RICHMOND (AP) -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine isn't exactly muttering "I do believe in spooks! I do believe in spooks!" like the Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz."

But he's not ruling out the possibility either.

Asked on his monthly radio show on the Virginia News Network whether he has had paranormal experiences like previous Executive Mansion occupants, Kaine flatly answered: "Yes."

Kaine said Thursday that at the same "inconvenient time" every week, the telephone rings in his family's private quarters -- and when he picks up the phone, nobody's there. He said he's researching whether "something odd happened" on the same day and hour sometime in the mansion's history.

Unlike some previous residents and staff, Kaine said his family has not seen the friendly ghost of a young woman who is said to haunt the mansion.

However, he said first lady Anne Holton witnessed other strange occurrences in the mansion as the daughter of Gov. Linwood Holton in the early 1970s -- a portrait mysteriously taken from the wall and deposited in another room, for example.

There also was a storm-related power outage that left all of Richmond in the dark except a lone light that mysteriously remained on in the mansion.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)