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The American Dream promises safety, independence, and the pride of owning your own home. But what if your home isn’t as private as you think?
In this episode of Weird History's Graveyard Shift we dive into the chilling true stories of “The Watcher” a mysterious figure stalking one family's home from the shadows. So lock your doors, close your blinds, and don’t forget… someone might already be watching.
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A central element of the American dream is home ownership
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It's a symbol of independence, self-reliance, and a fulfillment of everything our country stands for
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But what if there was something lurking out in the darkness? Something observing you and your home
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What if this something or someone spent their nights watching? Today, join us as we dig into the mysterious world of an unknown scribe
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and the truth behind The Watcher. 2014 was set to be a remarkable year for Derek and Maria Broadus, who had just taken a $1.3 million
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plunge into home ownership. Their beautiful property located at 657 Boulevard, Westfield
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New Jersey, was everything their growing family could have hoped for. The six bedrooms would
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provide enough space for the couple and their three children in a neighborhood mere blocks
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from where Maria had spent her childhood. Before moving in, the family began a series of renovations
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to update the home. A couple of fresh coats of paint, new appliances and fixtures
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the kind of changes typically associated with a family taking up a new residence
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It was during that time that the Broaddus family received the first in a series of bizarre pieces of mail
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that would change the complexion of their investment and shake their sense of safety to its very core
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Initially, Derek thought little of the communique as he opened letter. Other than a lack of a return address
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it seemed it may be a typical welcome note from a neighbor. he couldn't have been more wrong. As he began to read the note, a cold chill ran up his spine
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the sinister nature of the greeting barely hidden in the text. 657 Boulevard has been the subject of
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my family for decades now, and as it approaches its 110th birthday, I have been put in charge of
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watching and waiting for its second coming, began the note. Odd, eccentric even, but already in a
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single sentence, Derek became aware that this was not what he had expected. My grandfather watched
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the house in the 1920s, and my father watched it in the 1960s. It is now my time. Do you know the
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history of the house? Do you know what lies within the walls of 657 Boulevard? Why are you here? I
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will find out, continued the mysterious scribe, apparently the latest in a generational cabal of
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whom the house was of interest. The nature of the letter continued to become more mysterious
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and threatening as the unknown sender continued. Some of the information seemed impossible for
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someone outside of the family to know. 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
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call them and draw them to me. The mention of children was of particular concern for the 40-year-old
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father, and the notion of a stranger interacting with his progeny must have been the moment that
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Derek realized that this was much larger concern than it had been initially. The writer ended the
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note with the same kind of cryptic wording that had characterized the body of the text that
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preceded it. Who am I? There are hundreds and hundreds of cars that drive by 657 Boulevard
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each day. Maybe I am in one. Look at all the windows that you can see from 657 Boulevard
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Maybe I am in one. Look out any of the many windows of 657 Boulevard at all the people
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who stroll by each day. Maybe I am one. The letter closed simply with, welcome my friends
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welcome, let the party begin, followed by the name that would haunt the broadest home
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for days to come, The Watcher. Derek immediately contacted the authorities regarding the letter
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Understandably disturbed by its contents and vaguely threatening tone, the down-to-earth law enforcement
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officer of the local precinct seemed as confused as the Broadus family
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After asking the usual battery of questions associated with such threats, such as
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do you have any enemies? Who would have access to information about your home purchase
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This one being of particular interest to all involved at 657 Boulevard
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had never posted a for sale sign, and the purchase had not been made publicly known
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at the time of its letter's arrival. Derek and Maria claimed to have no enemies
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Theirs was a quiet lifestyle with little to no drama. As for who may know the purchase
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outside of the cellar, a few family members, and, of course, potentially the contractors
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working on the home, no one else would have known, or so they thought
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Someone certainly did seem to know, the one who had taken on the moniker of the watcher
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The police, having little to go on, suggested that the family keep an eye out for suspicious
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characters and to not leave construction materials in places where someone might
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throw them through a window. At a loss, the young family complied and hoped that this would be the end of their issues
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It wasn't. The Watcher had just begun. The prior residents of 657 Boulevard, the Woods family, were questioned as to if they
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had ever received any letters from one claiming to be the Watcher. And yes, they had on one occasion
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The Woods recalled a similar tone to the letter, but they ultimately discarded it
