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Spooky Month has officially entered the circus. 🧛‍♀️🎪

And we're kicking it off with VAMPIRES—but not just the hot, broody, morally questionable kind we apparently have a weakness for.

We're going back to a time when entire communities genuinely believed the dead were crawling out of their graves and draining the life out of their families. And their solution?

Dig up the body and see what it's been up to.

Obviously.

We're talking the bizarre connection between tuberculosis and the New England vampire panic, the very real story of Mercy Brown, why bodies were dug up, staked, rearranged and occasionally had their organs burned...and then we get to Vlad the Impaler, aka the terrifying real-life inspiration connected to the Dracula legend.

But don't worry. We eventually leave the corpses behind and tackle the truly important vampire question:

Would you let them bite you? 😂

Damon Salvatore? Klaus? Edward Cullen? Angel? Spike? Apparently Stefanie and Meredith have a type when choosing their hypothetical vampire situations.

Plus, we've got a vampire-adjacent AITA, a wild TikTok vampire story, and our review of The Curse of the Highgate Vampire—which we can summarize in two words:

DON'T. WATCH. IT.

Seriously. We suffered so you don't have to.

🧛‍♂️ Vampire history, spooky lore, questionable decisions, hot fictional men and two women who absolutely cannot stay on topic.

Welcome to Spooky Scary Circus Month. 🎃🎪

⭐ Follow This Is My Circus and leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts!

Next week: Don't Go Into the Woods 🌲👀

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Last week we told you this story was going to get darker.

We weren't kidding.

This week, we're finishing Netflix's Death of the Pastor’s Wife, and we're getting into Episodes Two and Three as Mica Miller begins trying to take her life back.

She's recognizing the relationship for what it is. She's documenting everything. She's filing police reports. She's trying to become financially independent. She's changing phone numbers, moving from place to place, seeking legal help, and eventually filing for divorce.

But the more Mica tries to get away, the more disturbing the allegations become.

We're talking about stalking, tracking devices, razor blades in tires, intimate photos posted online, repeated psychiatric holds, financial control, alleged sexual abuse, religious manipulation and Mica's growing fear that she may actually be in danger.

Then, on April 25, 2024, JP is served divorce papers.

Two days later, Mica is dead.

And this is where we have A LOT of questions.

We walk through the timeline of Mica's final day, the 911 call, the evidence investigators found, JP's behavior immediately following her death, the growing #JusticeForMica movement, and the details that made this case explode across social media.

We also get into the FBI investigation, what Mica's attorney had already collected, the federal charges that eventually followed—and why this case has sparked a much bigger conversation about coercive control, stalking, domestic abuse, and just how difficult it can be for someone to actually get out.

This was a heavy one, but it's also an important one.

⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses suicide, domestic abuse, coercive control, stalking, sexual abuse, religious trauma, psychiatric hospitalization and other disturbing subject matter.

🎧 This concludes our Death of the Pastor’s Wife documentary breakdown.

And next week?

👻 SPOOKY MONTH BEGINS.

We've actually planned ahead for October, which honestly may be the most shocking development we've covered yet. 😂🎪

⭐ Follow This Is My Circus and leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. At Episode 102, we're clearly never going to stop asking.

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We talked about the Mica Miller case when it was unfolding in real time. Now Netflix has released Death of the Pastor’s Wife—and we're going back in.

This week we're covering Episode One, “A Note From Your Pastor,” and Stefanie has been WAITING for this one. 👀

The documentary takes us back to the beginning: Mica's deep connection to her faith, meeting Pastor John-Paul “JP” Miller when she was just 13, becoming increasingly involved in his church, and the relationship that would eventually change the course of her life.

From the outside, Mica and JP eventually appeared to be a powerful Christian couple leading a thriving Myrtle Beach church.

Behind closed doors? A very different story begins to emerge.

We're talking about the allegations surrounding their relationship, the enormous power imbalance, Mica's mental health treatment, the people around her who began noticing red flags, and the disturbing behavior described by her friends and family.

And because Stefanie grew up deeply involved in church herself, this documentary hits differently. We're also having a bigger conversation about religious authority, forgiveness, trust, and how easy it can be to explain away red flags when someone is viewed as a “man of God.”

Then Episode One ends with a text that takes things to an entirely different level:

“I'm on my way and I'm armed.”

And we're just getting started.

⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses suicide, coercive control, alleged domestic abuse, sexual coercion, mental health, religious trauma, stalking and harassment.

🎧 This is Part One of our Death of the Pastor’s Wife breakdown. We'll continue with Episode Two next week.

If you remember when we originally talked about the Mica Miller case, welcome back down the rabbit hole. If this is your first time hearing the story... buckle up. 🎪

⭐ Follow This Is My Circus and leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. Seriously. We're still asking. 😂