SCAREDY CAT discussion

The Watcher story that has come to us from New Jersey is possibly the most interesting thing to happen on a national news level in a while. A shadowy person has sent three terrifying letters to a family who recently purchased a $1.3 million home in Westfield, NJ. The newspapers are calling it a “dream home” but then, they call every place a dream home.

For Derek and Maria Broaddus and their three small children though, it’s more of a nightmare. The home, located at 657 Boulevard, has a stalker that either doesn’t want the Broaddus family to live there … or really wants them to live there. The Watcher, who is so far sexless, speaks of calling out to the children in the letters and having them come to him. Freaky, right?

From the first letter:
-the house "has been the subject of my family for decades"
-"I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for it's second coming."
-"My grandfather watched the house in the 1920's and my father watched in the 1960's. It is now my time."

From the second letter:
-"Now that they have it to flaunt it, they pay the price."
-"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk...bad move. You don't want to make 657 Blvd unhappy."
-"I asked the Woods (the previous owners)to bring me young blood."
-"Once I know their names I will call to them and draw them to me."
-"Why are you here? I will find out."

From the third letter:
-"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."
-"Have you found all the secrets it holds."
-"Will the young bloods play in the basement?"
-"Who has the bedroom 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 Blvd. 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 Blvd. 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."
-"You have changed it and made it so fancy."
-"It cries for the past and what used to be in the time when I roamed it's walls."
-"When I ran from room to room imagining the life with the rich occupants there."
-"And now I watch and wait for the day when the young bloods will be mine again."
-"657 Blvd is turning on me and it is coming after me."
-"I am in charge of 657 Blvd."
-"Let the young blood play again like I once did."
-"Stop changing it and let it alone."

The family has filed a lawsuit against the previous owners of the house, alleging that they knew the place was creepy central and they didn’t disclose that. This is a straight up Scooby Doo mystery. Especially the “Have you found what is in the walls yet?” comment. Sounds less like a watcher and more like a doer. That or someone wants the house torn down free of charge?

But since Scooby Doo isn’t real, that leaves … us. So who is this phantom menace that wants to know who is sleeping where so they can better make a plan? Any purely speculative guesses?

These people NEVER moved in. Isn't that horrible? They've even tried to sell it but the potential buyers find out about The Watcher and run away.

The watcher is John List lol

I thought this was an actual book! I got so excited, until I read on.

Have they found out who this person is. How interesting, but at the same time awful!

I have to admit that I love a spooky story. Hand on heart I am not the watcher.

How spooky is this? I saw this story last week I think, but didn't read all of it. In my opinion, it's someone who is not all there mentally, completely obsessed with the house, but can't buy it/buy it back for whatever reason.

UPDATE
“The Watcher” of Westfield probably didn’t have a movie deal in mind as he scribbled out eerie notes to the new owners of a $1.3 million home - but movie executives certainly do.

Big name production studios such as Blumhouse Productions, Dimension Films, New Line Cinema, and Universal are reportedly jumping at the opportunity to seal the deal on movie rights and get a storyline into production.



“Several different takes on the true terror tale are being pitched across the board, some unofficially, with rights still up in the air,” according to The Tracking Board, an industry news website.

Its also believed that well known action/thriller directors such as James Wan, known for Furious 7, and Bryan Bertino, known for The Strangers, are interested in developing a film adaptation of the story, according to Cinema Blend.

just found this bit of information:

The tony home in this leafy suburb is the image of comfortable upper middle class life, but a terrifying presence stalks the grounds. Neighbors walking by know exactly where it is, and as time goes on the suburban legend grows, a real-life haunted house.

No, it's not the house terrorized by the "Westfield Watcher," a creepy stalker sending letters to the new owners of a $1.3 million home. It was the "Breeze Knoll" mansion, less than three road miles away from the Watcher house, where John List, an accountant and the epitome of the man in the gray flannel suit — he mowed his lawn in a shirt and tie — murdered his mother, his wife, and his three children in 1971.

For some of those who know about Westfield, the Watcher has conjured the ghosts of 40 years ago. Dozens of people have made the connection on social media.

Oooooooh the movie best happen and BEST be good. I'm actually fascinated with this story.

J. wrote: "Aileen wrote: "The Watcher story that has come to us from New Jersey is possibly the most interesting thing to happen on a national news level in a while. A shadowy person has sent three terrifying..."

