FOR SPECTER DETECTOR, IT'S GHOSTS OR BUST; SUPERNATURAL HISTORIAN SET TO HOLD CLASS.

Byline: P. Catherine Shanks Daily News Staff Writer

Mild-mannered city of Ventura employee, instructor, historian and author, Richard Senate becomes a supernatural tour guide when teaching his class, ``The Ghosts of Ventura County.''

For three Wednesdays in May, specter seekers will gather at Oxnard College to hear Senate offer his spin on the spirits inhabiting local homes and historic halls.

An articulate and entertaining extemporaneous lecturer, Senate is also a thorough researcher. He travels throughout California, looking for the purported haunted locales and checking stories of ghostly apparitions. Senate, the historian, looks for solid facts on which to base his stories of his less-than-solid ghostly citizens. Despite the extra care he takes checking the facts, Senate willingly admits that his findings may be flawed.

``You're dealing with an intangible,'' Senate said. ``I try to get to the most believable people - those who seem to have had a truly mystical experience.''

Senate concentrates on the retelling of regional folklore, which he enhances with accounts of spirit sightings. The author takes pains to steer clear of embellishment for the effect.

``So, if you don't believe what I say, you can get in your car, go there and see for yourself what happens,'' he said.

Many of the haunted habitats are easily within driving distance. The Stagecoach Inn Museum in Newbury Park is reported to be the home of a ghost named Pierre. Visitors to the 150-year-old Olivas Adobe in Ventura may be greeted by a mysterious lady in black. A robed monk wanders the old Mission San Buenaventura, making rare appearances for parishioners.

The author is often accompanied on his ghost-stalking tours by his wife, Debbie Christenson Senate, an author and specialist in psychometry, the ability to pick up images and impressions from touching personal belongings or entering certain physical environments. The two met when she enrolled in one of the ghost classes taught by Senate.

``It can be incredibly different living with a psychic,'' said Richard Senate, who had to learn to allow his then-girlfriend to finish sentences for him, alert him to dangerous situations and even jump the gun on his marriage proposal. In one instance, she grew impatient waiting for a gift he had purchased for her and she demanded to know when he was planning to present it to her.

Richard Senate soon discovered that his wife added new dimensions to his ghost-hunting excursions. With her intuitive help, he was able to make more sense of people, places and events.

``A lot of research that's done is done afterwards,'' Debbie Senate says, explaining the working relationship between her husband and herself. ``I try to give him information. He tries to see if any of it matches.''

Just as her husband leaves room for doubt about his feelings, Debbie is open to variables that might taint her impressions and lead to an incorrect conclusion.

``If I were right all the time, I'd be a lottery winner,'' she said.

Together, the duo has explored homes, museums, ships, hotels, theaters, graveyards and American Indian territories. They have investigated well-documented ghostly sightings, such as the Winchester Mystery House and the Queen Mary, as well as a number of more unusual sightings. Recent travels have led then to Lava Beds National Park at the California-Oregon border, where American Indians once waged war and where spirits still are rumored to appear. The two also paid a visit to the Hollywood High School theater to search for ghostly talent.

The Senates think of themselves as very down to earth and as anything but metaphysicians. Richard Senate is the only historian on staff with the city of Ventura. Later this month, he will teach a more traditional class on local history at Ventura College. Debbie Senate, who holds a degree in anatomy, has been working as a credit manager for a vacation travel company. Their writing and teaching is a natural extension of their mutual passion for the pursuit of poltergeists and other things that go bump in the night.

Senate has just introduced her new book, ``Psychic Solutions: The Lizzie Borden Case.'' Richard Senate will talk about ghost hunting and sign his latest book, ``Ghost Stalker's Guide to Haunted California,'' on May 22 at the Earthling Bookstore in Santa Barbara. The informal talk will begin at 7 p.m. The Earthling Bookstore is located at 1137 State St. For more information, call [phone].

For information regarding ``The Ghosts of Ventura County,'' call the Oxnard College community services office at [phone]. For ``The History of Ventura County'' at Ventura College, call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO (Color in Simi Edition only) Ghost chronicler Richard Senate and his psychic wife, Debbie, say they have a feel for the goings-on of the supernatural.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News