The Watcher

In June 2014, Derek and Maria Broaddus, after months of searching, completed the purchase of their new property, located in the town of Westfield within the US state of New Jersey. Commencing renovations prior to moving in, the family frequently visited the house to check the progress of alterations. When Derek stopped by the house alone, checking the work that had been done, and then collect the mail from within the mailbox. Derek pulled out a white envelope endorsed with handwriting unfamiliar to him and addressed simply to “The New Owner.” The contents of this letter would start a chain of events that created suspicion, fear, police investigations, and ultimately saw to it, that the Broaddus family would never live their new home.

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CREDITS
https://uppbeat.io/
https://www.historicmysteries.com/unexplained-mysteries/watcher-of-westfield/11362/
https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/a41503769/the-watcher-true-story-behind-haunted-house/
https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/the-watcher-true-story-explained/
https://time.com/6221960/the-watcher-true-story-netflix/
https://www.thecut.com/article/the-haunting-of-657-boulevard-in-westfield-new-jersey.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Om5I7H_9l8. The Tape Library – The True Story of The Watcher.

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Although every effort is made to ensure that the episode is researched and accurate we cannot guarantee the complete contents is entirely factually correct, and AI tools maybe used to enhance the dramatization of episodes.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

In June 2014, Derek and Maria Brodus, after months of searching, completed the purchase of their new property, located in the town of Westfield within the U.S. state of New Jersey. Commencing renovations prior to moving in, the family frequently visited the house to check the progress of alterations and began to imagine a life that would soon be lived inside their new home. When Derek stopped by the house alone, checking the work that had been done, and to collect the mail from within the mailbox, Derek pulled out a white envelope, endorsed with handwriting unfamiliar to him, and addressed simply to the new owner. The contents of this letter would start a chain of events that created suspicion, fear, police investigations, and ultimately saw to it that the Brodus family would never live in their new home. Welcome to Unexplained, brought to you by Enigma from the Pod. And this episode is The Watcher. When Derek and Maria first stepped onto the porch of 657 Boulevard, they felt as though they were standing in front of a house that had been waiting for them. The home rose confidently from the manicured lawn, its broad facade and deep-set windows, giving it a quiet, dignified presence. It gracefully carried the charm of an older era, with solid wood floors, ornate mouldings, and a grand staircase that gently curved towards the second floor. The Broduses had been searching for a place where their free children could grow up with space to run, play, and build memories. Westfield, New Jersey, seemed perfect. It was a safe, affluent suburb, streets tree lined, and a reputation for tranquillity. Neighbors greeted each other on their morning walks, and families stayed for generations. After months of searching and the completion of the home purchase, the Broduses opted not to move into the property straight away, but to complete some renovations consisting of interior painting, restoring of original hardwood floors, and some updates to the kitchen. The family visited the house in short bursts, checking the renovations had commenced as planned, and imagining the life they would soon be living inside the walls. The children picked out their bedrooms, and Maria imagined Christmas mornings in the living room. Derek pictured summer evenings on the porch watching the street settle into the dusk. It was just a few days after the purchase that Derek stopped by the house alone in order to check the progress that the contractors had made. He walked through the rooms, checking the work had been completed, and then stepped outside to collect the mail. Inside the mailbox was one thick white envelope. The handwriting on the front was unfamiliar, almost old fashioned, and it was addressed simply to the new owner.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

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 you destroy the house as it was supposed to be. Tisk, tisk, tisk. 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 to 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.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

The letter ended with a signature depicting the name, the Watcher. Immediately after reading the letter, Derek left the house, returned to where his family were staying, and called the Westfield Police Department. Westfield was not a town accustomed to strange crimes or anonymous threats. The officer who read the letter asked Derek whether he had any enemies, but he did not. And the Broduses had no connection to Westfield beyond the house they had just purchased. Police recorded the incident, believing it to be a credible and serious threat, and advised Derek and Maria not to speak about the letter to anyone whilst they commenced canvassing the location and checking records of the immediate neighbours. A few days later, Derek and Maria reached out to the previous owners, John and Andrea Woods. They had owned the property for 23 years before selling to the Broduses. They had never encountered any hostility from the neighbors, and had lived peacefully, but acknowledged receiving a letter just before leaving. John and Andrea had dismissed this letter as a prank, but having kept it, they handed it to the Broduses voluntarily, hoping it would help them in some way. Over the next few weeks, the Brodus family continued their routine, returning to the property frequently whilst renovations were being completed. But a second letter arrived, and this time the writer had more intimate knowledge about the Brodus family.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

The workers have been busy and I have been watching you unload carfalls of your personal belongings. The dumpster is a nice touch. Have they found what's in the walls yet? In time they will. I am pleased to know your names now, and the names of the young blood you have brought me. You certainly say their names often. 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 passed by many times a day. 657 Boulevard is my job, my life, my obsession. And now you are too broadest 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.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

