Recommended Website:
The War of the Worlds Invasion: An Historical Perspecive
In 1938, on Halloween night, Orson Welles and cast members of The Mercury Theatre broadcast an adaptation of H.G. Well’s book, The War of the Worlds, as if it was a live news broadcast. Panic ensued as many Americans listening to the broadcast believed it was real.
This website offers a historical perspective of that broadcast that includes biographical information on H.G. Wells and Orson Welles. It gives a timeline history of the town of Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, which was the setting for the alien invasion in Mercury Theater’s broadcast. It also offers information based on primary source documents about America’s reaction and the consequences – inlcuding guidelines for future national “Emergency Broadcasts.”
The information at this site is fascinating and it is rich with links to other sources about this event including:
- The original text of Orson Welles’ broadcast
- A Discovery Channel Lesson Plan on The War of the Worlds
- A site where you can click on a link to listen to the original broadcast
