I have always had a fascination with the paranormal and when I meet someone new, one of my standard questions is, "Have you ever had anything really weird happen to you?" You would be amazed at some of the answers I've gotten to that question.

Back in 1982 I was at Fort Leonardwood in Missouri for Basic Training. I shared a room with seven other guys and lights out was at 8:30 p.m. every night. One evening when everyone was getting ready for bed I asked the standard. I got a bunch of strange looks and somebody asked, "What do you mean?" I replied, "You know, like ghosts or Big Foot or UFOs; stuff like that?" Most of them replied with, "No," and somebody said, "Go to sleep," so I did.

A few hours later I was awakened out of that sleep by Private Wyngard. Wyngard had the bunk closest to the door and he had waited for everyone to fall asleep before approaching me. I asked, "What do you want Wyngard?" And his reply startled me. He said, "You asked that question earlier and I waited until everybody fell asleep to tell you because I didn't want anyone to think I was crazy." This introductory statement immediately caught my attention and I was instantly wide awake. I inquired, "What happened?" and he related the following story:

Wyngard lived with his parents before joining the military. As you walk in the front door there is a set of stairs that lead down into the basement, and on one side of the basement was his bedroom. One day in the summer, right around twilight, he was at home by himself. His parents were playing bridge. His brothers and sisters were with friends. His friends were busy, and there was nothing good on TV. He was so bored that he made up a game to entertain himself. The only problem was it turned out to be more than just a game.

At the bottom of the stairs was a stereo rack. On the top of the rack Wyngard had a chess board with the usual black and white plastic pieces. Wyngard's boredom led him to create an imaginary war between good and evil, all recreated on the chess board. In Wyngard's mind, all of the white pieces represented the forces of good, while the black pieces represented the forces of evil. The white king was God and the black king was the devil.

In Wyngard's little war, the forces of evil were laying waste to the forces of good. He would pick up a black piece and use it to send a white piece flying off the board. Finally it got to the point where the white king was the only piece for good left and it was completely surrounded by the pieces of evil. The coup de gras came when he pick up the black king and lowered it slowly over the head of the white king.

Just before he could complete the move, the board began shaking violently and in one sudden motion all of the pieces flew off the board. At the same time, a blast of hot wind came screaming down the stairs, knocking Wyngard off his feet. This terrified Wyngard because he always made sure the door at the top of the stairs was closed. At this point he scrambled out of the house and waited in the front yard until his parents got home. Then he gathered up the pieces and the board and threw them all away.

Wyngard told me he also believed in ghosts because of another experience he had. His grandma lived with the family but was bedridden and critically ill. During her life she had a favorite yellow dress that she wore that she hadn't been able to wear for years because of her sickness. She eventually died and was buried in the dress.

For the funeral, Wyngard's younger brother and sister weren't allowed to attend the services because his parents thought it might traumatize them. They were both young enough that they didn't really know their grandmother since she had been ill ever since they were born. The night after the funeral, the children awoke, came to the breakfast table and stated, "Guess what? Grandma came to see us last night?" The parents replied, "How cute? What did she want?" The children exclaimed, "She told us that everything was all right and she showed us her pretty yellow dress."

Sometimes you don't need to experience something firsthand to feel the truth of it. The look of intensity in Wyngard's eye as he shared these stories was a witness to me that he really believed the things he related. There are many questions out there.