The Watcher is based on the real events in the life of a family that was stalked in 2014.
(Picture: Eric Liebowitz/Netflix )Ryan Murphy’s new true crime mini-series, The Watcher, has dropped on Netflix, just weeks after the release of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
The seven-episode series, which launched on October 13, stars Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale and features appearances from Jennifer Coolidge and Mia Farrow.
The Watcher tells the terrifying tale of a family who move into a new home, only to be threatened by letters from a mysterious stalker who calls himself The Watcher.
While that sounds creepy enough, what’s even more unsettling is that The Watcher is inspired by true events – that happened less than a decade ago.
So what was the story that inspired Ryan Murphy’s new show?
The true story that inspired The Watcher
The Watcher is based on real events that occurred in New Jersey in 2014 and were reported in an article in the Cut in 2018.
Derek and Maria Broaddus bought their six-bedroom home in Westfield but, before they even moved in, The Watcher began his campaign against them.
Derek found a letter addressed to The New Owner that claimed the sender had been tasked with watching the house.
The sender also knew details about the family, like the fact they had three children, and that they were making renovations – which the sender had a problem with.
The letter read: “Dearest new neighbour at 657 Boulevard, Allow me to welcome you to the neighbourhood.
“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 family contacted the previous owners who said they had received a similar letter shortly before they moved out, but hadn’t received any other threatening messages in the 23 years they lived there.
Meanwhile, they continued to receive letters from The Watcher, while their neighbours were questioned by the police.
The Broaddus family even hired a private investigator but they never discovered who was behind the creepy letters. The family ended up selling the house in 2019 at a loss.
