Montauk Manor

Montauk Manor, built in 1927 on a Native American burial ground at the tip of Long Island, is haunted primarily on its upper floors. Guests report seeing a figure in a full headdress (possibly Chief Wyandanch), and recent accounts include a woman levitated five feet above her bed on the fourth floor and a guest physically touched three times while napping.

A woman on the fourth floor woke up five feet above her bed. She wasn't dreaming. She wasn't sleepwalking. A former Montauk Manor employee confirmed the account: the guest was so shaken she moved to the first floor the next morning and refused to go back upstairs.

Montauk Manor was built in 1927 on Signal Hill, the highest point in Montauk at the eastern tip of Long Island. The developers chose the site for the views. They didn't think much about what was already in the ground. The Montaukett people, the Native American nation that gave Montauk its name, had buried their dead on this hill for generations. Their graves were unmarked or indicated by circles of stones. Most were likely dug up during construction. Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, soldiers who died in quarantine after returning from Cuba in 1898, were buried nearby at Fort Hill Cemetery as well. The Manor was built on top of a lot of history, and not much of it was peaceful.

The ghost people see most often is a tall man in full Native American headdress. Staff and guests have spotted him on the third and fourth floors, walking the hallways as if patrolling. Some believe it's Chief Wyandanch, the 17th-century sachem of the Montaukett. The sightings were persistent enough that security cameras were checked. Nothing showed up on the footage.

At some point (the exact year isn't documented), a group of Montaukett descendants held a ceremony at nearby Fort Hill Cemetery. A paranormal investigator who was present reported hearing native drumming during the ritual. According to residents, the sightings of the chief calmed down after that, though they haven't stopped entirely.

The fourth floor has the worst reputation. Beyond the levitation incident, guests have reported hearing a baby crying from empty rooms, doors and drawers slamming open and shut on their own, and seeing what they describe as moving smoke or hazy white light drifting through the corridors. In September 2024, a visitor staying in Room 326 reported a flickering bathroom light, a sensation of being watched while showering, and something moving at the edge of her vision that she couldn't explain. She barely slept. She also photographed something in Room 415 that she believed showed a figure at the end of the bed.

In June 2025, a guest napping on a first-floor couch in Room 110 was woken three times by the sensation of someone sitting down next to him, placing hands on his shoulders, and pressing a face against his. He described distinctive physical features. Forty-five minutes passed during these encounters.

A condo owner named Grace reported seeing what she initially thought was her mother's reflection at the base of the interior staircase, wearing the exact same clothes Grace had on that day. The figure climbed the stairs quickly and disappeared.

The Manor operates as a condo-hotel now, which means some of these witnesses aren't passing tourists. They're residents who live in the building year-round and still report things they can't explain. The building doesn't market itself as haunted. There's no ghost tour, no spooky branding. But if you ask the staff, or the people who own units on the upper floors, they'll tell you that Signal Hill was somebody else's long before it was a luxury resort. And whatever was here first hasn't completely moved on.