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Reported phenomena, as catalogued
+ 1 further entry on record
An 1854 brick mansion where Lewis died in 1865; the property's own ghost legend says the French doors burst open on their own at 3 p.m. on Thursdays, as if repeating the day he died.
7171 East Lake Road, Appleton, NY 14008
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
$7 for four tastes, $10 with a keepsake glass, or $15 with a painted glass; event prices vary
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic mansion on flat orchard grounds; main floor accessible
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1854 · Holland Land Company purchase 1834 by Shubal Merritt · 1854 brick mansion construction (Italian brick) · 1865 death of Lewis, long attributed in property legend to a hunting accident · Ring family Cornell peach research 1895–1908 · Sisters of St. Joseph 1933–1993 · Winery opened 2004
Shubal Scudder Merritt acquired 205 acres on the Niagara Wine Trail from the Holland Land Company in 1834, moving his family onto the property in a log cabin. As his fortunes grew, he commissioned a substantial brick mansion in 1854, importing bricks from Italy. The property—later called Appleton Hall—became a prominent estate in what would become Niagara County's orchard belt.
Lewis died in the home in 1865, the year after his mother Sophia. The property's own ghost legend holds that he died in a hunting-accident shooting involving his father on a Thursday afternoon, bursting through the French doors at 3 o'clock, and that Shubal had the doors locked afterward; this account is not documented outside the property's own materials. Sophia Spencer Willson, Shubal's wife, had died in the home the previous year, in 1864. Shubal himself died at the estate on March 2, 1881.
In 1895 Dr. Charles A. Ring purchased the estate, renaming it Appleton Hall. He and his wife Hannah became successful peach farmers and conducted research in partnership with Cornell University. Both died within a year of each other—Hannah in 1907, Charles in 1908.
The Sisters of St. Joseph acquired the property in 1933, operating it as a camp for girls, a farm school for deaf boys, and a summer retreat until 1993. The estate then passed through several owners before Margo Sue Bittner purchased it in 2003 and opened the winery on August 6, 2004, naming it Marjim Manor from a blend of her name and her husband Jim's.
Sources
The central haunting at Marjim Manor is tied directly to Lewis's 1865 death. In the years after the winery opened in 2004, staff began reporting the appearance of a Victorian boy standing in the doorway of the French doors—the same doorway where Lewis Merritt died. Visitors have reported hearing the disembodied question 'Who's in my house?' Accounts consistent with the manor's own documentation describe the locked French doors bursting open at 3 p.m. on Thursdays, as if repeating Lewis's final run through them.
The winery's ghost page identifies several additional resident spirits: Shubal Merritt himself, his wife Sophia, their son Lewis, later owners Charles and Hannah Ring, and Duke, the dog that accompanied the Sisters of St. Joseph during their six-decade occupancy. Lights reportedly turn on without cause, and wine bottles have fallen from shelves in areas with no traffic.
The manor attracted national attention when it was featured on SyFy's Ghost Hunters and on the Travel Channel series Most Terrifying Places in America. Owner Margo Sue Bittner produced a 20-minute documentary DVD on the property's history and haunting. The venue has been formally investigated by paranormal research teams, and public ghost hunt events are held there from time to time; check upcoming listings for dates.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Four-wine tasting accompanied by staff-shared ghost stories about the Merritt family, Lewis's death, and the manor's reported paranormal activity. The $10 option includes a keepsake wine glass.
Public ghost hunt hosted by Monroe County Paranormal Investigations: $40 per person, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., limited to 20 guests. The last listed 2026 date was September 26; check the operator's events page for future dates. The manor has also been investigated by paranormal teams and appeared on Ghost Hunters and the Travel Channel.
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