“Every time we do this, we get asked a question we’ve never heard before,” said Andy Stark as they greeted people in front of the Peabody Essex Museum. Stark is one of the expert guides on PEM’s historic walking tours: Brick by Brick: Salem’s Hidden Architectural Stories, an in-depth look at architecture across downtown Salem (from a millionaire’s mansion to a working-class sailor’s house) and Sinister Streets: Witch Trials, Murders and Literary Legends, which highlights some eerie events from the city’s history.

This early October day was the first of the season where crispness crept into the shady side of the street, and the tourists were chock-a-block on a Thursday morning. “I was forewarned that Salem gets kooky starting October 1, but this is pretty wild,” said Merle, who came up from Florida with his wife Caren to visit Caren’s sister Ellen and her husband Chip in Marblehead. Chip and Ellen had signed up to become members of PEM to take advantage of the tour ticket discount, though they didn’t need much convincing, Ellen said.

The foursome had much to dive into in Salem, since the sisters are descendents of one of the women accused of witchcraft in 1692 and they are fans of historic architecture. “I appreciate architecture, but am not a scholar,” said Chip, adding that his brother is an architect. “But I’m never more moved than by architecture.” The family soon embarked on a conversation about the way people feel when interacting in good design.

Inside, Feron, who majored in anthropology in college, explained how the phrase “sleep tight” came from maintaining beds where mattresses were supported by rope. In the kitchen, he gestured at the mortar and pestle and explained the role it played in grinding the spices that came in on nearby ships and flavored meat pies and spice cakes. He shared how the average 17th- or 18th-century family might keep a “perpetual stew” boiling on the fire. The group asked all kinds of questions about tools in the massive fireplace and the beams overhead. The beams were shipped down from Casco Bay, Maine, explained Feron. “That shows the family and the city’s industrial prowess from early on,” he said.

Things got a lot more elegant once the group headed into the Gardner-Pingree House and Feron rattled off floor to ceiling facts in the exquisitely decorated living room, moving from luxe window treatments to Samuel McIntire’s elaborate wood carvings. The day’s stories ranged from the lives of servants in the opulent houses to the problems arising between a mariner and his far wealthier neighbor, one of the first headline-worthy stories of gentrification in America.

On their way to the McIntire District to see more from PEM’s architecture collection, including the Ropes Mansion and its massive garden of fall blooms, Feron stopped in front of Turner’s Seafood. “You going to buy us lunch, Ben?” someone asked. Instead, Feron shared the story of how Alexander Graham Bell made the first long distance phone call from there in 1877. Next, Feron stopped to share a detail on the former Superior Court building along Federal Street. “It’s the only gargoyle I’ve seen in Salem,” he said, pointing overhead. (There may be a few plastic ones around.)

A few days later, tourists turned up from Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Washington, D.C. and Huntsville, Alabama to hear about the historic persecution of Salem Quakers and the sounds of the accused in the Salem jail that could be heard from the Ward House in 1692. They were also able to appreciate the architectural details of the elegant Federal-style Gardner-Pingree House, while taking in a tale of maritime money, greed, a custom-built murder weapon, forbidden love and a pair of naughty brothers.

“We need to educate people,” said Ivanova,” but at the same time, entertain them — because, for the most part, they are on vacation and would like to have some fun.”

PEM’s historic walking tours run select times Thursdays through Mondays until November 23. Plan your Salem visit at pem.org/tours.