Orson Welles was 23 years old when his Mercury Theater company decided to update the classic 19th century science fiction novel, War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.
He intended to broadcast it on national radio the night before Halloween.
Even though he was young, he'd been in radio for several years. He was best known then as the voice of “The Shadow” in the hit mystery radio program of the same name.
The Night Before Halloween
The show began on Sunday, October 30, at 8 p.m. with a narrator saying: “The Columbia Broadcasting System and its affiliated stations present Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater on the air in War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.”
Sunday evening in 1938 was prime-time in the golden age of radio. That was when millions of Americans had their radios turned on, but most of these listeners were tuned in to ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy Charlie McCarthy on NBC.
When the comedy part of the show was over 12 minutes later, listenerss switched to CBS. It was 8:12 p.m. By that time, the story of the Martian invasion of earth was well underway.
Then, the "update" of the 19th century classic began with the announcer saying: "Welcome to the Meridian Room in the Hotel Park Plaza in downtown New York, where you will be entertained by the music of Ramon Raquello and his orchestra.”
Dance music began playing for several minutes until an announcer broke in to report that, “Professor Farrell of the Mount Jenning Observatory” had detected explosions on the planet Mars.
Then the dance music came back on, followed by another interruption in which listeners were informed that a large meteor had crashed into a farmer’s field in Grovers Mills, New Jersey.
A short time later, an announcer was at the crash site, describing a Martian emerging from a large metallic cylinder.
The horror across America as listeners were told Martians mounted walking war machines and fired “heat-ray” weapons at the humans gathered around the crash site. They annihilated a force of 7,000 National Guardsman. After being attacked by artillery and bombers, the Martians released a poisonous gas into the air. Soon “Martian cylinders” landed in Chicago and St. Louis.
The radio play was extremely realistic for that era. Welles employed realistic sound effects, and his actors were excellent at portraying terrified announcers and other characters.
Audience Stunned by Breaking News on National Radio
A short time later, an announcer was at the crash site, describing a Martian emerging from a large metallic cylinder.
“Good heavens, something’s wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. Now here’s another and another one and another one. They look like tentacles to me … I can see the thing’s body now. It’s large, large as a bear. It glistens like wet leather. But that face, it… it … ladies and gentlemen, it’s indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it, it’s so awful. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is kind of V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate.”
The horror across America as listeners were told Martians mounted walking war machines and fired “heat-ray” weapons at the humans gathered around the crash site. They annihilated a force of 7,000 National Guardsman. After being attacked by artillery and bombers, the Martians released a poisonous gas into the air. Soon “Martian cylinders” landed in Chicago and St. Louis.
Then, an announcer reported that widespread panic had broken out in the vicinity of the landing sites, with thousands of people desperately trying to flee.
Reality Reflected the Radio Play
People across the country panicked. About a million of the radio listeners believed that a real Martian invasion was underway.
Panic broke out across the country. In New Jersey, terrified civilians jammed highways seeking to escape the alien marauders.
People begged police for gas masks to save them from the toxic gas and asked electric companies to turn off the power so that the Martians wouldn’t see their lights.
One woman ran into an Indianapolis church where evening services were being held and yelled, “New York has been destroyed! It’s the end of the world! Go home and prepare to die!”
When news of the real-life panic leaked into the CBS studio during the broadcast, Welles went on the air as himself to tell listeners that it was a play—just fiction. There were no Martians.
How Do I Know This?
This incident is probably why my mother hated science fiction movies and books. To her the idea that "we are not alone" was always deeply frightening.
When news of the real-life panic leaked into the CBS studio during the broadcast, Welles went on the air as himself to tell listeners that it was a play—just fiction. There were no Martians.
The Aftermath
It was said the show caused suicides, but none were ever confirmed. The Federal Communications Commission investigated the program but found no law was broken.
Networks did agree to be more cautious in their programming in the future. Orson Welles feared that the controversy generated by War of the Worlds would ruin his career. Just the opposite happened.
The publicity helped land him a contract with a Hollywood studio, and in 1941 he directed, wrote, produced, and starred in Citizen Kane—a movie that many have called the greatest American film ever made.
My mother told me about this terrifying night before Halloween. She was a little girl in elementary school.
Her family had a radio, but its battery was dead so they heard neither their favorite Edgar Bergen Show nor the terrifying rendition of War of the Worlds.
When she went to school the next day, all the kids were traumatized. The ones who hadn't heard the show were told about it. Since they were children, they missed the important point that it was a fictional radio play. All of the kids thought Martians were coming to kill them.
She went home crying and told her parents that they were all going to be killed by monsters. Her father walked to a neighbor's farm to find out what was going on. He was told about the broadcast the night before. He was well-read and familiar with the book War of the Worlds.
He calmed her, but it took some time because she was in such a state. The next day at school law enforcement officials came to school and talked to all the kids at an assembly.
Not much has changed. People read false things on the internet and get stirred into a frenzy.
Takeaway Truth
Remember this story the next time you read something on the Net that seems wacko. If it sounds like fiction, it might well be.
Happy Halloween!
