article/the-haunting-of-657-boulevard-in-westfield-new-jersey.html) story that inspired the Netflix series: “Dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard, allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood.” “I will find out.” (The police reportedly searched the home and found nothing in the walls.) [Naomi Watts](https://time.com/4838709/naomi-watts-quick-talk/)) move to an idyllic New Jersey neighborhood where they assume their kids will be cocooned from the evils of the world.

'The Watcher' is Netflix's latest true story tale meant to get you watching (CNN)

Luke David Blumm as Carter Brannock, Isabel Marie Gravitt as Ellie Brannock, Bobby Cannavale as Dean Brannock and Naomi Watts as Nora Brannock in "The Watcher.".

Neighbors were asked to voluntarily submit DNA to compare to that found on one of the envelopes. Despite reducing the price multiple times, they were unable to sell it. “My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. The coupled purchased a six-bedroom home in Westfield, New Jersey for $1,355,657 and spent about $100,000 on renovations. It is now my time.” After finishing up a day of painting, Derek Reeves went to check the mail and found a letter addressed to “The New Owner.”

Is 'The Watcher' a True Story? A Closer Look at the House Causing ... (GoodHousekeeping.com)

The Netflix show 'The Watcher' has folks wondering 'Is The Watcher a true story?' Read about real-life people Derek and Maria Broaddus who bought the New ...

However, the investigation behind the mysterious letters stalled quickly by the end of 2014 and to this day "The Watcher" has never been identified. Other portions of letters included things like, "I see already that you have flooded 657 Boulevard with contractors so that you can destroy the house as it was supposed to be. Another part read, "Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? With each letter, "The Watcher" knew more details about the new family living at 657 Boulevard. [According to The Cut](https://www.thecut.com/article/the-haunting-of-657-boulevard-in-westfield-new-jersey.html), back in 2014, Derek and Maria Broaddus bought the six-bedroom home at 657 Boulevard for $1.3 million. Do you know the history of the house?

'The Watcher' on Netflix: Westfield, N.J. has an even scarier true ... (nj.com)

A melding of traditional investigative journalism and true crime storytelling, “Father Wants Us Dead” tells the story of List, a seemingly mundane accountant ...

If you would like to see photos, get more information about the episodes, connect with other listeners or with us, you can do so at [fatherwantsusdead.com](https://fatherwantsusdead.com/). A melding of traditional investigative journalism and true crime storytelling, “Father Wants Us Dead” tells the story of List, a seemingly mundane accountant and father who was always in his church pew on Sunday. Rebecca Everett may be reached at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). Nearly a month passed before police discovered the bodies of his family in their mansion on the posh north side of Westfield. 4 in Australia and No. Years later, as they continued to run down leads and try new ways to find him, he hid in plain sight, even marrying an unsuspecting woman. 5, and reached No. But this isn’t the tony suburb’s most horrifying true crime story. chart at No. [John List,](https://www.nj.com/news/2022/05/havent-checked-out-the-father-wants-us-dead-podcast-see-why-thousands-are-listening.html) the accountant who murdered his family in 1971 and disappeared for 18 years. [Netflix’s new series “The Watcher,”](https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2022/10/inside-the-watcher-bobby-cannavale-naomi-watts-bring-a-creepy-nj-mystery-to-netflix.html) based on the all-too-real nightmare of a Westfield family. [the real story behind 657 Boulevard in Westfield here](https://www.nj.com/news/2022/10/the-real-story-behind-the-watcher-netflix-series-yet-another-creepy-nj-tale.html).)

The true story behind Netflix's <em>The Watcher</em>: Here's what ... (EW.com)

Here's the real story behind Ryan Murphy's true crime thriller series 'The Watcher' on Netflix, and everything that was made up for the show.

And The Watcher won" — both works pay tribute to this sentiment, albeit in different ways. While the seven-episode show is a work of fiction loosely based on real events, that part is true. [John Graff was inspired by the real crimes of John List](https://ew.com/tv/the-watcher-john-graff-true-story-john-list-family-murders/), who, on Nov. Clark turned out to be List, who'd built a new life for himself in the Virginia suburbs. [told authorities she thought her neighbor](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/nyregion/25list1.html), a churchgoing accountant named Robert Clark, looked like the image of List she'd seen on the show. Theodora's research uncovers that a past resident, John Graff, received menacing letters from the Watcher as well, which preceded a grisly crime that saw him shoot his wife in the back of the head before killing his mother on the second floor of the house. But, you can soothe your soul by watching Karen call Nora a "c--t" in episode 7 — perhaps the best line delivery in the history of television — on a loop to get your fix for chaotic women. The Broadduses did hire a private investigator to snoop on their behalf, but The Cut's piece makes no mention of said sleuth being a gorgeous British woman with impeccable taste in coats and gloves. in 2014 before they received a string of bone-chilling letters from an anonymous stalker claiming to be a protective "Watcher" of the building. [Mia Farrow](https://ew.com/person/mia-farrow/)) are the first set of peculiar neighbors that Nora and Dean meet upon arriving in Westfield. "One day, I was looking out the window and I saw this older guy sitting in one of the chairs," Woodward told The Cut. The real-life gathering morphed into a three-hour hearing, with some neighbors expressing concern over everything from the threat of knocking down trees (hello, Pearl!) to voicing distaste over the thought of the new houses having displeasing front-facing garages.

The True Out-There Story That Inspired Netflix's 'The Watcher' (menshealth.com)

And how have Netflix and executive producer Ryan Murphy exactly shaped the material into their hotly anticipated, fictionalized limited series The Watcher, ...

The identity of the Watcher is the central question of the events, the viral article, and Netflix’s The Watcher. Netflix’s The Watcher isn’t great TV, but it is compulsively watchable. But at least in the first couple episodes, it’s nowhere near the gore level of Dahmer. When word of the Watcher got out, Derek and the rest of Westfield were at odds. But the Broadduses early on wanted to keep the letters out of the press, hoping for a legal fix. Once the family wanted to sell the house, it sat on the market even at a steep discount. Derek and Maria went to the local police, and understandably asked them to get to the bottom of the case. Everyone seemed to have a motive: Those resentful over the Broadduses’ apparent success, history society-types who hated their renovations to the house, a registered sex offender in the area. A neighbor in the close vicinity was probably sending the letters, but which one? “Do you know the history of the house? Before the family had a chance to fully move in, they received the first of what became a series of letters. But who is “The Watcher,” the person/figure that haunted a family and its new dream house after they bought it in 2014?

Spine-chilling true story that inspired the Netflix show 'The Watcher' (Lifestyle Asia)

Viewers of true crime series or movies mostly find them more thrilling because they know that the chilling incidents depicted actually happened to real ...

It is also interesting to note that when the Broadduses planned on selling the house to a developer, it was met with vehement rejection in a meeting of the Westfield Planning Board. The loss would be more because the Broadduses also had the property renovated in the hopes of living in it one day, which they never could. The Broadduses discovered that a similar letter was sent to the previous owners of the property — John and Andrea Woods, who concealed the fact from the Broadduses. The writer of the letter hinted that there could be something hidden behind the walls of the house, which was built in 1905. Neighbours are not of much help, and the family suspects that any one of them could be The Watcher. The story of The Watcher revolves around a house.