Lots of psychos believe themselves to be more intelligent than their vics...I could see him being older, like you said, or just completely psychotic.

I hope if there's a movie that the poor family stuck with a house they can't live in get some of that money to make up for it.

Linda wrote: "I hope if there's a movie that the poor family stuck with a house they can't live in get some of that money to make up for it. "

Yes I agree with that. It's awful that they are stuck with a house that no one will buy now.

Aileen wrote: "UPDATE
“The Watcher” of Westfield probably didn’t have a movie deal in mind as he scribbled out eerie notes to the new owners of a $1.3 million home - but movie executives certainly do.

Big name p..."

Thanks for the info and I would watch it if it were made into a movie.

Annabella wrote: "Oooooooh the movie best happen and BEST be good. I'm actually fascinated with this story."

Me too!

I wonder if we ever find out about his comment about what's in the walls.

Is the person even a him!?

Not yet, this is currently ongoing; I just heard something about it a week or so ago. Not to sound sexist, but yeah, statistics would show that it's probably a man doing this.

I agree it would have to be a man because if it's a woman she would be happy with the remodeling

Aileen wrote: "I agree it would have to be a man because if it's a woman she would be happy with the remodeling"

bahaha! Unless their taste didn't agree with hers....(hmm....all of a sudden, for some reason, Martha Stewart's coming to mind.....or the lawn monster from that episode of X Files....and the unwritten law in this town that one shall only use white lights on shrubbery and candles in windows at Xmas time....)

That's hilarious

Was it a goosebumps book / episode where the gnomes came alive?

J. wrote: "I hope the new homeowners consider doing an experiment like publicly discarding their mailbox and stopping mail delivery (and then wrap the place in cameras) to see if the loon will chose another m..."

All great ideas. Except for that bit about the ponies. They don't exist. I've been asking Santa for one for about 44 freaking years now. All I get are candy canes.....

Here's a link to the story (which denies any connection to murders in that house or anywhere nearby).

http://www.nj.com/union/index.ssf/201...

J. wrote: "Annabella wrote: "Was it a goosebumps book / episode where the gnomes came alive?"

What?! If I ever watch a movie or read a book where gnomes come alive I may never sleep again - that's pure madness!"

Don't read the goosebumps book then! Hehe.

Oh and don't Google them. You definitely will not sleep.....

Linda wrote: "Here's a link to the story (which denies any connection to murders in that house or anywhere nearby).

http://www.nj.com/union/index.ssf/201..."

Is the picture of the actual house?

I guess so Annabella. Caption says so, but I don't live there. Some of our other scaredy cat friends do, apparently. Is this the one, y'all?

Would love to hear from our Scaredy cats in that neighborhood too. Anyone? Anyone?

Aileen wrote: "Would love to hear from our Scaredy cats in that neighborhood too. Anyone? Anyone?"

Yes that would be great!

I thought Beth had posted something about being in the neighbourhood. Beth, you knew the John List story, was it you?

That was me. I was just kidding about John List. I don't live in the area, Besides John List died in prison years ago.
I do know the John List story but only through the media and documentaries.
Yes Linda, It was me.

The reason I said it was John List is because that was the city in New Jersey that he lived in before he murdered his entire family in the 1970's.
He murdered his wife, three children, and his mother before going on the run for 18 yrs. He was finally caught by America's Most Wanted and sentenced to 5 life terms in prison. He had changed his name and had even remarried. His wife knew nothing about what had happened 18 yrs before.
John List died in prison in March of '08.

Beth wrote: "The reason I said it was John List is because that was the city in New Jersey that he lived in before he murdered his entire family in the 1970's.
He murdered his wife, three children, and his mot..."

I looked him up after you posted that. I remember, my last four yrs in WI, doing a two-hour drive to work and two hours back the following day, 2x/wk. I´d always pass the prison where they held Dahmer until he was killed, and kept thinking, ¨Wow, I really hope that one´s air-tight¨. Not that I would have been a victim, but still......

Linda was that in Portage, WI? I set up a Walmart store there years ago, and we were staying in a motel right down the street from a prison that Dahmer was supposedly in. We use to joke that he was the prison cook.

Bahahaha! Yes, that's the one! Drove past there at 6:35am every Monday and Thursday morning for four years, Weds too, in the summer. Most beautiful highway exchange in the history of the world, I hope the engineers won a prize for that one. Could have taught something to the one who designed the Rtes 1 and 4 merge here in Rhody. Yeesh!

