The Unexplained Voice

Stories of strange happenings abound at the base chapel at Camp Zama in Japan.

Strange presences in rooms and doors that mysteriously open and close are part of chapel lore, employees say.
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Some tell stories of strange figures passing by and then disappearing.

“My predecessor said that she used to hear footsteps through the halls late at night,” said Staff Sgt. Desmond West, the Unit Ministry Team noncommissioned officer in charge.

Last year, Spc. Jennifer Villagomez, a funds clerk, said she was working late when a voice emanated from her unplugged computer speakers.

It sounded like a Japanese man, “like a drill sergeant yelling at a private,” she said.

At first, Villagomez said she thought the sounds were a practical joke and called for a sergeant who was the only other person in the building at the time.

“And as I heard him come closer to my office, the voice on the speaker went lower and lower until it went away, just before he walked in the room,” Villagomez said.

She said that since that incident, she tries not to be the last person to in the office at night.

Sgt. Joshua Lee, who works at the chapel with Villagomez, said he didn’t hear the voice that night but has witnessed other strange occurrences.

Chapel lights switch on and doors open seemingly on their own, Lee said.

West, who has worked in the chapel for four years, said he has never seen or heard anything peculiar.

“But the day I start hearing things, I’m running out of here,” he said.