The Watcher House
The American Dream is typically describe as a nuclear family, with children, buying their dream house in the perfect neighborhood. For the Broaddus family of Westfield, New Jersey, their American Dream became a nightmare unlike any ever heard of before. This is a true paranormal mystery with many questions, but not many answers. This is the story of The Watcher House of 657 Boulevard.
657 Boulevard
The historic house at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey was first built in 1905. William H. Davies, who would become mayor of Westfield, bought the house in 1913 for $1. During his time living in the house, it was struck by lightning which caused damage to the roof. Why was Davies able to purchase such a large home for just a dollar? That is one mystery that has no recorded answer, but gets stranger as the house's history goes on.
In 1947, Davies sold the house to his son and his wife for the same price he paid for it: $1. In 1951, the couple sold the home to a couple named Dillard and Mary Bird for the same price. Following the strange tradition, the Bird's sold the home in 1953 to the Bakeses family for $1. In 1955, the house was sold to the Shaffer family for... $1.
Why sell such a large, beautiful home for such an absurdly low price? No one knows the answer to that question.
The tradition was presumably broken in 1990 when 657 Boulevard was sold to the Woods family. The Woods family lived in the home until 2014 when they sold the home to the Broaddus family for $1.3 million. A home that is over 100 years old being sold for a $1 not just once, but five times is strange. However, it is when the Broaddus family moved that the story became disturbing.
The Watcher
As is the case with many family moving into older homes, the Broaddus family wanted to update the house prior to fully moving in. Derek and Maria, parents to three children, would bring their children to the house during the day while they worked on painting and renovating. Everything was wonderful. For Maria, having grown up in Westfield, this was a return to her childhood neighborhood. American Dream accomplished. That is, until one night in June.
Derek was at the house painting one evening when he went out to check the mail. Among the bills was a white envelope addressed to "The New Owner." Upon opening the envelope, Derek found the following letter: (Note: this is a partial transcript)
Dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard,
Allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood.
How did you end up here? Did 657 Boulevard call to you with its force within? 657 Boulevard has been the subject of my family for decades now and as it approaches its 110th birthday, I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming. My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. 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.
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.
You have children. I have seen them. So far I think there are three that I have counted. [Are there] more on the way? Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? Better for me. Was your old house too small for the growing family? Or was it greed to bring me your children? Once I know their names I will call to them and draw them too [sic] me.
Who am I? There are hundreds and hundreds of cars that drive by 657 Boulevard each day. Maybe I am in one. Look at all the windows you can see from 657 Boulevard. Maybe I am in one. Look out any of the many windows in 657 Boulevard at all the people who stroll by each day. Maybe I am one.
Welcome my friends, welcome. Let the party begin.
The letter was signed in cursive font, "The Watcher."
The American Nightmare
As it was after 10:00 at night, Derek Broaddus turned off every light in the house to keep anyone from seeing inside. He then called the police who sent an officer to the house. Upon reading the letter, the officer exclaimed, "What the fuck?" The officer instructed Derek to move heavy construction equipment away from the windows (so they could not be thrown through them). Maria and the children were staying at the family's old home (still in Westfield) and Derek rushed home to them. They sent an email to the previous owners inquiring about the writer of the letter and if they had received any letters during their years in the house.
The next morning, Mrs. Woods responded saying that they had, indeed, received a strange letter days before the moved out from someone calling themselves The Watcher. They had, however, thrown the letter away and had not given it much thought. She accompanied the Broaddusses to the police station, where officers told them not to tell anyone about the letters. All of their new neighbors were considered suspects.
Tensions were high for the Broaddus family. They no longer allowed their children out of their sight when they came to work on the house. One day, when giving a couple from the neighborhood a tour of the house and its renovations, Derek's blood went cold when the woman told him, "It'll be nice to have some young blood in the neighborhood." Another day, the general contractor who had been working with the Broaddusses arrived at the house to find a heavy sign that he hammered into the front yard had been ripped out during the night.
The Watcher Sends a Second Letter
Two weeks after the first letter arrived, Maria stopped by the house with some paint samples and to check the mail. Upon arrival, she found a second envelope that contained an even more chilling letter. This one mentioned their children by name (including nicknames), and asked if one of their children was "the artist of the family." Below is a partial transcript of the second letter:
Welcome again to your new home at 657 Boulevard.
