As legend has it, The Watcher letters (and harassment) stopped after the terrorized family left the building. Ryan Murphy recently adapted the based-on-real-life story for Netflix, and although some vocal viewers were disappointed at the lack of a concrete ending, that aspect of the show matches up to what happened in real life. Or rather, it matches what didn’t happen, given that even though the show toys with hypotheticals, no one actually determined the identity of The Watcher.
The show is remains worth a watch, but there’s a new wrinkle because the real-life mystery has actually been fueled by how the harassment simply evaporated. The Broadusses/Brannocks relocated and apparently went back to a peaceful life, and the newest owners of 657 Boulevard (as detailed by The Cut’s followup reporting to their original article) seemed to have no further issues. And barring “a confession or a DNA match,” it looked like this story would fade into the pop cultural annals of history.
Not so fast, though? The New York Post reports (while claiming to have viewed new police records) that the house’s current owners have called police dozens of times, including for unknown reasons. It’s very mysterious:
The current owners of 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey — the property otherwise known as the real-life home from “The Watcher” series — have made 58 calls to police since they moved in back in July 2019, The Post can report.
The Post notes that the Westfield Police relayed a lack of developments (or “threatening communications”) for the new owners as of October 2021. However, if the new report is to be believed, there have been calls made for several reasons, including a medical call but also the owners feeling “spooked by something” along with concerns of possible burglary-related activity and tripped alarms in the basement. However, the police reports remain under wraps, and no new activity has been confirmed by other sources. So, take this with a grain of salt, but it sure makes the O.G. story seem spookier.
(Via New York Post)