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leaving it to be the random act of some odd character As the Broadus family continued their renovations on the home they made sure to keep a keen eye out for anyone suspicious During this time they would bring along their children to play in the yard as they finished preparations
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to finally move in. Soon, letters began to arrive once more. In these letters, the watcher revealed knowledge
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of the children's names and thanked them for bringing the young blood to the house
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along with numerous other indications that this observer had been living up to his name
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citing examples of the family's activities around the house. In one chilling letter, the watcher asked, have they found what is in the
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walls yet? In time, they will, leading one to wonder what this could have meant. It is unknown
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to this day if the Broaddus family has ever discovered anything out of the ordinary within
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their walls. Clues to the identity of the watcher started to peek out from the page
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indications of having been in the home as a child, and a strong familiarity regarding the
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infrastructure of the building, including some of the most dread-inducing lines of any of the
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letters to date. Will the young blood play in the basement, or are they too afraid to go down there
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alone? I would be very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were
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upstairs, you would never hear them scream. The letter also referred to having seen one of the
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children painting at an easel, asking if she was the artist of the family. The piece was of great
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concern, as the location the child had set the easel was obscured from the street and could only
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be seen from behind the home or an adjoining neighbor's yard. Later in the letter, the watcher
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closed with, I pass by many times a day. 657 Boulevard is my job, my life, my obsession. And
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now you are too, Broadus family. After this letter, the family stopped bringing the children to 657
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Boulevard. The family postponed their move-in date, which seemed to concern the watcher
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who wrote again weeks later asking, where have you gone? The Broadus family's time at 657 Boulevard proved to be limited
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The letters from the watcher continued to arrive, scolding them for altering elements of the house
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and demanding to know if they had come to the home out of a desire to provide the young blood a nice home or out of greed
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The harassment became so great that naturally the family became gripped by paranoia
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They came to suspect a number of their community members enlisting the help of local police, private investigators
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and even ex-FBI agents with a background in unearthing the identities of those who wished to remain hidden
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For a time, the family became convinced their neighbor, described by some as eccentric and others as diagnosed with mild schizophrenia was behind the campaign Police even questioned the neighbor but ultimately he was eliminated as a potential suspect when a DNA sample was able to be lifted
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from one of the envelopes. The source of the DNA sample proved to be of female origin
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This led to the pool of persons of interest to be limited to female neighbors
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who may have been able to make a note of the family's activities, but this small group of individuals
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led to no clear suspects. The investigation into the watcher didn't stop the letters from arriving
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leading Derek to price out hiring military operatives to guard their home
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installing a state-of-the-art alarm system, and even considering moving altogether, an option they would ultimately settle on down the road
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As the letters from the watcher became more twisted, the Broadus family knew they could no longer bear the idea
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of living in a home that was under surveillance. Some of their most recent pieces of mail
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seemed to reveal that the watcher's relationship with the home had become more complex
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Clearly, this excerpt reveals the watcher was unsure of their role in the future of the New Jersey home
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and the family decided that it was time to go. Six months after the letters began to arrive, the Broadduses sold the house
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After leaving the home, the Broadus family sued the former owners, the Woods
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They claimed that they had withheld information regarding the strange letter they had received
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and that this would potentially result in Derek and Maria reconsidering their offer on the home
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The case was thrown out as there was a lack of evidence that the Woods had willfully withheld
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pertinent information. With the mystery still unsolved, there are several prominent theories
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as to the identity of the Watcher. Perhaps someone had an eye on the house
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and was outbid by the family. Others suggested that perhaps the Watcher
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was a creation of the family themselves, an effort to gain attention or to get out from under mortgage payments
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that they realized they could not afford. Blaming the Broaddus family seems to be a bit of a stretch
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as they were in the midst of over $300,000 of renovations. And according to anyone who came into contact
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with the family during their time receiving the letters, their fearful reactions seemed both genuine and real
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Certainly, the Watcher had gleaned information so private that they could not have done so without close observation
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employing high-tech spy equipment or maybe, just maybe, some form of otherworldly or mystical means of seeing
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The Watcher remains unknown to this day, and perhaps they're still seeking that young blood