The workers have been busy and I have been watching you unload carfuls of your personal belongings. The dumpster is a nice touch. Have they found what is in the walls yet? In time they will.
I am pleased to know your names now and the name of the young blood you have brought to me. You certainly say their names often.
657 Boulevard is anxious for you to move in. 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.
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.
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 Woods family turned it over to you. It was their time to move on and kindly sold it when I asked them to.
I pass by many times a day. 657 Boulevard is my job, my life, my obsession. And now you are too Braddus family. Welcome to the product of your greed! Greed is what brought the past three families to 657 Boulevard and now it has brought you to me.
Have a happy moving in day. You know I will be watching.
After receiving the second letter, Derek and Maria stopped bringing their children to the house. This development did not go unnoticed by The Watcher. Several weeks later, a third letter arrived that said:
Where have you gone to? 657 Boulevard is missing you.
The Letters Become Even Darker
It should be noted that the events of this story all took place in the span of just six months. As we focus on the creepy, disturbing letters, we must realize that the Broadusses were taking measures to try to solve the mystery. We will examine these efforts later, but for now, let's take a look at the rest of the letters.
Whoever (or whatever) The Watcher was did not seem to appreciate the renovations that the Broadusses were. This partial transcript of another letter makes that clear:
The house is crying from all of the pain it is going through. You have changed it and made it so fancy. You are stealing it’s [sic] history. It cries for the past and what used to be in the time when I roamed it’s [sic] halls. The 1960s were a good time for 657 Boulevard when I ran from room to room imagining the life with the rich occupants there. The house was full of life and young blood. Then it got old and so did my father. But he kept watching until the day he died. And now I watch and wait for the day when the young blood will be mine again.
It should be noted, before we look at the next letter, that the Broadusses began to think that The Watcher was a being not of this world. For this reason, they asked a priest to come and bless the house. It appears that The Watcher did not take kindly to the blessing either:
657 Boulevard is turning on me. It is coming after me. I don’t understand why. What spell did you cast on it? It used to be my friend and now it is my enemy. I am in charge of 657 Boulevard. It is not in charge of me. I will fend off its bad things and wait for it to become good again. It will not punish me. I will rise again. I will be patient and wait for this to pass and for you to bring the young blood back to me. 657 Boulevard needs young blood. It needs you. Come back. Let the young blood play again like I once did. Let the young blood sleep in 657 Boulevard. Stop changing it and let it alone.
That was it for Derek and Maria. Even though the had paid over $1 million for the house and had spent thousands of dollars more on renovations, they would not live in that house. This decision led to more disturbing events, though this time they were not supernatural.
A Defensive Neighborhood
Despite the physical evidence of the letters, few neighbors of 657 Boulevard believed Derek and Maria's story. Many of them attributed the story to buyers' remorse and believed that the Broaddusses concocted the story in order to get out of the sale of the home. When Derek and Maria were advised by a lawyer to have the house torn down, the city denied their permit request. This only led to more rumors and gossip regarding the family's motives.
Frustrated by their situation, Derek and Maria brought a lawsuit against the Woods family, arguing that they should have made them aware of the letter they received before they moved out. For their part, as they tried to sell the house, they were willing to allow whoever bought the house to read the letters. They made all perspective buyers aware of the letters, but all offers on the house were well below their asking price. No perspective buyers read the letters.
Who Is "The Watcher?"
Michael Langford
When the police first started investigating the letters from The Watcher, one name was given to them as a possible suspect. Michael Langford. Michael Langford, about 60 years old, lived next door to the Broaddus house with his 90-year old mother and several other siblings.
As a child, Michael was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The police, and several private investigators hired by Derek and Maria, interviewed Michael and the Langford family on multiple occasions. Neither Michael nor any other member of their family claimed to have any knowledge of the letters. Additionally, there was no evidence to link Michael to the letters, so police stopped focusing on him.
