The creepy letters in The Watcher are real – here’s what they each said in real life

‘Will the young blood play in the basement? If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream’

2 years ago

Netflix has just released horror thriller series The Watcher, based on the true story of the Westfield Watcher. The Netflix series follows an onslaught of creepy letters that were sent to the Broaddus family. So, were the letters from The Watcher real? And what did they actually say?

In 2014, Derek and Maria Broaddus were looking at buying their dream home, 657 Boulevard, a six bedroom property in New Jersey. As soon as the Broaddus family stepped into their new home, they were taunted with letters in the mail, some telling them there were “cameras everywhere” and sender, “The Watcher”, telling them they were “monitoring” the family.

The first letter came addressed to “The New Owner” and its sender claimed they had been given the task of watching the house. In the letters, the individual said their father and grandfather watched the property for decades and now, it was their turn. The family continued to receive letters from The Watcher. Here are what the real letters from The Watcher to the Broaddus family said.

The real letters The Watcher sent to the Broaddus family at 657 Boulevard

via Netflix

The first of the letters the family received was The Watcher introducing themselves

According to Today, The Watcher began their letters to the family by introducing themselves and welcoming them to the home. “Dearest new neighbour at 657 Boulevard, allow me to welcome you to the neighbourhood,” they began. “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.”

The first letter also teased the family will probably never work out the sender’s identity. “Who am I?” they wrote. “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.”

via Netflix

Also in the first letter, The Watcher referred to children in the family as ‘young blood’

The Watcher would creepily describe children in the family as “young blood” and seemed to have a strange interest in them. “Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? Better for me,” they said. “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.”

The letter concluded by saying: “Welcome my friends, welcome. Let the party begin,” and was signed as from “The Watcher.”

The next of the letters came two weeks later, and The Watcher said they were ‘monitoring the family’

In a letter sent two weeks after the first, the writer said they were committed to “monitoring” the family. “All of the windows and doors in 657 Boulevard allow me to watch you and track you as you move through the house,” they said. “Who am I? I am The Watcher and have been in control of 657 Boulevard for the better part of two decades now.”

Later letters called the family members by their first names, including the children, but misspelled the family name as “Braddus”. One section of a letter read: “I am pleased to know your names now and the name of the young blood you have brought to me. You certainly say their names often.”

They also said the home was their “obsession”. They said: “I pass by many times a day. 657 Boulevard is my job, my life, my obsession. And now you are too … 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.”

via Netflix

The Watcher said the house was ‘anxious’ for the family to move in and spoke of not being able to hear their children scream

The family didn’t move into the house straight away, but lived elsewhere whilst renovations took place, and The Watcher said the house was “anxious for them” to move in.

“657 Boulevard is anxious for you to move in,” one letter explained. “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.”

It spoke about the renovation work, which The Watcher seemed not too keen on. They said: “The house is crying from all of the pain it is going through. You have changed it and made it so fancy. You are stealing its history. It cries for the past and what used to be in the time when I roamed its halls.

“The 1960s were a good time for 657 Boulevard 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. But 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.”

via Netflix

Letters also threatened the family was in danger

As letters went on, they seemed to get more and more threatening. “Maybe a car accident. Maybe a fire. Maybe something as simple as a mild illness that never seems to go away but makes you feel sick day after day after day after day after day,” one said.

“To the vile and spiteful Derek and his wench of a wife Maria,” another letter read, before calling them “idiots” for not knowing who The Watcher was. “You wonder who The Watcher is? Turn around idiots. Maybe you even spoke to me, one of the so-called neighbours who has no idea who The Watcher could be. Or maybe you do know and are too scared to tell anyone. Good move.”

The Broaddus family ended up moving out of the house before even fully moving in. According to New York Magazine, the new owners of 657 Boulevard have not received new letters.

The Watcher is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.