Playboy Mansion's 'haunted' history: Former residents recount ghostly encounters
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Two former Playboy Mansion residents, Bridget Marquardt and Holly Madison, now investigate paranormal phenomena.
- Marquardt reported seeing the ghost of Joanie, the mansion's former social secretary, who had died of cancer.
- Madison also described an encounter with a ghostly figure in the mansion's gym.
The Playboy Mansion, built in 1927 and known for its gothic-tudor style and extravagant parties, has a reputation for being haunted. Decades after Hugh Hefner purchased the estate, former residents Bridget Marquardt and Holly Madison, who lived there as Hefner's girlfriends from 2001 to 2009, have become paranormal investigators and shared their experiences.
Marquardt recounted a chilling incident where she, her sister, and a friend saw a spectral woman in her bedroom closet. Marquardt believes the apparition was Joanie, the mansion's former social secretary, whom she remembered as a warm figure known as the "mother of the mansion." Joanie had passed away from cancer years before Marquardt moved in. Marquardt suspects Joanie's spirit visited to acknowledge the new "pet" in the mansion, referring to her newly adopted puppy.
Madison also shared a personal encounter in the mansion's gym. While working out, she saw a woman in a pink top and black pants emerge from a bathroom and walk past her. When Madison turned to follow, she found only a small closet, with no other exit. The woman had vanished, and Madison realized she would have had to pass her again to leave the gym. The experience left Madison questioning the supernatural occurrences within the infamous estate.
Creo que vino a ver la nueva incorporaciรณn a la mansiรณn. La nueva mascota
Originally published by La Naciรณn in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.