Chess Game

From:	PPolis@aol.com
Location:
Type: Ghost

Here are a couple of the stories I've typed up. Let me know if you like them.

The Chess Game

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. If you are looking for answers, you can contact me at: PPolis@aol.com

The Rocking Chair

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.

From 1990-1992, I served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Korea. Missionaries for the church go by the title of "Elder," and one I served with was Elder Hammer. When I asked Elder Hammer my standard question, he shared a story with me that raised the hackles on my neck and so I'm going to share with you.

Elder Hammer was from Idaho and his high school was located on the outskirts of town on a hill out by the highway for better access to the surrounding communities. One Saturday night during the spring, the school was hosting a dance which he attended with three of his friends. The dance turned out to be a bomb, so they loaded up in his friend's four-door flying bomber and headed for greener pastures.

There was a dirt road connecting to the highway that led through the countryside. They pulled on to it and were cruising along when an eerie feeling crept over all of them. Even though it was a warm night, they all began rolling up their windows. A few minutes later the driver of the car decelerated to a crawl as they neared an old wooden bridge that spanned an old creek bed. As the car approached the old bridge, a sense of intense fear gripped the hearts of each of them as they noticed something illuminated in the headlights. It was a rocking chair.

The driver pulled the car up onto the bridge until it sat parallel with the rocking chair, shifted it into neutral, and shut off the engine. They all sat in silence with mouths agape as the rocking chair began rocking and with each rock, let out an audible, "SQUEEEEEK." Elder Hammer identified this moment as the most intensely terrifying moment of his life. The driver must have felt the same way because, without a word, he started the car, slammed it into gear, and sent a rooster tail of rocks spraying behind them as they careened off the bridge and down the dirt road.

The intense fear lasted for ten or fifteen minutes before somebody said, "Somebody must be playing jokes on us!!" Within a few more minutes of rationalization, the horror was forgotten and the decision was made to go back and look for the perpetrators of the hoax.

By the time they made it back to the bridge, the rocking chair was gone. They parked the car on the bridge and split up to try and find car tracks or anyone hiding in the bushes. Elder Hammer was supposed to look under the bridge. He said as he descended into the darkness, the terror gripped his heart again and he raced back to the car, jumped in the back seat, locked all the doors, and waited for the others to return.

When the others finally came back after a fruitless search, they found Elder Hammer in the car by himself and somebody yelled, "It must have been Hammer!! Look at him sitting in the car, playing us for fools." Elder Hammer vehemently denied their accusations, but to this day they still blame him for what happened on the bridge with the rocking chair.

There are many questions out there. If you are looking for answers, you can contact me at: PPolis@aol.com

Peter M. Polis