Carl Fisher's 1927 Tudor hotel atop Signal Hill, closed for two decades after the Depression and converted to condominiums in the 1980s; guests report drumming, chanting, and a figure in Native American dress on the fourth floor.
236 Edgemere Street, Montauk, NY 11954
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Condominium resort; nightly rentals available through montaukmanor.com. Units range from studios to 3-bedroom apartments with full kitchens.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Resort building with elevator access; outdoor pool, tennis courts, and health club on-site
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1927 · Built by Carl Fisher (Indianapolis Speedway co-developer) as centerpiece of his Montauk resort, 1927 · Stood vacant after Depression-era collapse; used by Navy in WWII · Converted to 140 condominium units in mid-1980s · Signal Hill has documented Montaukett historical significance
Carl Graham Fisher made his fortune co-founding the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and developing Miami Beach before turning his attention to Montauk's eastern tip in 1925. He purchased approximately 10,000 acres with an ambition to create what he called the Miami Beach of the North — a full resort destination with a beach club, yacht club, polo grounds, golf course, tennis courts, and a signature hotel.
The hotel, an English Tudor structure of 178 rooms, was constructed atop Signal Hill and opened to guests in spring 1927. The Manor sat at the visual and promotional center of Fisher's Montauk enterprise, hosting ballrooms and fine dining at the height of Long Island's Gilded Age resort economy.
The 1929 stock market crash stopped the development. Fisher had overextended financially, and the Montauk resort faded through the 1930s. The Manor stood essentially empty for close to two decades. During World War II the U.S. Navy took over the building for military use.
The property was eventually restored and converted in the mid-1980s into 140 condominium units — studios through three-bedroom apartments, each with a full kitchen — along with resort amenities including heated outdoor and indoor pools, tennis courts, and a health club. The Manor continues operating in this form today.
Signal Hill has documented Montaukett significance. Per the Long Island Paranormal Investigators, a 17th-century conflict between the Narragansett and Montaukett took place in the area, and the hill had been used by indigenous peoples for burial and gathering purposes prior to Fisher's construction. When the hotel was built, the construction disrupted the terrain substantially.
Sources
The haunting accounts at Montauk Manor divide into two categories: auditory reports of drumming and chanting heard around the property with no identifiable source, and visual sightings of a figure described as a man in Native American dress appearing on the fourth floor.
The Long Island Paranormal Investigators note that Signal Hill, where the hotel was built in 1927, has documented Montaukett significance — including accounts of a 17th-century conflict between the Narragansett and Montaukett peoples in the area, and the hill's prior use for burial and gathering purposes. The LIPI documentation notes that construction of the hotel disturbed the terrain substantially. Some accounts name Chief Wyandanch, a 17th-century Montaukett sachem, in connection with the figure seen on the fourth floor; this attribution comes from oral tradition rather than documented evidence and should be understood as local legend.
The Montauk Library's retrospective blog post on the Manor's haunting reputation collected multiple accounts: a guest whose bathroom door slammed on a family member, furniture moved without explanation, belongings knocked off surfaces, and a resident of the fourth floor who described being lifted from the bed. A 2024 guest account described flickering bathroom lights and smoke-like movement.
Insider Hamptons places the Manor within a broader context of Montauk haunting tradition, noting cold spots, flickering lights, and apparitions in the hallways — particularly a woman in 1920s attire who has been attributed to the hotel's Depression-era heyday.
The sensitivity around the indigenous narrative here is real: the burial-ground tradition is plausible given Signal Hill's documented history, but it was not confirmed by tribal sources in the research available. The drumming and chanting reports are the most widely corroborated phenomenon across unconnected accounts.
Book a unit through montaukmanor.com. The fourth floor has accumulated the most concentrated haunting reports. Studios through three-bedroom units available; full resort amenities including indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, and a health club.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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