The War of the World Scare

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On October 30, 1938, a live broadcast of Orson Welle's radio drama "The War of the World" was presented in New York City. There were 10 actors and a 27-piece orchestra for the weekly "Mercury Theatre on the Air". Those who happened to stumble onto the show and didn't hear the announcement that it was merely a dramatization of the 1898 H. G. Wells science fiction novel rewritten for the radio believed that the country was under attack and were glued to the program. There were breathless reporters telling listeners of an extraterrestrial army of squid-like figures that were killing thousands of earthlings with heat rays and black clouds of poison gas. Welles and the other actors impersonated state militia officials and astronomers as well. Although there was a reminder at the intermission that this was a dramatization there were thousands of confused and very anxious listeners who believed this was real. CBS, police departments, and newspapers were inundated with frantic calls. National guardsmen wanted to know where they were to report and hysterical callers wanted the electricity turned off to keep them safe from the invaders. You can imagine the headlines in the newspapers across the country the next morning. In the mid-60s on a fateful Halloween Eve, I was a teenager and happened to be in my room listening to the radio. The local radio station I always listened to happened to play the recording of the original airing of the radio show. I remember it very well. I was just trying to determine if I should go speak to my mother when I was relieved to hear the announcement at the radio program's intermission. I will never forget that. The picture is from MemoryIn.net.