An area as old as the Hamptons is rich with supernatural lore. From a haunted staircase in Quogue to the Montauk Lighthouse where a drowned girl whispers at night, here are the most spine-chilling Hamptons ghost stories we could find. Got one you don’t see? Leave it in the comments or email us at hamptons@curbed.com and we’ll add it to our map.
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Haunted places in the Hamptons
What’s the spookiest place you’ve been to?

Sanderling
When the Toppings family built a new home in Quogue in the 1950s, they installed an old staircase from a Yorkshire mansion where Anne Bronte had once worked. In 1962, Mrs. Topping heard footsteps on the stairs and saw a figure of a young woman in old-fashioned dress ascending the stairs. She felt sure it was Anne. Later she heard more ghostly rappings and footsteps, though Anne did not reveal herself again.
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Laurel Lake
This North Fork sport is reportedly haunted by a man who used to live at a campground that once existed near the lake. People have said that they’ve heard mysterious footsteps and that they’ve felt like they were being watched. Spooky.
Villa Paul Restaurant
Back in 1804, Villa Paul was a log cabin. Then, it was owned by New York Supreme Court Justice—whose wife, Cora, reportedly haunts the restaurant. Apparently, Cora removed headstones from the Daines Cemetery next door when she was trying to sell the house, but the bodies were left in their graves. Hauntings include foosteps and lights turning on and off.
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Mill Hill Windmill
Haunted by the ghost of a little girl, Beatrice Claflin, this mill served as her playhouse on her father’s estate, until one day when Beatrice fell down the mill steps, broke her neck and died. Reportedly passers-by see the face of a little girl peering out from the windows. It’s on Stony Brook Southampton’s campus.
Sag Harbor’s Main Street Ghost
In 1895, the New York Times reported that young men of the town were meeting a six-foot-tall ghost with a tall hat, carrying a musket, and young women were staying indoors.
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Old Post House
Originally built in 1684, the Post family bought the property in 1824 and ran a boarding house. It was later run by the White family after Sarah Elizabeth Post married Captain Hubert White. Ever since, strange noises have been heard as well as supernatural wraiths. Allegedly, the home has dancing ghosts.
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Rogers Mansion
Built in 1843, the Rogers Mansion was the home of whaling Captain Albert Rogers. Now it is the headquarters of the Southampton Historical Museum, and unexplained phenomena is experienced there by museum staff. The ghost is assumed to be either Cordelia Rogers, Captains Rogers’ second wife, or Mary Rogers, his first wife, Cordelia’s sister.
Thomas Halsey Homestead
Thomas Halsey Homestead is the oldest house still standing in Southampton, built in 1648. According to legend, Elizabeth Halsey was attacked and scalped by three Pequot Indians. “Chronicles of the Pequot Wars,” written by Lion Gardiner in 1660, mentions “the three Indians involved in a cruel and treacherous murder of an English woman in Southampton.” Some say the house is haunted by Mrs. Halsey.
BuddhaBerry’s building in Sag Harbor
Now BuddhaBerry, this building from 1750 has had multiple accounts of ghost sightings. One account tells the story of a floating black apparition, others record footsteps—and even a ghost peering out the window.
Grey Gardens
The recently sold Grey Gardens estate is riddled with paranormal activity. The most recent owner, Sally Quinn, says, "There are two ghosts.” She’s woken up in her bedroom and seen an apparition previous resident Anna Gilman Hill.
The other ghost is in Little Edie's former bedroom. "We've had guests who have said, 'I'm not sleeping in there.' Some people think it's a man, clomping around in boots. I'm pretty sure it's the sea captain.” She’s referring to Little Edie’s rumored lover.
Even Senator Barry Goldwater— who is reportedly not the scared type—refused to sleep in Little Edie’s room. He told Quinn, “There's a ghost in there.”
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South End Cemetery
It should come as no surprise that a cemetery is on here, but the reason may not be what you think. The daughter of a miller from the Gardiner Windmill haunts this East Hampton cemetery.
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Mill House Inn
This is a lovely, luxurious bed & breakfast on East Hampton's Main Street. Purportedly, the ghost of the former owner shows up now and then.
Renée Zellweger’s Egypt Lane home
Renée Zellweger’s previous Hamptons residence is reportedly haunted. When she purchased the home in 2003, there was a ghost sighting of an old woman who is thought to be the previous owner, Lillian Worthington.
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52 Middle Lane, East Hampton
Reportedly haunted by its former owner, Barton Kaplan, who was found at the bottom of the pool one morning after a night of partying. Summer renters at the 13-bedroom house have seen lights and faucets turning themselves on and off and furniture moving around.
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59 Middle Lane, East Hampton
When news broke that this home was for sale, one of our commenters wrote that a friend of his “rented this house and SWEARS it’s haunted.” The last owner of the home was killed in the upstairs bedroom.
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Montauk Lighthouse
The famous Montauk Lighthouse is haunted by a 17-year-old girl, Abigail Olsen, who died after a shipwreck in 1811. Her voice is heard in the tower at night.