“Back in 2004, my father had terminal cancer,” said Hull Technician 3rd Class Chris Judd. “The doctor gave him six months to live. A year and a half later my father passed. He was very religious and he told me that someday he would show me he was okay.
“Two years after he passed, I was sitting in my living room when I saw an apparition of my father,” Judd said. “I was frozen in shock. For about 20 seconds I saw him sitting there, almost solid, yet translucent. I looked down at my phone and the apparition was gone. Instead of freaking out, I felt at ease. I walked back into my room, sat on my bed, and thanked my dad. After that day, I promised myself that I would learn more about the paranormal.”
As a hull technician, Judd maintains the structural integrity of USS Nimitz (CVN 68). In his free time, Judd enjoys investigating paranormal activity.
After witnessing what he believed to be the apparition of his father, Judd pursued paranormal investigation as a serious hobby. He researched paranormal groups in his home state of Missouri and found the Missouri Paranormal Society (MPS), based out of Creve Couer, Missouri.
“Two years after witnessing the apparition I joined the MPS, a large paranormal group stationed out of Missouri,” Judd said. “MPS operated by receiving clientele calls who requested the services of paranormal investigators. MPS members would research the location and conduct experiments to evaluate a presence of abnormal activity. After evaluating the evidence found during investigations, members would debrief the client. These investigations took place in cemeteries, lighthouses, residential and commercial buildings, schools and even hospitals. The group covered the Missouri and Illinois region and had over 100 members. I got my foot in the door by participating in more than 150 investigations. Starting out as the tool and lighting guy, I slowly gained respect from other members.”
In order to be considered a full member of the MPS, Judd had to pass one final hurdle.
Judd explained, “For the initiation, I had to go to Alton Cemetery in Alton, Ill., and lay in a six-foot grave for 45 minutes while talking out loud while recording with a digital recorder. All I could see was dirt and darkness, yet I stayed determined to carry out my mission. I continuously talked out loud to anyone or anything that would want to make ‘contact’. Four hours later, the initiators finally returned to the grave and told me that I had the patience to be considered a Missouri Paranormal Society member.”
After being initiated into the MPS, Judd was granted the ability to investigate under instruction. He scouted locations, followed up on leads from call-ins, and evaluated evidence found during paranormal investigations. During his time with MPS, he learned how to properly conduct investigations, how to interact with clients, and how to spot and debunk evidence. After four years of practicing with the MPS, he became independent, expanded his range of investigation locations and formed his own group.
“After working with MPS for several months, I founded my own paranormal investigation group with two other MPS members, Cameron and Jesse,” said Judd. “We named ourselves ShadowWalkerz Inc. Armed with only a camera and a digital recorder, we started investigating at residential homes.”
Eventually Judd invested in more complex tools in order to collect more evidence for evaluation.
“These tools included dowsing rods, which detect high electromagnetic frequency and help communicate with a spirit by moving the rod antennae to the left, right, or crossing,” said Judd. “We also used a light grid, which projects a laser grid onto the room. We are able to see objects moving across the lasers because they block the grid light. A spirit box is a tool that can make contact in real time with an intellectual spirit using high frequency radio stations creating white noise. An electromagnetic field radiation (EMF) meter is used to detect high spikes of EMF if a spirit is around, and it also reads temperature. A digital recorder is used to capture electronic voice phenomena, sounds and knocks. Infrared binoculars help with outdoor investigations to see heat signatures, especially in the forest. Lastly, a digital camera can catch spirit orbs, black masses, an apparition, objects moving, unexplained lights, and also audio.”
Utilizing these tools, Judd and his partners were able to investigate and record paranormal investigations. Judd recounted one of these investigations:
“In a normal residential neighborhood, I drove to a haunted home and spoke with the client that called,” Judd said. “Joanne, the client, told me the couple that lived in the house before her had a child. There was an electrical fire in the baby’s room during the night and the baby died from smoke inhalation.”
He spoke with Joanne and she showed him the hotspots around the home. She told him the kitchen drawers would open and close on their own as well as the door leading into the baby’s bedroom.
“I suggested for Joanne to go next door while we hooked up our equipment, setting up a tripod outside the bedroom facing the door and the kitchen,” Judd said. “I told Cameron and Jessie to start recording from the basement and work their way upstairs while I started an EVP session in the bedroom where the baby passed away. Joanne had been given a doll from her grandmother as a child and had since amassed a collection of over 150 dolls. These dolls were on display in the baby’s bedroom. In the middle was the doll that her grandmother, Gabrielle, had given her.”
Judd staged his equipment facing the door and began going through his process for investigating a room.
“The air was dead and for 20 minutes and I could not get any readings,” said Judd. “I tried calling for the baby or the parents and received no answer.”
Then he remembered Joanne told him her grandmother would make her presence known at times, so he began talking to her directly.
“I told her that her granddaughter loves her but appreciates her not scaring her,” said Judd. After about 10 minutes of waiting, I felt a heavy swoosh against my back. I was a seasoned veteran by this time, yet I never ran so fast out of a room as I did that night.”
Judd contacted his partners and asked them to come up from the basement when they were done with their EMF sweep.
“They both came up and we went in the room and saw the doll her grandmother had given her on the floor,” said Judd. “We tried to come up with reason behind it, loose boards or possibly sitting on the edge, but we figured no result. There was no other evidence throughout the night. The next day, after looking at about six hours of footage, we told Joanne what we caught and she was happy to know that her grandmother was out there listening.”
Having enlisted in the Navy since founding ShadowWalkerz Inc., Judd maintains an interest in the paranormal. Always ready for a new adventure, Judd enjoys his hobby of paranormal investigation.
“I appreciate the hobby of paranormal investigation because conducting research and collecting evidence helps assist clients that might feel unease or want answers. And who doesn’t like a nice ghost story?”