Officials in town of Westfield, New Jersey struck down plans to demolish the infamous house which gained infamy a few years ago due to a bizarre series of letters sent to its new owners.
The luxurious $1.4 million-dollar home made headlines in 2015 when the family that bought the property revealed that they were mailed several messages from someone calling themselves 'The Watcher.'
In the incredibly creepy letters, the writer claimed to have been tasked with watching the home and, in one particularly unsettling missive, asked "Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested?"
The mysterious stalker also claimed to know the names of the new owners and suggested that something ominous was contained within the walls of the home.
As one might expect, the new homeowners were less than thrilled with the letters and subsequently sued the previous occupants of the house for not disclosing that it was apparently a fixation for a deranged individual.
The dispute spawned an ongoing legal battle and served as the basis for a Lifetime movie about a family plagued by a mysterious stranger obsessed with their new home.
And now the 'Watcher house' is back in the news after the current owners attempts to raze the building were rejected by the Westfield planning board following a spirited debate among community members.
Hoping to finally rid themselves of what has become an increasingly weird experience, the owners filed paperwork to tear down the house and build two new homes on the lot.
However, local residents objected to the idea and town officials agreed with their concerns, thus saving the notorious and now vacant home from destruction.
With this latest turn of events, the current owners only recourse may be to once again try to sell the home, although previous attempts to find a buyer have proven fruitless for them.
We're guessing that the decision by the planning board was greeted with delight by 'The Watcher,' but let's hope it doesn't inspire any more haunting letters.
Source: NJ.com