Meet Malia Miglino | Grave Hunter, TV Host & History Enthusiast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Malia Miglino and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Malia, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’m not sure it was ever a choice really, I’ve alway said if I wanted to do something more “stable” or “easy” that had a direct line of success, I would. However, creating and being artistic is what makes my heartbeat, it’s my lifeblood and I am only me because of it. So in many ways, it chose me, I only followed the path it told me to walk.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
At the end of the day I am an actor who finally stopped neglecting her love of history and spooky things and embraced it which led to four different shows on historical and creepy content. As an actor, our job is to give life to a story, I’ve pivoted a bit to bring life to historical stories of people buried 6ft underground so, in many ways, I am doing what I have always done except I am currently every part of production! The “Macabre Mondays” umbrella in which all four shows, (“Macabre Mondays” “Grave Hunter” “History Rants” and “Horror History”) sit is me in a nutshell. I think it showcases my passion for storytelling, my deep desire to bring peace and justice to people who have been wronged, to delve into the history of creepy locations and to rant about historical events and people we SHOULD be talking about but aren’t all while I have a delicious drink in my hand! I really sought out a way to combine all of those things I love along with figuring out how to make history fun and digestible. I am so happy people have responded in kind to it and I hope, one day, networks or bigger platforms will see its value too. As of right now, it’s mainly me doing everything and it’s hard, any one team creative will agree. I am so excited by the things I’ve been able to do, people I’ve had the chance to interview and stories I’ve been able to tell but all of that was done with backbreaking work. If there is one episode I’m most proud of, it is probably my episode of “Macabre Mondays” on the St. Francis Dam Disaster. When I released that, I was the first person to do a show on the topic and the amount of love I received from the people in that town was incredible. A true career highlight for me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As everyone knows, creepy spots in LA is my jam and since we’re in a pandemic, how about we focus on graveyards, yes? Grab tacos at Guisados in Boyle Heights then go to Evergreen Cemetery where we’d explore the graveyard that used to have wild parties in the 2os and visit old circus performers at the Western Showman’s Association plot. Grab pizza and an Aperol Spritz at La Piazza while we people watch at the Grove and then head to Angelus-Rosedale cemetery for awesome of views of DTLA, a quick visit to a Donner Party survivor and a quick history lesson at the Banning family plot who happens to be one of my favorite historical SoCal families. Bring a bottle of something yummy and a picnic basket to Hollywood Forever Cemetery where the pandemic took Cinespia summer movies from us but still the cemetery has a myriad of great people to visit. Johnny Ramone, Chris Cornell, Mickey Rooney and Vampira herself, Maila Nurmi are just some of the stops on our tour. Donuts and coffee from Stan’s in Westwood is usually what I would grab on my way to visiting Westwood memorial but the pandemic has shuttered them so instead, its coffee and pastries from Coffee Connection before we go visit the final resting place of Marilyn Monroe. Finally, we’ll stop at Forest Lawn Hollywood to visit the tragic mother/daughter grave of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds before happy hour-ing at my favorite place in LA, Figaro Bistrot in Los Feliz.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My #Creeps are what keeps me going, the loyal group of people who continue to support my endeavors through all of the shows, IG posts and more. Truly, I love what I do and obviously enjoy the content I create but to know that other people do as well? It’s what keeps you creating on those days when it all feels too much or like all your hard work is a treadmill that you’ll never get off of. Forever endlessly grateful and appreciative.

Website: www.macabremondays.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macabremondays/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MacabreMondays
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MacabreMondaysSeries
Youtube: www.youtube.com/maliamiglino
Other: https://www.patreon.com/macabremondays666