From PBS American Experience:
Shortly after 8 p.m. on the Halloween Eve, 1938, the voice of a panicked radio announcer broke in with a news bulletin reporting strange explosions taking place on the planet Mars, followed minutes later by a report that Martians had landed in the tiny town of Grovers Mill, New Jersey. Although most listeners understood that the program was a radio drama, the next day’s headlines reported that thousands of others plunged into panic, convinced that America was under a deadly Martian attack. It turned out to be H.G. Wells’ classic The War of the Worlds, performed by 23-year-old Orson Welles.
Needless to say, people were pissed. I guess they’d never heard of a mockumentary before.
You can watch the documentary “War of the Worlds” online here.
Image via WikiCommons
FYI, both PBSs and NPRs stories on this didn’t do the investigation part well. It’s mostly a myth, pushed by the newspapers after the show aired to demonize radio. http://boingboing.net/2013/11/04/orson-welles-war-of-the-worl.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter has details, which I just learned today!
Thanks for the information. I had no idea!