Holly Madison bought a Los Angeles ‘fairytale’ home for under $1.5 million in 2012; she now refuses to sell the allegedly haunted house and is renting it for $9,500 a month
Holly Madison has listed her historic Los Angeles home as a rental for $9,500 a month, a few weeks after explaining why she decided not to sell the property. The former ‘Girls Next Door’ star has owned the Tudor-style house since 2012, when she bought it for just under $1.5 million.According to Realtor.com, Madison, 46, first became interested in the Hollywoodland home while filming an episode of The Girls Next Door. She recalled seeing the homes in the Beachwood Canyon community while the cast was travelling to Sunset Ranch for a horseback riding scene. The area immediately caught her attention because of its storybook-style houses.In a house tour shared on her personal YouTube channel in March 2026, Madison said she had seen “all these adorable Seven Dwarf cottage-looking homes and wondered What is this place?” She said she had been told her own home looked like Rapunzel’s tower, or a Snow White Cottage, or a witch’s house.The house has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and 2,929 square feet of space. It was built in 1926 and still has original architectural details. The property is now listed by Cody Thompson of Resident Group as a rental, rather than being put up for sale.
Home with fairytale design
Madison has described the community as a really cute community full of fairytale homes. Her own house has a Tudor-inspired design, with features that give it a distinctive appearance.The property sits above the street on a private knoll and is surrounded by trees and landscaping. Inside, the house has hardwood floors, exposed wood beams and built-in storage. The listing describes it as a ‘storybook escape in the heart of Los Angeles’.Madison had said one of her favourite things about the property was its natural setting. “My favourite thing about this house is, it’s very woodsy,” she said in her house tour. “You’re in LA, but it feels like you’re out in the forest.”She also owns the lot behind the home. Madison said she does not plan to develop it because she likes being surrounded by wildlife and described the feeling as being like a Disney princess.One of the home’s unusual spaces is an area Madison calls her ‘Rapunzel tower turret’. It includes a walk-in closet where she kept some of her favourite clothes. The home also has a breakfast nook that Madison particularly likes because of the natural light.
The home has great natural lighting.
‘Paranormal activity’ at house
The property’s unusual reputation is also linked to claims that it is haunted. The house was investigated for paranormal activity during a 2021 episode of Ghost Adventures.Paranormal investigator Zak Bagans later spoke to People magazine about the property. He said he believed the spirit of a former owner had eerie connections to the house.“I also see how much she loves her house and I think the passion she has for it outweighs her fear of this ghost,” Zak said at the time. “I honestly don’t know how she can sleep in that place alone.”Madison’s friend and former “Girls Next Door” co-star Bridget Marquardt also took part in the attention around the investigation. In August 2021, she shared an Instagram post about ‘Holly’s haunted house’.Despite the claims about paranormal activity, Madison continued to live in the property and has spoken positively about it.
Madison considered selling
Madison had been thinking about selling the home for a different reason. She said her main concern was the distance between her Los Angeles home and the home of her ex-husband, Pasquale Rotella.Madison and Rotella share two children, daughter Rainbow Aurora Rotella, 13, and son Forest Leonardio Antonio Rotella, 10. After their split, they moved into separate homes in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.Madison explained that their homes in Nevada are close to each other, making it easier for the children to spend time with both parents. The situation is different in California, where travelling between the homes takes longer.“Over the past couple of years, I was thinking about possibly selling this house, moving closer to my ex-husband so the commute back and forth for the kids was easier,” she said.
The 1926 home retains its original character.
Choosing to keep the house
Madison eventually decided she was not ready to give up the property. She joked that one reason was the lighting in the breakfast nook. “I don’t want to give up this house because the lighting in the breakfast nook is so good,” she said.She acknowledged that the reason might sound unusual, but explained that the lighting is useful for her work. She often records her podcast remotely or uses the space for video.The house had also become less of a regular family home over time. A bedroom that had once been her daughter’s nursery had been turned into a storage room for her Y2K clothes. Another room had become her ‘witchcraft room’ because she kept her candles there. The current listing photographs show the house empty, with none of those belongings visible. Madison has said she could keep the house well into retirement and eventually pass it on to her children.
