Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about a mystery that has creeped the heck out of Westfield, New Jersey, the case of 657 Boulevard Watcher!
Now, I will say there is a new show on NetFlix, DETECTIVES with the same title, The Watcher but there are a few fictionalized pieces that never actually occurred. However, let’s discuss the story a bit.
The real story began back in June 2014 when Maria and Derek Broaddus had just purchased the 657 Blvd home in Westfield, NJ. Three days before they could move in, the couple began to receive mysterious letters from someone who only identified himself as “The Watcher.” The person addressed the letters to the family as the new owners, knowing the couple’s name, reproached them for beginning renovations, and even threatened the couple’s children. The Watcher told the family that his or her family has been watching the house since the 1920s, first a grandfather, then a father, and now the new watcher. When the couple went to the police concerning the letters, the Broadduses family discovered that the house’s previous owners had received an anonymous note themselves but since they had been living there for over 23 years, they thought the letter was a simple prank and threw it out- a fact the previous owners neglected to mention.
Here is one of the creepiest quotes: “It has been years and years since the young blood ruled the hallways of the house. 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.”
Over time, the Broadduses family began to receive more creepy letters that grew with threats back and forth. The family was understandably frightened for their safety that they never moved into the house. After 6 months, they put the house up for sale but had a difficult time getting rid of the home as they made it a point to warn any potential renters or buyers. In 2016, luck seemed to turn on their side when another family rented the property but soon after, another letter arrived that seemed a bit too extreme.
Here is another quote that was in the letter: “Maybe a car accident. Maybe a fire. Maybe something as simple as a mild illness that never seems to go away but makes you feel 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.”
However, the family simply asked the Broadduses to install more security cameras and didn’t move out.
Throughout the years, there have been several suspects as to who the watcher could have been: neighbors, a man who played extremely violent video games under the username “The Watcher,” and even the Broadduses themselves. Maria was suspected because the DNA on the envelope was discovered to be found and Derek later confessed to New York Times that he sent letters to neighbors who were rude to him on Facebook in 2017. Although, to this day, the watcher has never been identified and the case remains unsolved. The new owners of the home have not revealed if they receive or have gotten letters from the watcher either.
I hope you have enjoyed this storytime as much as I did, DETECTIVES! Please let me know in the comments if you want to have more storytime! Have a great day, night, afternoon, or evening, DETECTIVES! Stay tuned for next week’s post; until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!
Detective Writer 