NJ - " I am the Watcher..." -- A Hoax ?

[meanmaryjean]

The previous family lived there for 24 years? Correct? And these folks never moved in?

H*O*X

 

[wfgodot]

The previous family lived there for 24 years? Correct? And these folks never moved in?

H*O*X

By whom, though?

 

[eileenhawkeye]

Filing a lawsuit seems to be going too far for a hoax. How are they going to keep it up in the courtroom?

 

[wfgodot]

Let's see....what are our possibilities here....

...Genuine "the Watcher" creepy character
...Some random "the Watcher" external hoaxer
...Buyer family, suffering buyers' remorse
...Seller, wanting out of contract to either stay or sell for more

What are others?

 

[SophieRose]

http://www.nj.com/union/index.ssf/2015/06/lawsuit_bring_me_young_blood_stalker_told_westfiel.html

Charles Sullivan, a law professor at Seton Hall Law School, said some states have laws requiring the disclosure of tragic incidents that occurred in a house such as murders. "There's a duty on the part of the seller to disclose to the buyer any defect that would impact the marketability of a property," Sullivan said about laws in those other states.

But New Jersey does not have such laws, he said. "There probably would not be a duty to disclose this," Sullivan said referring to the letters in the Westfield case.

 

[SophieRose]

http://www.insideedition.com/headli...-family-with-new-home-have-you-found-out-what

Margaret Davis lived in the house with her family from the 1960's to the 1980's - 26 years! We asked whether The Watcher ever tried to communicate with her.

"It's a wonderful place. Idylic. Mayberry R.F.D.," she told INSIDE EDITION. "That was nothing that was ever part of our time there. So, I don't know whether someone was watching or not, but we certainly never heard about it," she added.

 

[wfgodot]

Let's see....what are our possibilities here....

...Genuine "the Watcher" creepy character
...Some random "the Watcher" external hoaxer
...Buyer family, suffering buyers' remorse
...Seller, wanting out of contract to either stay or sell for more

What are others?

add:

...Fake suit; actually a promo for new film

Others?

 

[marble]

Not knowing where the letters were sent from (or if they were just dropped in the box by hand) makes this impossible to develop any theories about, IMO.
If the letters were postmarked from out of town it could be a random internet prank from obnoxious kids via a site like 4chan or similar. Since the listing details are online (and before that, property tax records probably) all they'd need to do is read the property description and bring up google street view to write letters that detailed. If they were hand delivered or postmarked from nearby then that's a whole other thing, but the fact the letters so explicitly repeat the street address is what stands out to me- the specificity of including the house number again feels off.

 

[dotr]

http://unsolved.com/node/1483
Unsolved mysteries video.

Wonder if the local video store in town, ( back in the day..) can recall anybody who might have rented this film repeatedly?

[video=youtube;3HX-qQgDGaM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HX-qQgDGaM[/video]

 

[PrairieWind]

I wonder if this is being done by person that wants to buy the house.

As for the lawsuit, I havent read the complaint or looked at the law in that state. But it would depend on that state's law. States vary quite a bit on this sort of thing. It would also depend on the purchase contract and what it says and the types of disclosures the sellers made. In my state, real estate purchase contracts are generally "as is." The seller isn't required to make disclosures (apart from some basic ones that aren't relevant tot his case. If a seller does choose to make property condition disclosures, then they have a duty to do so completely and accurately. But I have never seen a disclosure form that contains a section on whether the seller is aware of any weird creepy people watching the house. So, in my state, the buyers would not be able to prevail in a lawsuit to set aside the sale or recover damages.

 

[wfgodot]

I wonder if this is being done by person that wants to buy the house.

Good one.

So now....

...Genuine "the Watcher" creepy character
...Some random "the Watcher" external hoaxer
...Buyer family, suffering buyers' remorse
...Seller, wanting out of contract to either stay or sell for more
...Prospective buyer, wanting property back on market
...Fake suit; actually a promo for new book or film

ETA and see below for more

 

[meanmaryjean]

Buyer's family, but not buyer's remorse. Some type of strange attention-seeking behavior IMHP

 

[EllieBee]

Interesting to note that macabre artist Charles Addams was born and raised in Westfield and drew many of his Addams Family cartoons there.

Also of interest:
In 1971, John List killed his mother, wife and three children in their Westfield, NJ home.