I know I'm jumping into this late, but I have been quietly keeping track of this.

There are a few clues as to who he (yes HE)may be in his letters too. One of which are these two lines in his third letter.
-"It cries for the past and what used to be in the time when I roamed it's walls." and
-"When I ran from room to room imagining the life with the rich occupants there."

Maybe he was a childhood friend of a boy or girl who lived there when he was young. It reads as if he was jealous of the child's good life...maybe even murdered the child and hid him in the walls hoping to take his place. Maybe that's why the parent's moved out when they could never find their child. That would be a reason for a psychopath to keep watching the house and trying to frighten away new owners so that the house will be empty when those original parents come back for him or so he hopes!

How's that for a movie idea?

Sounds like as good a theory as anything else. Would make a great movie or book. I would go see/read it,that's for sure.
Still think it is John List lol

Well let's just see what we can come up with!

KC wrote: "I know I'm jumping into this late, but I have been quietly keeping track of this.

There are a few clues as to who he (yes HE)may be in his letters too. One of which are these two lines in his thi..."

I would love to see that as a movie!

Update (if you want to call it an update)
According to a Broaddus family neighbor who claimed to have known the Woods family (who previously owned the house at 657 Boulevard and were recently named in a lawsuit by the current owners) the threatening Watcher letters were sent not from within Westfield, NJ but Newark. The neighbor, who said he was familiar with the Watcher’s notes through firsthand experiences with the Broaddus family and police interviews, added that they were sent via USPS and appeared to have been printed through a computer, as opposed to scarily handwritten.

“In my opinion the police did nothing,” he told me, echoing the sentiment of other neighbors. “The police didn’t seem concerned.” Nearly a year later, the case remains open, and the identity of The Watcher entirely unresolved.

KC wrote: "I know I'm jumping into this late, but I have been quietly keeping track of this.

There are a few clues as to who he (yes HE)may be in his letters too. One of which are these two lines in his thi..."

There was a movie when I was young that creeped us all out......"Crawlspace". Anyone else remember that one?

I don't think I've ever seen that one. What was it about?

Aileen wrote: "Update (if you want to call it an update)
According to a Broaddus family neighbor who claimed to have known the Woods family (who previously owned the house at 657 Boulevard and were recently named..."

that's about half an hour's drive, an easy commute.......could be someone works in NJ. Would be interesting to see if they all came from the same p.o. box/area.

Aileen wrote: "I don't think I've ever seen that one. What was it about?"

Wow, it's been so long, I screwed up the name! Here's the description for the '72 version of "Crawlspace"
A childless middle-age couple adopt a troubled youth they find living in their crawlspace and attempt to get him to rejoin society with tragic results. There have been others since with even more twisted lines.

Turns out the one that creeped us all out was called "Bad Ronald"(insert your own McD's jokes here, pls), also from the 70's.
A perverted teenage boy who lives in the walls of a house finds the house sold to a family after his mother dies, and he falls for one of the new residents.

I think 'CRAWL SPACE' was about John Wayne Gacy.

Beth wrote: "I think 'CRAWL SPACE' was about John Wayne Gacy."

2003's "Gacy: Crawl space" was. But this is the original, going waaaay back to the 70s.

I think I saw that years ago. Very creepy!

KC wrote: "I think I saw that years ago. Very creepy!"

Ronald, or the Crawlspace?

Linda wrote: "KC wrote: "I know I'm jumping into this late, but I have been quietly keeping track of this.

There are a few clues as to who he (yes HE)may be in his letters too. One of which are these two lines..."

I saw that movie and thought it was pretty good!

I found this thread when I was looking into the watcher after seeing a news story. There is some new interest because there was a 4th letter sent and the home owners have begun talking to news outlets. The most extensive timeline and interview I have found is here https://www.thecut.com/2018/11/the-ha... Pretty good breakdown of the whole story and definitely creepy all of the links to neighbors and possible suspects. Also the theory accepted by lots of townsfolk that the home owners sent the letters themselves adds a crazy twist.

Thanks for that article Brian. Great read

BuzzFeed has covered it now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBoKe...

So The Watcher he/she is still out there?

Aileen wrote: "So The Watcher he/she is still out there?"

Lol, the house is empty, so no one knows..........