Here’s the chilling true story behind The Watcher, Ryan Murphy’s latest Netflix show
This is my idea of hell
Frances GurneySomething that makes chilling Netflix shows, like The Watcher, even better is knowing there is a terrifying true story behind them. We’re approaching Halloween so obviously a bunch of scary shows have been dropped on Netflix, the most recent is Ryan Murphy’s The Watcher.
The Watcher just dropped today and it’s a seven-part series about Dean and Nora Brannock, who move into their dream home in the suburbs with their two kids. However they quickly realise something weird is happening in their new neighbourhood. They start to receive letters from someone called The Watcher who says it is their duty to watch over the house and they begin terrorising the family. It’s pretty creepy and what makes it more interesting is the fact The Watcher is based on a true story – here’s everything you need to know about it.
The Watcher on Netflix is based on a true story
The Watcher is a new thriller series created by Ryan Murphy and is inspired by the real life events which were first published in The Cut in 2018.
In 2014, Derek and Maria Broaddus brought their dream home, 657 Boulevard, a six bedroom property in New Jersey. Derek was at the property doing work before his family moved in and saw a letter addressed to “The New Owner.” The person who wrote the letter called themselves “The Watcher” and claimed they had been given the task of watching the house. The letter said: “Dearest new neighbour at 657 Boulevard, Allow me to welcome you to the neighbourhood.
via Netflix
“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 letter then continued and talked about the children in the family, so Derek went to the police and who told him to not discuss the letter with new neighbours. Derek and Maria contacted the previous owners of the property via email who said they had not experienced anything like that in the 23 years they had lived there so Derek threw the letter out.
The family continued to receive letters from The Watcher, and finally the police brought in the family’s neighbour for questioning however he was cleared as a suspect. Derek and Maria then hired their own private detectives, from this they found The Watcher was an older person and had possibly been inspired by Keanu Reeves’ film, The Watcher.
The investigation came to an end in 2014 and six months after getting their first letter, Derek and Maria put the house up for sale. The house was eventually sold in 2019, $400,000 less than the original price they bought it for.
The real Watcher was never identified
Despite hiring private detectives and the effort of the police, The Watcher was never identified.
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.
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