Local man lives a ghostly existance

Richard Senate Richard Senate hunts ghosts.

Senate sees ghosts, writes about ghosts, leads ghost hunt tours throughout California, teaches courses on ghosts at Ventura College and is married to a fellow ghost hunter/psychic, Debbie.

Senate, 58, remembers his first ghostly experience as if it had just materialized.

"It was in the morning of July 3, 1978, at the Mission San Antonio de Padua, near King City (in Monterey County)," Senate said. He was among a group on an archeological dig at the mission. They stayed with the monks who lived at the mission.

"About 12:30 a.m. I saw a monk in a robe in the courtyard. When I approached him, he vanished away," Senate said. "Only then did I know it was a ghost. I was scared then. I was interested and wanted to find out what I had seen."

Senate said the missions along the El Camino Real are all haunted-"no exceptions." Between the wild frontier days and rampant disease, people died young and in "astonishing numbers," common conditions, Senate believes, that cause restless spirits to remain earthbound.

Ghost tales abound at the missions, and Senate said he has seen, heard and experienced the paranormal at all of the sites, from La Purisima Mission outside Lompoc to the Stagecoach Inn in Newbury Park, where he believes the real ghost is not "Pierre," as commonly thought, but the spirit of "Haigh," the man who first owned the inn.

Senate is especially attuned to the ghosts of the Conejo Valley because he grew up in Thousand Oaks and was in the first class at Thousand Oaks High School.

Then there's the MGM lion, Leo. Senate said Leo is buried in his cage underneath the Conejo Playhouse. Leo's supernatural roars can be heard periodically, Senate said. The area where Jungleland used to operate is considered haunted, and stories abound of a ghostly boy who has haunted Ventu Park Road since his untimely deathSenate said Tapo Canyon in Simi Valley is haunted, and Simi's performing arts center "has its share of ghosts."

The list of haunted places in California goes on and on, and Senate has written and published 12 books on local history and ghost lore. He is a consultant on several television shows, including "Sightings," "Haunted History," "Haunted Hotels" and "The Search for Haunted Hollywood."

Senate retired from the city of Ventura as coordinator of historic programming. He said he oversaw the historic Olivas Adobe Museum and its photographs and other collections, and conducted ghost tours, story-telling programs and murder mystery plays at the museum. He also oversaw the Ortega Adobe historic residence.

Now Senate and his family concentrate full time on ghost hunting. They conduct private investigations and in return generally only ask to be reimbursed for travel expenses or be treated to dinner.

Senate's experiences with ghosts range from hearing footsteps to seeing full body apparitions-19 so far. He said he's never been harmed or heard of anyone who has been harmed on a ghost hunt, but periodically he does sense evil spirits.

"You can tell," Senate said. "There is a feeling of danger, a cold, clammy, panic-like feeling."

Senate said he first experienced an evil spirit at a newer home in Ventura, then again at a graveyard in Santa Barbara. "When you have felt evil, you know it," he said.

In Senate's opinion, the most haunted place in California is the Queen Mary in Long Beach. He said that while on an investigation, he heard footsteps, saw apparitions, heard nonhuman voices, witnessed furniture move and doors open and close on their own. In addition to knocking sounds, Senate said he heard disembodied screams. He recommends visitors in search of ghosts visit the "M" deck.

For the most part, however, Senate hears noises and sees flashes of light. He uses all kinds of electronic contraptions on investigations, but his first goal when called out to a reputedly haunted site is to debunk the haunting.

Senate doesn't claim to know why ghosts would choose to remain on earth following death. "Some do seem to have unfinished business in the world," he said. He also believes the ego is somehow involved, which is why the ghosts of actors are often seen.

For further information on Senate and his books, tours and lectures, visit his website www.ghoststalker.com/ or contact him via e-mail at HaintHunter@aol.com.