On the night of October 30, 1938, Orson Welles struck terror into the hearts of many Americans with the War of the Worlds radio broadcast on CBS. Many Americans believed they were being invaded and broadcast would cause mass panic throughout the country.

The War of the Worlds novel by H.G. Wells told of an alien invasion of Earth at the end of the 19th century. It was set in Woking, England, but for the adaptation, Koch changed the setting to Grover’s Mill, New Jersey. Welles and Koch decided that about half of the show would be of news bulletins to give the broadcast a documentary feel.  Broadcast from New York City, the story starts off with reports of gas explosions on Mars along with brief interludes of music and a interview with a professor named Richard Pierson (played by Wells).  He assured the listeners that all was well, but then there were repeated news bulletins of a meteor, which was eventually confirmed as a Martian rocket capsule that had landed in Grover’s Mill. News bulletins said a crowd had gathered around the capsule and Martians had come out to incinerate onlookers with heat-rays. It is believed that many people heard this portion of the show and began to call friends and family, thus spreading the rumour of an alien invasion.

The show kept being interrupted by “news reports” of more and more Martians landing all over America. It was reported they were destroying bridges and railroads as well as spraying poisonous gas into the air. The show also featured “interviews” with eyewitnesses to the havoc the Martians were creating.

The broadcast goes on to report that the military is unable to fight off the invasion and Americans are fleeing to churches to pray as the Martians head for New York City. A news reporter stationed on top of the CBS building in New York City tells of “great machines” crossing the Hudson River while poisonous gas falls over the city. The reporter talked of people running “like rats” until he himself is finally overcome by the gas. The broadcast ended with Professor Pierson telling of how the Martians had fallen victims to earthly germs and bacteria.

Welles eventually breaks from character and announces the broadcast to be a phony, probably after realizing that people are in panic. An estimated 50%, tuned in late to the broadcast. Most of the late listeners had switched over from the popular Charlie McCarthy Show. The late listeners heard music followed by interrupting news bulletins. At that time, most listeners assumed that radio news bulletins were reliable. Scared, many people didn’t continue to listen to the show to hear Welles say it was just an adaptation.

Studies estimate that about six million listened to the broadcast and that of that six million, about 1.7 million believed it was true and 1.2 million of those were truly frightened. Despite the relatively small audience that heard the broadcast, within the next month, there had been approximately 12,500 newspaper articles about the show and its aftermath. Even Adolf Hitler said the panic caused by the show was “evidence of the decadence and corrupt condition of democracy.” However, some say the “panic” caused by the show was not nearly as large spread as first thought, but through the years, the rumours and gossip have tended to perpetuate the legend.

After a public outcry, CBS promised to never use “we interrupt this program” in broadcasts for dramatic purposes only. Despite the controversy surrounding this broadcast, it catapulted Orson Welles to great fame.  Different versions of books and movies would follow years after the infamous broadcast.