The second-oldest house in Cambridge has at least three ghost stories associated with it: the widow in the sheet; the weeping girl; and the five Hessian soldiers.

The annual free Cambridge Open Archives, sometimes called the Cambridge archives crawl, is back after a pandemic pause – and now online. Some delving into historical records citywide is already available, and other events are streaming on Instagram Live as soon as Monday morning.

There’s an inaccessible, largely unknown tomb in the basement of Christ Church – and it’s being shared with the public via a looped video projection telling the story of collusion with, dependency on and profit from the slave trade.

The National Historic Site in West Cambridge both embraces and digs beyond the traditional stories of its famed former occupants, Longfellow and Washington.

Through a modern lens, it’s clear that the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had a disability that could stop him from composing, teaching and writing to extended family.

Elbridge Gerry was described as cunning, obstinate, contrarian, contradictory and unpredictable – and what he did in 1812 is still shaping politics and democracy, including the upcoming midterm elections.

History Cambridge plans a Sept. 29 fundraiser to explore Cambridgeport’s past – one shaped by the making of soap and other products – and look to its future.

The Inner Belt was a proposed eight-lane highway cutting through Somerville and Central Square. The combined efforts of hundreds of activists prevented it.

What is it about Cambridge that has made it such a significant incubator for creativity in so many areas? What, the authors ask, are the ingredients in Cambridge’s “secret sauce”?

There was an extreme lack of confidence in the public school system in the 1840s. Parents feared for their children’s morality and wanted “purification” for their schools.