Another Neighbor
As a wealthy and well-connected man, Derek Broaddus was able to hire several former FBI agents and high-profile investigators to look into the matter independent of police investigations. One of these agents was Robert Lenehan, who discovered that two child sex offenders lived nearby the Broaddus house. While interviewing a painter who was working in the Broaddus house, Lenehan learned that the couple who lived behind Derek and Maria had a "disturbing" habit, given the circumstances. The painter explained to Lenehan that the older couple had two lawn chairs that they had placed in the back of their backyard. One day, the painter looked out a window and saw the man sitting in one of the chairs. The thing is, he was not facing his own house. He was facing the Broaddus house.
A Dark Video Game Enthusiast
As events continued to unfold, the plight of Derek and Maria Broaddus gained national attention. Despite their efforts to keep the story quiet, it was covered by national news affiliates, including The Today Show. The unflattering attention Westfield received as a result did nothing to improve Derek and Maria's standing among their neighbors. Due to the attention, Westfield Detective Barron Chambliss was asked to look into the case.
Upon taking over the investigation, Chambliss discovered that Westfield Police had run DNA tests on the envelopes and found that they were sealed by a female. One night, Chambliss and his partner were sitting in their car outside of the Broaddus house. A car pulled up to the house and parked there long enough to arouse suspicion. Chambliss traced the car to a woman whose boyfriend lived on the same street as the Broaddusses. As he questioned her, he learned that her boyfriend was into some really dark video games. In one of these games, he played as a character known as "The Watcher." On two occasions Chambliss was able to convince the boyfriend to come in for an interview. He failed to show up both times. Because he had no concrete evidence to compel him to come in, Chambliss did not pursue him any more.
A Final Letter
Derek and Maria were unable to sell their house for a long time. In order to help recover some of their money, they decided to rent out the house. Much to their delight, a family with grown children decided to rent the house and moved in.
Two weeks later, Derek visited the house to help remove some squirrels from the roof. When he arrived, the renter handed him an envelope that read:
Violent winds and bitter cold
To the vile and spiteful Derek and his wench of a wife Maria,
This last letter promised revenge on Derek and Maria, claimed that The Watcher and his followers had saved the house from their attempts to tear it down, and taunted the couple over their efforts to find out who he (or she) was. Below are some excerpts of this last letter:
You wonder who The Watcher is? Turn around idiots. Maybe you even spoke to me, one of the so called neighbors who has no idea who The Watcher could be. Or maybe you do know and are too scared to tell anyone. Good move.
I walked by the news trucks when they took over my neighborhood and mocked me.
I watched as you watched from the dark house in an attempt to find me … Telescopes and binoculars are wonderful inventions.
657 Boulevard survived your attempted assault and stood strong with its army of supporters barricading its gates. My soldiers of the Boulevard followed my orders to a T. They carried out their mission and saved the soul of 657 Boulevard with my orders. All hail The Watcher!!!
Maybe a car accident. Maybe a fire. 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.
You are despised by the house. And The Watcher won!
This last full paragraph was in reference to the revenge The Watcher would take against the family.
The Nightmare Is Over... For Now
In 2019, Derek and Maria finally were able to sell 657 Boulevard. They took a massive financial loss, selling the home for over $440,000 less than what they paid for it. As of now, it is not known if any more letters have been sent to the new owners.
Is The Watcher still watching 657 Boulevard? Is The Watcher even real? We cannot be sure, but one thing is certain: someone (or something) terrorized a family for nearly five years, leaving psychological scars that will never fully heal.
For More Information
- https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a39179/five-real-life-horror-stories/
- https://www.thecut.com/2018/11/the-haunting-of-657-boulevard-in-westfield-new-jersey.html
- https://allthatsinteresting.com/the-watcher-house
- https://www.ranker.com/list/new-jersey-home-haunted-by-paranormal-entity/laura-allan
- https://www.nj.com/union/2017/03/watch_strikes_again_4th_letter_sent_feds_prosecuto.html
- https://gothamist.com/news/the-strange-history-of-the-creepy-nj-watcher-house
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3148988/New-twist-Watcher-mystery-No-copies-threatening-letters-no-summons-served-former-residents-insist-no-stalker-family-demanding-triple-1-35m-sale-price.html
- https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/12/us/the-watcher-house-stalker-trnd/index.html
- https://www.historicmysteries.com/watcher-of-westfield/
- https://www.businessinsider.com/new-jersey-watcher-house-creepy-letters-sells-2019-8
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