‘The Watcher’ house’s neighbors want fans to stop visiting: ‘Go home’
The new Netflix horror show “The Watcher” has fans flocking to Westfield, New Jersey, but residents aren’t thrilled about their suburb’s newfound fame.
As the series sits atop the streamer’s most-watched list, people from around the world are attempting to sneak a peek at the creepy home at 657 Boulevard.
Louise Evans, who lives in Britain, was visiting friends in nearby New Providence when she ventured to Westfield for a gander.
“It’s just a really interesting story,” she told NJ.com. “I lived in New Providence when this was all happening, so now that I’m visiting friends here, I thought, ‘Let’s see the house.'”
The house — which is said to have a mystery stalker watching over it — is attracting so much attention that township police officers stood guard on the property last weekend, framing it with yellow tape and a barricade in front of the driveway to prevent trespassers, according to the outlet.
Still, Pradeep Soni, who lives 25 minutes from the famed home, took a weekend trip to Westfield.
“I just thought I would come because of how interesting the story was,” he told NJ.com. “The house is nice though. It’s not creepy or anything.”
Neighbor Sabina Schutt, meanwhile, decried the tourists as she got stuck in traffic while trying to get home Friday night.
“I think the show doesn’t do wonders for placing our little, but amazing town in a negative light,” Schutt said.
Resident Trish Dulinkski noticed a long line of cars waiting to turn onto Boulevard when she was out Saturday.
“We are all concerned for the family living there now and their neighbors,” she said. “I cannot imagine how long it will be before people lose interest, so the neighborhood can go back to normal, nor can I imagine how much mail the poor current owners will receive from crackpots all over the world.”
NJ.com also reported that other angry residents shouted “go home” at people recently driving by.
The series comes from “American Horror Story” and “Glee” co-creator Ryan Murphy, who also saw recent success on Netflix with “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.'”
Ian Brennan, who co-created “Glee” and the Dahmer series, also worked on “The Watcher.”
