“Father Wants Us Dead,” the hit podcast by NJ.com about infamous New Jersey killer John List, is back with a bonus episode to bring listeners the real story behind “The Watcher,” whose haunting letters tormented a family in the same town where List murdered his family.

In the summer of 2015, Westfield, New Jersey found itself at the center of attention from every corner of the country because of The Watcher, a true story so creepy it seemed ripped from a slasher movie script.

It had been decades since another crime story brought news vans and national attention to the quiet suburb. John List murdered his mother, wife and three children in 1971, then disappeared without a trace — leaving residents terrified he might return. He did return to Union County 18 years later — in handcuffs, after being captured in terrific fashion thanks to a call to the Fox show, “America’s Most Wanted.”

When The Watcher story broke in Westfield — even though List was long dead — it harkened back to that earlier time, when another mansion on a pleasant street was the center of speculation and fear.

Now, the story of The Watcher has been thrust back into the spotlight thanks to a Netflix series of the same name, based on the real-life story of the Broaddus family and what happened after it bought the beautiful house at 657 Boulevard in Westfield. (You can see a video of the interior of the house on our website.)

The hit show took some liberties, from dropping a lake into Westfield (it was really shot in New York) to creating a character and plot line based on List and his horrific crimes.

To get the real story, “Father Wants Us Dead” hosts Jessica Remo and Rebecca Everett went back to Westfield and interviewed sources, including the Broaddus family’s lawyer, an investigator on the case, the author of the New York magazine piece that is the basis of the Netflix series and neighbors who watched the story unfold from their doorsteps.

The bonus episode is available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, YouTube, at fatherwantsusdead.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.

With nine episodes in the series and now three bonus episodes, “Father Wants Us Dead” has garnered over 4 million episode listens from people around the world. It peaked on Apple Podcasts’ U.S. chart at No. 5, and reached No. 4 in Australia and No. 2 in New Zealand.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Rebecca Everett may be reached at [email protected].