All the Deets on the Real-Life 657 Boulevard House That Inspired ‘The Watcher’
Netflix's The Watcher tells the v sinister, v true story of a couple who thought that they'd purchased the home of their dreams, only to be threatened with a slew of letters that terrified the living sh*t out of them. TL;DR: In 2014, Derek and Maria Broaddus bought a six-bedroom colonial home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey for $1.3 million, which they planned on renovating for their family. But once the family spruced the home up, someone started sending a series of scary letters, calling themself "The Watcher."
Though the new Ryan Murphy series on Netflix deviates a bit from the original storyline (I mean, for the sake of ART, after all), the mystery of the home is *definitely* real. Here's everything ya need to know about the house now.
Where is it located?
The home that inspired The Watcher was fittingly located at none other than 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey. However, while the Netflix series keeps the address and location of the home the Broaddus family purchased IRL, the scenes were *actually* filmed at a much more expansive (and expensive $$$) home in Rye, New York.
Did the Broaddus family ever live in it?
Unlike the family in Ryan Murphy's adaptation of the story, the Broadduses decided to complete renovations *before* moving in and never ultimately lived in the home full-time, since almost immediately the creepy letters began coming in. And because they'd already sold their previous home, the family actually wound up moving in with Maria's parents as they continued to pay the mortgage and taxes on their new property, per People. Plus, the person behind the entire ordeal was never ultimately caught, so yeah. Reason no. 10,000 not to move.
Did they ever find out who "The Watcher" was?
In the midst of receiving the letters, the Broaddus family hired private investigators and the Westfield police also conducted an "exhaustive investigation," but it was kind of fruitless because the culprit was never identified, according to CBS.
The couple even went as far as suing the previous owners in 2015 for allegedly not relaying the *key* intel that they knew about the stalker but decided to keep quiet when they sold the house. The suit was ultimately dismissed. *Le sigh*
Did anyone buy the house after the Broaddus fam?
Yes! But the Broadduses def took a financial hit, because in order to sell the property, they had to lower their price significantly. In 2019, the home finally sold for $959,000 to an anonymous buyer, with the Broaddus family losing roughly $400,000 in the sale.
But wait, there's more! Interestingly enough, the house actually hasn't been sold since, according to Zillow, which estimates the home's current value is close to a whopping $1.5 million. These records *also* show the Broaddus family tried to get rid of the house by selling or renting it out multiple times (!!) since moving in. *Cue creepy AF music*
Did anyone else receive letters?
In the series, one past resident discloses he began to receive violent letters that encouraged him to sacrifice his wife and child. However, in all actuality, the previous owners only received one letter in the two decades they lived in the home, and it was sent just prior to them moving out. The new owners of the house haven't gotten any creepy letters, per The Cut. Hopefully it stays that way...
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