Real-Life Horror Story: After Family Tormented By Heinous Letters, Netflix Plans New Series

By Abby Liebing October 22, 2021 at 6:15pm

What would you do if you moved into a house that was watched and obsessed over?

That is not a typical question that homebuyers have to ask, but it became a frightening reality for Derek and Maria Broaddus as they moved into their new dream house in 2014 and discovered they had a stalker.

But the Broadusses, after going through a few years of terror, learned they could cash in on their experience. Now Netflix is making a movie based on their story. They ended up with the happy American ending of making money off their own misfortune.

Netflix is set to start production of “The Watcher” this fall, according to Best of Netflix.

In true American entertainment fashion, watchers can get their spooky fix watching the misfortunes of others in the show, which will star Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale.

It’s been seven years since the Broadusses had their first brush with their house’s stalker.

The Broaddus family had just bought their dream house in Westfield, New Jersey, according to The Cut’s report. In June 2014, just before moving in, they received frightening letters from someone calling themselves “The Watcher.” The writer proclaimed that they were in charge of watching over the house and that their family had been doing it for decades.

The letters were angry, contained veiled threats and began asking questions of the Broadusses.

“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,” they wrote in the first letter.

Naturally, this spooked Derek and Maria, but they moved in.

However, the letters kept coming and the family kept being watched. The police had suspects and tried to find the stalker, but they couldn’t solve the mystery.

The letters began including even more frightening details as the stalker watched Derek and Maria’s children and threatened them.

“Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? Better for me,” the stalker wrote. “Or was it greed to bring me your children? Once I know their names I will call to them and draw them too [sic] me.”

Eventually, feeling unsafe and on edge, the family moved out. But naturally, they had trouble selling a house that came with a stalker.

The identity of “The Watcher” has never been discovered. The stalker wreaked havoc on the poor Broaddus family for several years as they lived with the fear of being watched and then bore the burden of having a hard-to-sell house.

So what do you do if your house is plagued by a stalker and you live through a bit of a horror story? Capitalize on your experience, sell the rights to your story and then make money off of your own creepy misfortune.

That’s what the Broadusses did, according to All That’s Interesting.

Even in the midst of fear and terror, keep achieving the American dream. Sell your story and brand. Sorry you had to live through it, but at least others can enjoy watching your experiences and you get to make money off your own horrible experiences.