After reading the letter, Derek and Maria stopped bringing their children to the house. Renovations also slowed down as they began to feel watched, even when they were away from the property. The letter had contained the surname, but it had been misspelled. This reinforced their belief that the watcher did not know them personally and had not researched them in public records. The likely cause was that their surname was heard when being spoken to by contractors coming and going from the property. But with the official police investigation failing to identify a suspect, they hired a private investigator, a former FBI agent, and a forensic linguist to assist with identifying a suspect. Each expert had their own theories, but no one had definitive answers. The private investigator concluded that the watcher was in close proximity to 657 Boulevard and passed the house frequently, likely holding an emotional attachment to the location. The former FBI agent suggested the Watcher was likely an elderly female with a background in writing or dramatic performances, and that she had developed a psychological attachment to the house. The forensic linguist identified that the Watcher was educated with an ability to create articulate literature. These theories assisted with the suggestion that a local author named Robert Kaplow was responsible. Robert had been an English teacher and retired the same year the first letter was received, and local people had suggested he was responsible for writing letters to other homes before. Yet, these letters contained descriptions of admiration and had never been threatening in nature. Police never formally questioned Robert and never considered him to be a suspect. The neighborhood, once picturesque and inviting, began to feel claustrophobic. The Broadises scrutinized every passerby, every neighbor who they felt lingered too long, and examined every window that appeared to face their property. Their own observations had identified some bizarre behavior played out by their neighbours. Michael Langford, who lived next door, was seen to walk through the yards of surrounding homes and seen staring at 657 Boulevard in a voyeuristic manner. And the occupants of the house directly behind them would sit in their rear yard on recliner chairs so they could look directly at the Broadises' new home. For a moment, the Broadises saw a glimmer of hope when police advised them that they had recovered a partial DNA sample from one of the envelopes used to send the letters. However, this hope was short-lived when it could only be established that it was likely to have been obtained from a female, and having been retrieved from the outside of the envelope could have come from any person who may have handled it. The paranoia intensified, and Derek even invited a priest to attend in order to conduct a blessing on the house. However, it wasn't long before a third letter arrived.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

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. 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. 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.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

The investigation continued with police questioning neighbors. In particular, they focused on the Langdon family, who lived next door and had direct line of sight into 657 Boulevard. Penny Langford was a 90-year-old woman who resided next door since the 1960s and had several adult children remaining at the home. And although a relative of the Langdons was briefly suspected, the partial DNA profile obtained from the envelope eliminated them, and again, police had exhausted all avenues of inquiry. The Broadises even initiated court action and sued the Woods family for failing to disclose the earlier letter they had received prior to the completion of the property purchase, but the case was dismissed, and the Broadises were left paying a mortgage on a house they were too afraid to enter. After the renovations had been completed, 657 Boulevard was placed back on the market for sale, but the story about the Watcher had already spread through the town of Westfield, and any potential buyer soon backed away. A potential sell to a housing developer who would have built two smaller homes on the land also fell through after the local planning board denied the development application due to size and technicalities. They tried to rent the property instead and secured a tenant who would only move in with the condition that should they receive a letter from the watcher, the tenancy could be broken without penalty. And in February 2017, Derek returned to the property following a complaint from the tenant concerning noises within the roof space. It was on his arrival the tenant handed him a letter, and Derek opened it to discover that the watcher was not yet done.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

Violent winds and bitter cold to the vile and spiteful Derek and his wench of a wife Maria. 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 darkhouse 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 AT. 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, and 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, you were despised by the house, and the watcher one.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

Some solace for the Broadises was that although the tenant was entitled to leave immediately without penalty, they actually chose to stay, opting to move out later in the year, and did not report any further letters being received. It was later in November 2018 The New York Times magazine published an article about the case titled The Haunting of a Dream House. Derek Maria never sold their story, but cooperated with the magazine and the reporter due to a wish to set the record straight after being subject to speculation that the letters were all a hoax. The article sparked global attention and ultimately resulted in the media company Netflix securing the rights to create a television series based upon the events. Due to the show's popularity and success, many people were forthcoming with theories surrounding the identification of the Watcher. However, the blending between the true story and the television series has caused many of these theories to be misguided. It was in July 2019, after five years of fear, financial strain, and unanswered questions, the Broduses finally sold 657 Boulevard at a significant loss for $959,000. Derek passed the new owner a note that read, We wish you nothing but peace and quiet that we once dreamed of in this house. He also provided a copy of the watcher's handwriting just in case it was ever needed. The new owners have never reported receiving a letter from the watcher, and whoever they were remained silent. The police investigation is still unsolved. No arrests were ever made, and no suspect was ever identified, and the letters stopped as abruptly as they had begun. 657 Boulevard still stands in Westfield, its porch unchanged, its windows still looking over a quiet street. To most, it is simply a beautiful old house. But for the Broduses, it became something else entirely. A reminder that even in the safest places, the unknown and unexplained can slip quietly into your life and leave you with questions that may never be answered. This has been unexplained brought to you by Enigma from the pod. And you have been listening to The Watcher. As a startup podcast, we greatly appreciate your support. Please follow us on social media and consider leaving us a review.