A LIFELONG Westfield resident has shared that the Watcher "freaked out" the town and had residents "really scared."

The saga of The Watcher – which left the Broaddus family with a series of ominous and threatening letters – has been turned into a new seven-part Netflix series.

The family purchased a gorgeous six-bedroom house in Westfield, New Jersey for $1.3million in June 2014, but just days later, they received their first anonymous note sent to them by someone known only as “The Watcher.”

Ralph Bencivenga, one of the owners of Bovella’s Pastry Shoppe in downtown Westfield, told The U.S. Sun that "everybody was freaked out" when the saga began in 2014.

“Westfield is a family town. Nothing really happens in Westfield. So when that happened everybody was going crazy," he said.

Bencivenga, who has worked at the pastry shoppe since 1985, said it was business as usual for the bustling bakery, located less than a mile from 657 Boulevard.

But he said that some Westfield residents were more affected than others.

“It didn’t affect us because we do our normal routine here [at the pastry shoppe], but I know a lot of residents out there that were really scared about the neighborhood," he said.

“Around that neighborhood where the Watcher house was, I think people were just nervous and cautious.”

As far as the new Netflix series is concerned, Bencivenga said his feelings are mixed.

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"It's not something you really want to brag about," he said, but added that it's "pretty cool."

MYSTERY BEGINS

Derek and Maria Broaddus purchased the six-bedroom house for $1.3million in June 2014, but just days later, they received their first anonymous note.

The chilling letters sent to the address revealed that the author knew intimate details of their lives and the layout of the house.

They also warned that if children went down to the basement their parents "would never hear them scream.”

Each of the letters was signed only by "The Watcher,” the title of the new Netflix series loosely based on the Broaddus’ unnerving saga.

Westfield, just 28 miles from Manhattan, is often named one of the safest places to live in America.

For the Broaddus family, buying the Dutch colonial home at 657 Boulevard was fulfilling a lifelong dream.

Maria was born in Westfield and the expansive new house with four bathrooms and more than 3,800 square feet was just blocks away from her childhood home.

Derek, who had a working-class upbringing in Maine, had worked his way up to become senior vice-president at a New York insurance company before his 40th birthday.

CREEPY 'YOUNG BLOOD' NOTE

Just three days after they closed on the house, Derek was painting his new home when he went outside to check the mail.

Inside was a letter, addressed in thick, clunky handwriting to "The New Owner,” and a typed note.

"Dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard, allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood,” the letter began.

“How did you end up here? Did 657 Boulevard call to you with its force within?"

The author continued by saying that the house had "been the subject of my family for decades" and said that he had "been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming.”

They then asked if the owners knew "what lies within the walls" of the home, and said that they would "find out" why they were there.

The note’s author revealed that they had already begun watching the family, identifying various personal details, such as their Honda minivan and the fact that they had hired builders to renovate the home.

The letters warned that the couple would make the house "unhappy" if they changed it, and made a chilling reference to their children.

"The Watcher" even knew how many children the couple had, and said that they wanted the house filled with "young blood.”

There was no return address on the envelope, and the author teased the homeowners that they could be a neighbor or just a passer-by.

The letter concluded by warning that it would not be the last, saying: "Welcome my friends, welcome. Let the party begin," following by a typed signature: "The Watcher.”

The anonymous author would go on to send several other letters over the following weeks.

The Broaddus family, too scared to move into their new home, rented it out, and say another letter arrived in 2017, warning of various tragedies which could take place, such as car accidents, fires, or the sudden death of a loved one.

They eventually put the home up for sale and sold it in 2019 for a loss of about $400,000.

The new residents of the home couldn’t be reached by The U.S Sun on Wednesday.

'THIS WAS A CRAZY HOUSE'

While many neighbors along The Boulevard have come and gone, some were around at the time the saga was unfolding.

Kimberly Sorrentino has lived on The Boulevard for about 30 years.

She told The U.S. Sun that before the Broaddus family bought the house, “this was a crazy house.”

"It was a bachelor's house before it was a private home," Sorrentino claimed.

Sorrentino "seriously contemplated" purchasing the Broaddus family's home when it was up for sale.

"I thought it was a good price for the house," she said.

“I don’t think much of it, I don’t think it was anything scary,” Sorrentino said.

"I would say the car jackings in this town are much more serious than The Watcher."

Another neighbor across the street echoed that sentiment, saying she also wasn't worried at the time.

However, she did share that she was part of the group of neighbors along The Boulevard who participated in voluntary DNA testing as part of the investigation into the mysterious letters.

"Two detectives came … and I knew that I wasn't part of anything, but it was weird," she recalled.

She never heard anything further after the test.

"I hope the movie's good, but there's so much more to talk about," she added.

When approached by The U.S. Sun, the Westfield Police Department said: "We’re not giving a statement at this time."

'THIS IS JUST OUR TOWN'

Other community members had mixed reactions to the news that the story of The Watcher was about to premiere on Netflix.

“It’s probably going to be way more dramatic than the actual story,” one employee at a waxing salon told The U.S. Sun on Wednesday.

“People haven’t heard of it,” another chimed in.

Elsewhere, outside of Feast Catering where everyone seemed to know everyone popping in to pick up lunch, two women said they tend to “stay out of the town business.”

“This is just our town,” one woman said. 

“I kind of feel like that’s the vibe of the town in general – you don’t have to know everyone’s business.”

She insisted that Westfield – with a population of just under 30,000 – is a “happy little town.”

Many residents and community members made mention of the constant coming and going of news trucks back in 2014 when the letters became a national story.

One woman who was with her mother and daughter at Vicki’s Diner said that she “felt bad” for the family at the time.

“I think it was somebody joking around,” she said of the mysterious letters.

“I don’t know that I’d buy it,” she was quick to add.

The Watcher, starring Naomi Watts, is now streaming on Netflix.

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