The War of the Worlds Broadcast Panic

On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds” as a series of simulated news bulletins. The broadcast was so realistic that many listeners believed Martians had actually invaded Earth, causing widespread panic.

The Broadcast

The radio drama depicted a Martian invasion beginning in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey. Using the format of breaking news bulletins, the show described alien war machines emerging from a crashed cylinder and attacking with heat rays and poison gas.

Though the program included announcements that it was fiction, many listeners tuned in late and missed these disclaimers.

The Panic

Reports of the broadcast’s effects, while likely exaggerated, described:

• Phone lines jammed at police stations and newspapers
• People fleeing their homes
• Traffic jams as listeners attempted to evacuate
• Church services filling with people seeking salvation
• Some listeners arming themselves

The next day’s newspapers featured headlines about the panic, establishing the broadcast as a cultural milestone.

The Reality

Modern scholarship suggests the “mass panic” was largely manufactured by newspapers eager to discredit the new medium of radio. While genuine fear was reported in some areas, large-scale hysteria was probably exaggerated.

However, the incident demonstrated radio’s power to blur the line between fiction and reality.

Legacy

The War of the Worlds broadcast became a defining moment in media history, demonstrating the power of realistic presentation to create belief in extraordinary events—a lesson with ongoing relevance in an age of viral misinformation.