Spoooooky.

 

[wfgodot]

Also of interest:
In 1971, John List killed his mother, wife and three children in their Westfield, NJ home.

Spoooooky.

Good one.

Possibly the scariest description of mass murder (and the subsequent death scene upstairs in the List abode) I've ever read, in Mary S. Ryzuk's "Thou Shalt Not Kill."

 

[EllieBee]

I keep humming the "Scooby Doo" theme song.....

 

[wfgodot]

Buyer's family, but not buyer's remorse. Some type of strange attention-seeking behavior IMHP

I like.

...Genuine "the Watcher" creepy character
...Some random "the Watcher" external hoaxer
...Buyer family, suffering buyers' remorse
...Buyer family, for other reasons psychological in nature
...Seller, wanting out of contract to either stay or sell for more
...Prospective buyer, wanting property back on market
...Fake suit; actually a promo for new book or film

 

[Sweetgrits]

No, but you do have to disclose things that could significantly diminish the value of the home. IMO, and an amateur one at that, this would qualify!

If this a hoax and I believe it is, what should have been disclosed? "Oh, before we close on this we got a letter from some wacko who claims to watch the house" How much credence do you give to that disclosure from the family who's lived in the house 20 years without any problems? Did the sellers ever see this person? Was there evidence that someone had been in the house during that 20 years or since the new family closed? Were they ever threatened?

And the new owners haven't even moved into the house so all they have to go on is a letter. I'm inclined to agree that this is either an excuse from the new family because they can't afford the house or they're hoping some Hollywood type wants to a story about this. Honestly, I would be too embarrassed to admit I was afraid to live in a 1.3 million dollar house because of a letter. JMO,MOO

 

[Sternocleidomastoid]

If I'm understanding correctly, there was one letter sent to the previous owners of the home? I see three possible investigative avenues. Someone is either upset by the sale of the house itself, or by something about the previous or current owners.

More information about the first letter to the previous owners would be useful. Was it sent before or after they were planning to sell the house? If it was after they decided to sell the house, who would have known about their intention to do so at that time? Was the house on the market and who had shown an interest in it?

It seems least likely that the letters are being sent by someone with a longstanding ax to grind against the current owners, unless the letter was sent in a time period where the writer could have known they were moving to this particular house. Slightly less unlikely is ax grinding against the previous owners, but it's still possible that someone saw this as a perfect opportunity to disrupt their sale. Most likely, something about the transaction itself spurred the letters.

Practically, the only people who care who lives in any house are the neighbors. Neighbors can get very territorial and have private grievances so minor that no one else would ever be able to guess them. My money's on a neighbor. My second guess is someone who is aggravated by some financial aspect of the sale. Relatives involved in an inheritance dispute, current or former business partners or competitors, that kind of thing.

Edit: Another theory just came to mind, but it's rather off the wall. I feel bad even proposing this about the new family who I know nothing about, but a scorned mistress might also be bothered by the purchase of an expensive new home and could be upset enough to do something so "crazy." I'm imagining a scenario where the man promised to leave his wife for the mistress, but backed out. It could infuriate the mistress to see the wife get the upgraded life that she was expecting.

 

[marble]

From my reading of the documents, the only letter that was sent to the previous owners (the lawsuit does not state this was the only letter, but if there were more uncovered then I think they'd be included rather than alluded to- meaning I think they really only received one letter) was sent *one week before the closing*.

That means the property and all of its details was listed on the net at the time that letter to the previous owner was sent.

If it's not random griefers responsible for this, my money is on a stalker connected to the buyers and not the buyers themselves. Someone who found out that the buyers had put an offer on the property and wanted to disrupt any satisfaction or pleasure the new owners were experiencing by purchasing that exclusive property. If I were the buyers I'd be thinking very hard about whether or not I'd made any public or semi-public posts on social media about my house-hunting and potential real estate transaction back before the first letter arrived, and I'd share that info with the authorities.

That's got to be a terrifying experience for them, but whether or not they win their lawsuit and the original owner is legally held culpable, I think it's morally wrong for the previous owner to be held responsible in this situation and also sets a terrible precedent. I hope whoever is behind this is unmasked before the lawsuit gets much further.

 

[meanmaryjean]

I wonder if the reporter who outed Rachel Dolezal is busy right now?

:thinking: