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Creepy New Jersey House Stalked By 'The Watcher' Finally Sold — But For A Loss
"Will the young blood play in the basement?" a being known only as The Watcher wrote in a letter to the Broaddus family.
Shortly after moving in to their new serene home in quiet suburbia, a family began receiving spooky letters from a mysterious figure who called itself "The Watcher." Now, years later, the seemingly cursed house has been sold — at a $400k loss.
Derek and Maria Broaddus have sold their infamously spooky abode in Westfield, New Jersey for $959,000, several years after purchasing the location for $1,355,657 from John and Andrea Woods in the summer of 2014. Shortly after the Broaddus family bought the home, they had received eerie, disturbing messages in the mail from a shadowy entity telling them to "be afraid."
Before selling the home, the Broadduses had petitioned to have the house razed and split into two lots but were denied by the city's planning board, according to CNN.
Derek, Maria, and their three children never lived in the house due to the fear caused by the strange communications from "The Watcher," which had identified the family's car, the dealer from which they bought the house, and other pertinent details about their lives.
"657 Boulevard is anxious for you to move in," one of the letters read, according to New York Magazine. "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."
Despite police and private investigations, no suspects were ever identified and no arrests were made.
The Woods family had lived in the house for 23 years and only received one non-threatening form of communication from "The Watcher" shortly before they moved out. The Broaddus family did try to sue the Woods couple in 2015 over claims of fraudulent concealment and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, but the case was dismissed.
Netflix obtained the rights to "The Watcher" story after an intense bidding war in December 2018, according to Deadline. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, a duo behind several successful horror films including two entries in the "Paranormal Activity" franchise, are set to produce the project.
The home's latest buyers, Andrew and Allison Carr, have declined to comment on the purchase, according to The New York Times.
