The otherwise quiet town of Westfield, New Jersey, has become the focus of international media attention, after a family was reportedly forced out of their home by a series of bone-chilling letters from a stalker who calls himself “The Watcher”.
Derek and Maria Broaddus bought the six-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot turn-of-the century home for $1.3 million, in June 2014. Three days after signing the papers, they started receiving creepy letters from someone who claimed to be watching the house. “My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. It is now my time,” the first one read. “I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming.”
The creepy letters also mentioned the Broaddus’ children: “Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested?” the mysterious stalker asked. “Once I know their names I will call to them and draw them out to me.”
Photo: FOX2 video caption
Two other letters, sent one month apart, on June 18 and July 18, 2014, managed to spook the new owners even more. “Have they found out what is in the walls yet?” the mysterious person asked, referring to the children. “In time they will.”
“I am pleased to know your names now and the name of the young blood you have brought to me,” one of the letters read “Will the young bloods play in the basement?”
“Who has the bedrooms facing the street? I’ll know as soon as you move in. … It will help me to know who is in which bedroom then I can plan better.”
“Who I am?” it read. “I am the Watcher.”
Photo: CBS2 video caption
Part of the letters suggested that someone was actually watching them: “You have changed it and made it so fancy,” The Watcher wrote in one of the letters. “It cries for the past and what used to be in the time when I roamed its halls. … When I ran from room to room imagining the life with the rich occupants there. And now I watch and wait for the day when the young blood will be mine again.”
The Broaddus family have since moved out of their “dream home” and filled a civil complaint earlier this month, suing the former owners for “knowingly and willfully” failing to disclose the history of the house, particularly information about The Watcher, who claims possession of the property. Derek and Maria Broaddus claim they would never have bought the house had they known it was stalked.
In their complaint, the couple said that in one of the letters The Watcher mentioned having written to the previous owners as well, but they never said anything about it when the papers were signed. Their lawyer said “they have been consumed daily by stress, anxiety and fear regarding what ‘The Watcher’ will do.”
Curiously, the NJ website claims none of the neighbors know anything about The Watcher, despite his claims that the house has been watched for generations. Some believe it’s someone in their community playing a cruel hoax on the new buyers, but have no proof of this so they are unwilling to give any names.
Others think it’s another buyer trying to kick the owners out of the house and bring down the price of the property. If this is indeed the case, their strategy is working, as the Broaddus’ don’t want to live there anymore.
Rumors of the whole thing being one big hoax thought up by the owners for media attention have been put to rest by the local police department, who have announced they are in possession of three letters sent by The Watcher. “Our police department conducted an exhaustive investigation based on the factual circumstances and evidence available,” Westfield Mayor Andrew Skibitsky said during a town council meeting. “Although it would not be appropriate to discuss the details of the investigation. … We have spoken with the Union County Prosecutor’s Office to make sure no stone is left unturned.”
