The next episode of KET’s Kentucky Life spotlights the graves of famous Kentuckians, the haunted Witches Tree in Louisville, Perryville’s Civil War ghosts, and the alien encounter in Kelly. The episode airs Saturday, Oct. 26, at 8/7 pm and Sunday, Oct. 27, at 4/3 pm on KET, and Monday, Oct. 28, at 7/6 pm on KET2.

First, Kentucky Life checks out the grave sites of famous Kentuckians, including those at the Frankfort Cemetery, which holds the tombstones of 17 Kentucky governors and one U.S. vice-president.  They were famous in life, and thanks to their memorials, infamous in death.

Next, Kentucky Life revisits a segment from its archives, traveling to Louisville for a story about the Witches Tree. The tree, legend has it, was the favored meeting site for a coven of witches. But when the tree was cut down by the city, that prompted the witches to conjure a demon storm that tore through the city. A bolt of lightning struck the stump, spawning a gnarled, twisted tree that still stands there today.

Then, Kentucky Life travels to Perryville, where Union and Confederate troops clashed in 1862 during the Battle of Perryville—one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Thousands of soldiers were killed, and their bodies were left on the battlefield for days. It made for a gruesome scene—and it’s the reason that Perryville still today has a reputation as a haunted town.

Finally, Kentucky Life spotlights a 1955 incident in Kelly, just outside Hopkinsville, where a family reportedly had a shotgun-wielding standoff with alien visitors—a claim that captivated the nation and the world.   

Kentucky Life is a KET production, produced by Brandon Wickey. Segment producers for this episode are Matt Grimm, Frank Simkonis and Brandon Wickey.

This year is Kentucky Life’s 25th anniversary, and to mark the occasion, the program will include special Memory segments, in which each of Kentucky Life’s hosts—Byron Crawford, Dave Shuffett and Doug Flynn—will revisit some of their favorite stories over the years.

KET is Kentucky’s largest classroom, where learning comes to life for more than one million people each week via television, online and mobile. Learn more about Kentucky’s preeminent public media organization at KET.org, on Twitter @KET and at facebook.com/KET.