The Watcher Is Netflix Most Recent True-Crime Story, And It Has A Thing For Them, Know Who Is John Graff, Is He Based On A Real Person And Story
This dramatisation of a true story about a family that moved into their dream home.ย Things turned into a nightmare when they started getting threatening letters from an unidentified “Watcher” will make viewers’ skin crawl.ย
The Brannock family tries to piece together the identity of the Watcher as the episodes go on. But the couple run into problems at every turn.ย
John Graff, a former occupant of their home who Dean says he met in episode 3 while posing as a housing inspector. He is one of the most dubious characters they come across during their quest. But who is John Graff and was he a real person in the case?ย
Know Who Is John Graff In The Watcher On Netflix, Is He Based On A Real Person And True Story
John Graff From The Watcher: Who Is He?ย
Dean hears the tale of John Graff from Detective Theodora Birch in The Watcher episode 3. Graff and his family resided at 657 Boulevard up until 1995 when John Graff killed his mother, wife, and children after receiving a barrage of harassing letters from the Watcher.ย
Graff committed the terrifying crime, then vanished and hasn’t been seen since. Since he removed himself from every family portrait in the house, it has become more difficult to identify him. In episode 3, Dean discovers a man (played by Joe Mantello) fixing himself a sandwich in the home’s kitchen before he and Theodora have their talk.
He identifies himself as “John” and says he’s a building inspector, but when Dean asks the house’s builders about him. They say there isn’t an inspector by that name, prompting him to believe the man he encountered was the actual John Graff.ย
In episodes 6 and 7, Joe Mantello’s character is seen again as a member of the Westfield Preservation Society. It is a group of concerned citizens who seek to prevent the town from altering.ย
He now goes by the name William “Bill” Webster and claims to have lived in Westfield since 1995, the year of the Graff killings. A retired teacher from the neighbourhood school recognises Bill but is unsure of where exactly he saw him before. Eventually, it all appears to connect, and he asks Bill, “How’s your family?”ย
It’s a subtle allusion, but it seems to reinforce Kaplan’s suspicion that Bill is John Graff because he taught Graff’s children while they were students at the nearby school.ย
A Real Person Is Loosely Inspired In John Graff.ย
Although John Graff is a fictional character, The Watcher’s John List appears to be the inspiration for the character. At their house in Westfield, New Jerseyโthe same city where The Watcher is setโList murdered his mother, wife, and three children on November 9, 1971.ย
After killing his family, List vanished, adopted a new name, and hid from authorities for nearly 18 years before being apprehended in June 1989. He was sent to New Jersey after being extradited there. He was found guilty on five charges of first-degree murder and given five life sentences.ย
The list passed away in March 2008 at the age of 82 at St Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. However, it should be noted that there are some significant contrasts between the real-life story of List and the made-up John Graff.ย
First off, the actual murders happened in 1971 rather than 1995. Additionally, List did not reside in the 657 Boulevard home that the Watcher had targeted. Instead, his family lived in Breeze Knoll, a house that was destroyed by fire in 1972, a year after the murders
Release Date And Storyline For The Watcher
On Thursday, October 13, 2022, Netflix finally released โThe Watcherโ.ย
The series was inspired by Reeves Wiedeman’s actual event-based The Cutwork. It has to do with the story of Derek and Maria Broaddus’ fictionalised offspring Dean and Nora Brannock. The couple recently moved into their dream house at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey.
Soon after relocating, the Brannocks realize their quiet neighbourhood may not be as friendly as they first assumed. They assumed them as their eccentric and nosy neighbours, working to make them feel unwelcome. When the family starts to receive threatening letters from an unknown person claiming himself as “the Watcher,” the situation takes a terrifying turn. However, it turns out worse, and they start to fear for their safety.
"I have been put in charge of watching you." Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, and Jennifer Coolidge star in The Watcher, a terrifying new series from Ryan Murphy โ and it's based on a shocking true story! #TUDUM pic.twitter.com/8wNRxkaK0z
— Netflix (@netflix) September 24, 2022
ย ALSO READ: Explained What Is The Big Straw Challenge On TikTok, Meaning And Why Is It So Dangerous