Family Flees Dream Home, and Its Creepy 'Watcher'

Lawsuit claims previous owners hid letter from 'the Watcher'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 25, 2015 7:19 AM CDT
Family Flees Dream Home, and Its Creepy 'Watcher'
Stock photo   (Shutterstock)

A New Jersey couple says the $1.3 million dream home they bought in Westfield a year ago came with six bedrooms, a sprawling lawn for their three kids, and a creepy stalker, who the owners say began sending threatening letters three days after they took possession. The letters, signed by "the Watcher," claim the home "has been the subject of my family for decades," and "I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming," reports CBS News. Eerier still, the individual, who claims to have watched the house for two decades, asks, "Have they found out what's in the walls yet?" and says, "I am pleased to know your names now, and the name of the young blood you have brought to me." The individual also inquires about who is sleeping in which bedrooms so "I can plan better."

The family says they never moved in as a result of the letters, the last of which arrived in July, reports NJ.com. They're suing the previous owners for their money back, plus interest, claiming they concealed the stalker from them, reports the New York Daily News. The lawsuit claims the previous owners received a letter from "the Watcher" that "noted there would be a new family moving into the home" more than a week before the closing date but "knowingly and willfully failed to disclose" it. The lawsuit adds the "plaintiffs are having trouble selling the home as interested parties, once notified of the letters, no longer view the property as a safe home." Westfield's mayor says police have "conducted an exhaustive investigation…and left no stone unturned," but no charges have been laid. (One California woman decided to "prank" the family who bought her dream home out from under her; criminal charges ensued.)

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