The general public was always sckeptical of Miller's predictions. However after each failed prediction they became more and more skeptical. While these failures never stopped Miller from trying to predict the end of the world, they hurt his following. He began to be represented in the press as a "false prophet". Something that beleivers in christitanity would take very seriously as they are warned to avoid them through stories in the Bible. This would eventually lead many of his followers to be commited to insane asylums for having unhealthy "delusions". It's important to note that these kinds of wild predictions are what littered the press and where some of the few things representing the Christian faith. Similar problems happen with today's media where they focus on sometihng that doesn't really represent the faith as a whole.
Source:
Norwood, K. “Vermont Digital Newspaper Project (VTDNP).” Vermont Digital Newspaper Project VTDNP, Flickr, 21 Mar. 2015, library.uvm.edu/vtnp/?p=2765.