The Creepy Case of the Watcher: Who Was Watching 657 Boulevard?
“I am the Watcher. Bring me young blood.”
— Anonymous letter to the new homeowners
Some true crime cases shock us with violence. Others unnerve us with mystery. But few crawl under your skin the way this one does — because in the quiet suburb of Westfield, New Jersey, a family bought their dream home... only to be terrorized by someone watching them from the shadows.
And to this day, no one knows who it was.
A Dream Home Turns to a Nightmare
In June 2014, Derek and Maria Broaddus purchased a beautiful Dutch Colonial at 657 Boulevard, intending to settle in with their three children. But before they even moved in, the first letter arrived.
It was handwritten, eerily polite — and deeply disturbing.
“657 Boulevard has been the subject of my family for decades now... I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming.”
The Letters Continue
As renovations began, more letters arrived.
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The writer knew the names of the children.
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They knew which rooms were being painted.
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They referred to themselves as “The Watcher.”
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And they wrote chilling lines like:
“Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested?”
“Have they found what is in the walls yet?”
No fingerprints. No security footage. No clear motive — other than obsession.
Suspects… But No Charges
Police questioned neighbors. Some had histories of mental illness. Others were caught lurking near the property. A particular neighbor’s family had long-standing ties to the house, and even fit the Watcher's writing style.
But there was never enough evidence to charge anyone.
Even a private investigation by a former FBI agent and a handwriting expert led nowhere.
Suspense Builds: What Did the Watcher Want?
Was it a prank? A disgruntled neighbor? A failed buyer jealous of the Broadduses? Or something darker — someone with an unhealthy attachment to the house itself?
No one ever stepped forward. And the Broadduses, traumatized, never moved in. They sold the home years later at a loss.
The Legacy
The story became national news. It inspired:
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A Netflix series (“The Watcher”)
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Countless Reddit theories
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Urban legends about haunted homes and neighborhood cults
But the real Watcher? Still anonymous. Still watching.
Read more suspenseful, unsolved, skin-crawling cases every Saturday on
Killer Thoughts and Twisted Plots
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