Bucks Co. Paranormal Investigator Will Appear On Travel Channel Show 'A Haunting'

BENSALEM, PA — Following a near-death experience involving some scary old dolls, a Bucks County paranormal investigator will tell her story on the Travel Channel show "A Haunting" this Friday.

The description for the episode, titled The Devil's Doll, is enough to strike fear in anyone's heart. The woman, "enchanted by a pair of antique dolls," brings them home but is soon "stricken by a mysterious illness that nearly kills her." Then, she and her husband "must take drastic steps to contain the evil within."

But hearing the tale from Bensalem resident Mary Jo Chudley, it's not all gloom and doom.

The founder of the local organization Penn Paranormal Society actually approaches the unknown with a sense of wonder and enthusiasm. The doll she believes nearly killed her still resides in her house — and she's collected nine others, from people who decided they were less than delighted with their own antique dolls.

“They don’t bother me, they’re good," she told Patch in a phone interview. "It’s just my house is haunted, that’s all.”

An ophthalmology technician by day, Chudley has a complicated history with the paranormal.

"I didn’t even do haunted houses or stuff like that when I was a teenager because I was so afraid," she said.

She grew up in northeast Philadelphia, across from a cemetery. Then, when she bought her first house, she noticed the TV, radio, and lights turning off and on at will — and her son started talking to a boy named Marky, who no one else could see.

"He to this day will not even talk about it, because he remembers," she said. "It totally scared him as a child."

Through that experience, Chudley grew interested in investigating signs of paranormal activity and demonic possession. She got to know priests and psychic mediums, and began following her curiosity and sharing her findings with a growing cohort of online followers.

"In the last five years it just blew up because there are so many unanswered questions," she said. "The more you experience, you want to know why this is happening and why these spirits can’t pass on."

She established Penn Paranormal Society a few years ago, and now regularly shares updates on social media. She said people will reach out to her with their problems, sending photos and videos so she can offer her thoughts on whether something's a haunting, a demonic possession, or easily explained away.

“Especially with the pandemic, everybody seemed to go crazy because they’re stuck in their homes,” she said.

Penn Paranormal's Facebook page is all about consulting and offering advice on people's creepy conundrums. On Instagram, she dives into paranormal history — particularly of the haunted sites she likes to visit with her husband.

And Tik Tok, where one of her videos garnered more than a million views? That's mostly for fun.

"The people on Tik Tok don't want to see evidence," Chudley laughed, adding, "I always tell people, if you want to watch Tik Tok don’t judge me for it."

Much of Chudley's online presence centers on haunted dolls, the first of which she bought via Facebook Marketplace from a seller she said would later send her pictures of bees and flies, and the number 666.

“I don’t know what you’re into, but this is not what I’m into,” she told him.

Then, her hemoglobin count dropped dramatically and landed her in the ER. She said her vitals would improve while at the hospital — but upon arriving home, her hemoglobin would tank again. At its lowest, she said, her count was 6 gm/dL, a number considered life-threatening.

Then, she said a psychic medium friend called her and told her to move the dolls she'd purchased to the shed outside her home.

She responded, "How did you know I even got dolls?"

But she did what her friend suggested, and said her health improved.

The dolls are now in her home again, but the one she believes to be possessed is kept in a locked cabinet. She said she, her husband, and their dogs haven't had health issues since the doll has been shut in.

On "A Haunting," producers will show reenactments of their story alongside interviews with Chudley and her husband. She is excited to spread the word about what happened to her.

"This stuff really is out there," she said. "You just have to keep your eyes open."

The Devil's Doll will air on the Travel Channel Friday at 10 p.m., as well as Saturday at 2 a.m., Feb. 25 at 11 p.m., Feb. 26 at 3 a.m., and March 4 at 4 p.m.

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