In The Watcher, a Netflix original film, a couple’s ideal home quickly becomes their worst nightmare. The true story that the limited series is based on is almost too horrifying to believe.
Bobby Cannavale and Naomi Watts star as Dean and Nora Brannock, a couple who move their family to a seemingly perfect New Jersey suburb in the hopes of protecting their children from the harsh realities of life. However, there is a dark secret kept in these prosperous communities.
The couple moves into their new home, but soon they begin receiving ominous letters from “The Watcher.” Any fan of American Horror Story will recognize these tactics used by this unwelcome penpal to terrorize the family.
The Watcher, which also features Jennifer Coolidge and Mia Farrow of Rosemary’s Baby, is a worthy competitor to American Horror Story: Murder House because it, like AHS: Murder House, embellishes the genuinely terrifying true story on which it is based.
True events, however, still make for a terrifying story in their own right. If you dare, keep reading to find out the truth about Netflix’s newest horror series, which just might make you think twice about signing that lease.
When Did The Watcher Send The First Letter?
Derek and Maria Broaddus served as the inspiration for the fictional Brannocks in The Watcher. When the couple finally moved into their new home in Westfield, New Jersey in June 2014, it was only three days before they started receiving letters from an anonymous sender they only knew as “The Watcher.” The 1905 mansion featured six bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, and its white envelope read,
“To the new owner.” According to the New York Magazine article from 2018 that served as inspiration for the Netflix show, the typed note inside began, “Dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard, allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood.”
What Did The Watcher Do Next?
Another letter showed up two weeks after the initial one did. ‘The workers have been busy, and I’ve been watching you unload carloads of your belongings,’ The Watcher wrote. A waste bin is an amusing addition. How far in have they gotten before discovering what’s hidden behind the walls? And they will, in due time.
The Broadduses were actually mentioned by name this time, albeit with a misspelled surname: “Mr. and Mrs. Braddus.” Derek and Maria started to get nervous when they realized this stranger knew personal details about their family, such as their children’s names and the order in which they were born.
The family hadn’t yet moved into their new home because of the renovations (and the creepy letter), and The Watcher seemed eager to see them do so. The author wondered if they would let their “young blood” (children) play in the cellar. Or, are they too chicken to venture down there on their own? If I were in their position, I’d be very scared.
It’s in a completely different part of the house from the rest of the dwelling. “You wouldn’t hear a thing if you were upstairs,” they wrote. The Watcher also informed the family that they “pass by many times a day” in the same note. The 657 Boulevard building is where I work, where I live, and where I obsess over. The Braddus family now includes you.
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Was The Watcher Ever Caught?
Authorities have always had a hunch that someone from the Westfield area was responsible for the letters. According to New York Magazine, the Broaddus family initially suspected Michael Langford, their next-door neighbor whose family had lived in the same house since the 1960s and who was described by another neighbor as “kind of a Boo Radley character.”
There wasn’t a lot of proof that could lead to Langford’s arrest, so he was never taken into custody. Since the DNA on the envelope was later determined to be female, authorities began looking into Michael’s sister, real estate agent Abby Langford, and the previous owner of the home, Andrea Woods. They were both wrong.
Maria’s DNA was checked as well, but the results showed she was innocent. Another potential suspect, a man who played “really dark video games” as a character named “The Watcher,” was ruled out after he repeatedly missed interviews with police.
FAQs – People Also Ask
Is the Watcher based on a true story?
For those who need a refresher, the show follows Nora (Naomi Watts) and Dean (Bobby Cannavale) Brannock, a couple who purchase their ideal home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey. But soon they find a threatening letter from someone calling themselves “The Watcher.”
What happened in real life in Netflix’s ‘the Watcher’?
This is what really occurred in the world. The Netflix Streaming Service in a Still Image The article from 2018 that inspired The Watcher appeared in The Cut and is titled: “The Observer: A happy family has just closed on their ideal home. But the increasingly ominous correspondence they were receiving suggested that they weren’t the only ones curious about it.”
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