The Case | In Brief
The Netflix original series, The Watcher, is partly based on the real-life Westfield, NJ watcher case--an unknown letter writer stalks an unsuspecting family of five. The Broaddus family received four letters that contained veiled threats and unhinged language.
Digital Resources
- "The Watcher: The True Story of the Haunting of 657 Boulevard" | TheCut
- The Eerie Case Of The Watcher | BuzzFeed
- Every Letter From The Watcher | Netflix
Severing The Case | Westfield Watcher Episode
Drew Hudson pens the 7-minute story that provides an overview of the real-life Westfield Watcher case.
Harry Chambers and Drew Hudson inspect the lone Watcher envelope for visual clues about the handwriting and postal location in Kearny, NJ. They provide language analysis on excerpted parts of the four Watcher letters and discuss their persons of interest.
The episode concludes with a humorous and trenchant take on the writing and casting of the 7-episode Netflix series produced and directed by Ryan Murphy.
What Inspired Severed to Cover This Case?
Drew: For our inaugural episode, I discussed with Harry the possibility of leading with a New Jersey-based case, since we are from the Greater New York City area. We could not only provide language analysis, based on some expertise but visit the location of the infamous 657 Boulevard in Westfield, NJ.
Show Notes
Article: “The Watcher: A Family Bought Their Dream House. But According to the Creepy Letters They Started to Get, They Weren’t the Only Ones Interested in It.” by Reeves Wiedeman | TheCut.com
Article: “Taking Another Look at the Watcher: What We Know about the Case Four Years Later” by Reeves Wiedeman | TheCut.com
Legal Document: “Here is ‘The Watcher’ Lawsuit in All of Its Terrifying Detail” | Documents.Gawker.com
Netflix: The Watcher (2022)
Lyrics: SecondHandSongs.com: “Young Blood” by The Coasters
