ORANGE — Members of the Orange Historical Society gathered Friday to hear “unbelievable but true” stories as part of the second annual “Hear & Tell” event.

Ann Reed, a member of the Historical Society and a former reporter, started the “Hear & Tell” event out of a desire to give space to local histories detailing paranormal encounters that might not be taken seriously elsewhere.

“Over the many years, and certainly as a reporter, I’d heard so many stories, anecdotes told, of the otherworldly nature from perfectly reputable people,” Reed explained. “But many times they were told in whispers — sometimes on the record, sometimes off the record — and I came to feel that oral histories in Orange are neglected when it comes to certain topics.”

The Hear & Tell, Reed added, aims to provide a space where people can “feel free to share the stories they wish to share without shame.”

Educator and local historian Lynne Stopen shared a summary of her more than 500 pages of research about the former residents of her home, the Bliss family.

After being diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, Stopen had to leave her teaching position at Athol High School. She funneled her energy into her work in the archives, amassing a large body of research about the Bliss family, the namesakes for the Orange neighborhood, Blissville.

“I look for the past,” Stopen explained. “That’s one of my hobbies.”

The family occupied the home during the late 19th century and had five sons with degenerative muscular conditions that would now likely be diagnosed as muscular dystrophy, Stopen explained.

Despite the boys’ disabilities, they were an integral part of the town. They were known for their sewing and embroidery work, and townspeople would bring projects to them when they were short on time.

According to Stopen, the town went so far as to move the school into the Bliss family home for a period of two years when the boys’ disabilities had progressed to the point that they could no longer leave their house.

Today, Stopen feels she can sense the boys’ presence in her home and she believes the boys offer protection to the house. When trees fall near her home, Stopen attributes the near-misses to the protection offered by the spirits.

Reed emphasized that stories like these are welcome at the “Hear & Tell” events.

“We don’t want anybody to come here and think they’re going to be called crazy for sharing,” she explained.

Despite this invitation, not all of the stories shared on Friday evening dealt with the paranormal. Kathy Schiappa, president of the Orange Historical Society, recounted the immigration story of her Italian-American mother-in-law, Katerina Schiappa.

Katerina arrived at Ellis Island during the Great Depression with her husband, who began working in cement, but soon realized he was allergic. After seeing an ad for a farm for sale in Orange, he moved the family north, Kathy said.

However, Katerina’s husband had no experience with farm work and was generally unprepared for the job. Katerina, having grown up on a farm in Italy, ended up running the farm herself.

Other stories veered to the opposite end of the spectrum.

Sandra Fawn spoke about her 1858 home that was left abandoned for several decades before she moved in.

“Our house is a big green haunted mansion,” she described, noting that the doors on the third floor sometimes open on their own.

Reed concluded the event with a reminder.

“Remember — report none of this to your physicians,” she said with a smile. Donations to the Historical Society were accepted in a tinfoil hat.