It’s been 28 years since his first paranormal encounter with a ghostly monk, and historian Richard Senate has been chasing ghosts ever since (at first in his own back yard of tinsel town, and then around the globe). Conceived in a time when the Internet was still in its infancy, Senate’s site: www.ghost-stalker.com has been around for over ten years, and still enjoys hundreds of visits daily. An author of over a dozen books and veteran of several radio and television appearances, he has investigated over 250 haunted sites, making him a true ghost guru. Today the both the Internet and the concept of ghost hunting are as familiar as television and newspapers. Richard Senate started his sail into the supernatural in a time with out cell phones, the World Wide Web or the concept of ghost hunting as an accepted pastime. GHOST! Magazine had the privilege of gleaning ghostly insight from Mr. Senate about his Hollywood haunt hunting and his impressive twenty-plus-year voyage as a “Chaser”:

Ghost! Magazine:
"You list an impressive and extensive experience in investigating Hollywood. Please share some of your encounters with our readers:"

Richard Senate: "My grandfather, father, uncles, aunts, were all involved in the movie industry. They came to California in the 1920s, in the days of silent films, and some of my family is still in “the industry.” So it was only natural that some of my first investigations were in Hollywood. I have investigated mansions of former movie stars and studios in my time. I will make this statement—all of the studios in Hollywood, all of them, are haunted. Debbie and I investigated the Culver Studios (Formerly the Thomas Ince Studios) recently for the British Television program “Dead Famous.” It was here that the classic film, “Gone with the Wind” was shot. While we were there, we held a séance and Debbie channeled Vivian Leigh (who has been seen by the studio guards for decades) as well as the unhappy spirit of Thomas Ince. His death is one of the great mysteries of Hollywood. Some say he was killed by none other than William Randolph Hearst! There was a cover up—that much is known—but what really happened to him? The story is told that Ince was sick, in his bunk in Mr. Hearst’s yacht, when a bullet came through the bulkhead and hit him in the head. The shooter—Hearst’s mistress, Marion Davies! That was why things were covered up—it was a terrible accident.

James Dean was another case where psychic impressions gave new clues to what happened the day he died. It was an accident caused by Dean’s being exhausted behind the wheel. He haunts several places in Hollywood, from a studio to his favorite restaurant. He was someone who has become an idol after his death. In fact, he was a really good actor who could have become really great. The same can be said of silent heartthrob Rudolph Valentino. He was Hollywood’s first sex symbol, and had nothing but problems with women. We investigated several places where he is said to haunt, as well as one of his former homes. He still wants to finish a movie on the Spanish Hero “El Cid” and, as in the case of Ince, his death is filled with questions. Strangely enough, one link they share is William Randolph Hearst! He didn’t like the “friendship” Valentino had with Marion Davies. Valentino is a part of Paramount Studios. Recently he was seen riding on a white horse with a rose in his lips, through the place late at night. Mr. Entertainment, Liberace, is also a ghost. His home in Las Vegas is haunted. I went through the place with a group of psychics, and we confirmed that some of his essence is still in the posh residence. It was a real treat to visit the home. I felt him in the bedroom most of all. He was an ego-driven man, and he seems to have left a great deal of un-finished work behind—work he is still trying to do.

Other ghosts I have investigated seem to follow that pattern: Jack London, William S. Hart (cowboy star), W.C. Fields, Cecil B. DeMille, Mark Twain, Clark Gable, and Mae West...."

For more of this article, read Spring 2006 Volume 6, Issue 1 of Ghost! Magazine.