Couple unearths ‘Haunted, Historic Kentucky’ for pre-Halloween TV show
.jpg "Doug and Lyssa High co-host “Haunted, Historic Kentucky,” a TV special airing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on WTVQ in Lexington.")
Just in time for Halloween, a television special airing Thursday in Lexington will spotlight some spooky pieces of Kentucky history.
The TV show, “Haunted, Historic Kentucky,” will showcase some “reportedly haunted” or otherwise creepy artifacts held by the Kentucky Historical Society at the Kentucky History Center and Museums in Frankfort. The half-hour special will air at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on WTVQ ABC 36, pre-empting “Access Hollywood” for the evening.
Among the items featured is a pocket watch that belonged to Abraham Lincoln, which is one of the signature pieces in the historical society’s collection. Doug High, who co-hosts the special, said an eerie story a museum curator told about the watch has never been aired before.
“It does give you the chills when you hear it,” said High, who co-hosts the special with his wife, Lyssa High.
Other items featured on “Haunted, Historic Kentucky” include a cursed chest, a “Graveyard Quilt” and “a porcelain doll that’s just about as creepy as they come,” Doug High said.
High is a former WTVQ news anchor who now directs the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation. Lyssa High co-anchors WTVQ’s “News at Noon” and is lifestyle host on “Good Day Kentucky.”
“Doug is a ‘see it to believe it’ kind of guy and Lyssa is definitely interested in the paranormal mystery behind the history,” the couple said in a news release.
Doug High hosts a weekly series of three-minute feature stories called “Kentucky History Treasures” that airs on ABC Channel 36’s 11 p.m. newscast on Sundays and during the “Good Day Kentucky” show at 9 a.m. on Mondays.
He said the idea for the Halloween-themed special came to him because “I was amazed at the number of reportedly haunted items” he learned about while filming the “Kentucky History Treasures” series.
Besides being shown on WTVQ, the special will air in Louisville at 9:30 a.m. Friday on WHAS-TV ABC 11, which also broadcasts the “Kentucky History Treasures” features.
Because of COVID-19, outreach efforts like the television special have become even more important to the museum’s mission, High said.
“What we’re really hoping is that these stories will help viewers take their own deep dive into Kentucky history,” he said.
