{"id":40647,"date":"2022-10-27T17:40:07","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T04:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/?p=40647"},"modified":"2022-10-27T17:40:07","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T04:40:07","slug":"netflixs-the-watcher-is-based-on-a-real-house-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/netflixs-the-watcher-is-based-on-a-real-house-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix\u2019s \u2018The Watcher\u2019 is based on a real house | WATCH"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOTO: The Watcher. Credit:\u00a0ERIC LIEBOWITZ\/NETFLIX<\/strong><\/p>\n

The house at 657 Boulevard has curb appeal. And in real estate, it\u2019s all about location, location, location. So, when Dean and Nora Brannock set their eyes on the place, they immediately agree it\u2019s their suburban dream home. They have to have it, but unfortunately, they aren\u2019t the only ones who want it.<\/p>\n

Hellbent on getting it, Dean (Bobby Cannavale) and Nora (Naomi Watts) have just purchased their dream home in the idyllic suburb of Westfield, New Jersey. On the surface, it\u2019s a picturesque neighborhood with perfectly manicured lawns and tree-lined streets. In truth, it holds sinister secrets. Or is it all a hoax?<\/p>\n

Dean and Nora put all their savings into closing the deal but soon realize their neighbors don’t want them there. They’re surrounded by suspects who all seem to have the same intention: to get them to sell the house. Their excitement quickly turns to regret when a stalker who goes by \u201cThe Watcher\u201d starts leaving threatening letters in their mailbox.<\/p>\n

This series is based on the shocking true story of the infamous \u201cWatcher\u201d house in New Jersey and Reeves Wiedeman\u2019s article \u201cThe Haunting of a Dream House<\/a>,\u201d originally published in the November 12, 2018, issue of\u00a0New York Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5HDkw100sXQ<\/p>\n

This gripping seven-episode series comes from co-creators, writers and executive producers\u00a0<\/strong>Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, who recently brought NetflixNFLX\u00a0+2.6%<\/span>\u00a0subscribers the\u00a0disturbing masterpiece\u00a0Dahmer<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of colorful characters in the neighborhood. There\u2019s an eccentric neighbor, Pearl (Mia Farrow), and as the president of the local preservation society, she loathes the concept of renovation. She lives with her oddball brother, Jasper (Terry Kinney), who sneaks into the Brannock\u2019s house and hides in their dumbwaiter. There is also the nosy couple just across the way, Mitch (Richard Kind) and Mo (Margo Martindale), who don\u2019t seem to understand the concept of boundaries and always have binoculars in hand.<\/p>\n

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\"Jennifer<\/div>
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Jennifer Coolidge, Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale in ‘The Watcher’ on Netflix.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY ERIC LIEBOWITZ\/NETFLIX.<\/small><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The always-brilliant and hilarious (and recent Emmy award winner) Jennifer Coolidge portrays Karen Calhoun, a real estate agent and old acquaintance of Nora\u2019s. Like everyone in the neighborhood, she has her share of secrets and motives. One secret she cannot keep is her desire to sell Nora and Dean\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

This whodunit is excellent from start to finish, but what\u2019s the real story? In June 2014, Derek Broaddus and his wife, Maria, closed on the $1.3 million six-bedroom house at 657 Boulevard. Within days, they received the first letter. They hadn\u2019t yet moved in but had already started doing some renovations, provoking the ire of the person writing the letters. Derek and Maria were excited to start this new chapter with their three children, who were 5, 8, and 10 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see already that you have flooded 657 Boulevard with contractors so that you can destroy the house as it was supposed to be,\u201d the letter read in part. \u201cTsk, tsk, tsk \u2026 bad move. You don\u2019t want to make 657 Boulevard unhappy.\u201d<\/p>\n

More letters would follow, and the writer mentioned wanting \u201cyoung blood\u201d in the house. The couple went to the police and contacted the previous owners, John and Andrea Woods, who had lived in the house for 23 years.<\/p>\n

Andrea told the new owners that a few days before she and her husband moved out, they had also received a letter from The Watcher that she described as odd. It also mentioned that The Watcher\u2019s family had been observing the house for years. It was the first time the Woods received anything like it. She threw the letter away. When the new owners got their first letter, the old owners accompanied them to the police station. Detective Leonard Lugo advised them not to tell anyone about the letters, including the neighbors, who were now suspects. They were terrified.<\/p>\n

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\"What's<\/div>
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What’s the real story behind the house in the Netflix series ‘The Watcher’ and has the case been\u00a0… [+]<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY ERIC LIEBOWITZ\/NETFLIX.<\/small><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More letters followed and made mention of their children. \u201cIt has been years and years since the young blood ruled the hallways of the house. Have you found all of the secrets it holds yet? Will the young blood play in the basement? Or are they too afraid to go down there alone? I would be very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs, you would never hear them scream,\u201d another letter read in part. They hadn’t yet moved in and weren\u2019t sure if they ever would.<\/p>\n

Westfield is an upper-crust, well-to-do idyllic town. It\u2019s less than an hour away from the bustling city streets of New York and the perfect place to raise a family. But their dream had turned into a nightmare. They\u2019d already sold their old home, so they moved in with Maria\u2019s parents. They were stuck paying the mortgage and property taxes on 657 Boulevard. Both were depressed, and within six months after that first letter, they decided to put the house back on the market and sell it. But you know how small-town gossip is. Rumors spread, and while some suspected the couple had buyer’s remorse and claimed it was a hoax to get out of the house, others felt sorry for them and saw them as victims.<\/p>\n

They thought of selling, even at a loss, and instead decided to rent it out in the hopes that a few years without incident might help them sell in the future. As of 2018, the prosecutor\u2019s office was still investigating, but no one had been caught.<\/p>\n