The Panic Broadcast
This is the story of the infamous "War of the Worlds" radio play, which Martian Week celebrates. For even more detail (including a recording of the broadcast), click here!
|
Back in 1938, old West Windsor Township was a small farming community of about 2,000 people. Tranquil nights were broken only by an owl’s hoot or a cricket’s chirp. However, on the evening of October 30, a young radio star named Orson Welles forever thrust our town into global infamy as the site of a “Martian invasion!”
Welles co-founded the radio troupe, "Mercury Theater on the Air." Back then, everyone used the radio to follow sports, entertainment, and the news - be it the Great Depression, the rise of Nazis in Europe, or President Franklin Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats” meant to reassure an anxious nation. |
|
In this environment, Mercury Theater aired "The War of the Worlds" – a radio adaptation of a sci-fi book about a Martians invading Earth. The broadcast was produced to mimic a real-life “news bulletins," which is how most people got their news back then. For the alien landing site, writer Howard Koch randomly selected West Windsor's sleepy "Grovers Mill" neighborhood, centered on a mid-1700s grist-mill where Clarksville and Cranbury Roads meet. He'd never heard of it, but liked its name and proximity to the Princeton observatory.
|
|
Mercury Theater scrambled to make their fake “news bulletins” sound as realistic as possible. Their script referenced real-life place names and institutions and used vibrant sound effects and believable voice acting.
At 8PM, listeners across the nation tuned in. After a brief disclaimer that this was just a play, a band played a slow tango but was cut off by a fake "news bulletin" about explosions on Mars. The music returned, but was repeatedly interrupted several more times as "reporters" covered a “meteor strike” in Grovers Mill and various fake locals and authorities were interviewed. Finally, a Martian rose out of the crater, a flame shot out, a shriek pierced the night, and the invasion began! |
|
Over most of the next hour – interrupted several dozen minutes in by a second disclaimer that this was just a play – more bulletins portrayed a nation under attack. Grotesque Martians piloted hordes of monstrous mechanical tripods, wreaking destruction across the landscape. Refugees fled cities as clouds of poison gas and death rays annihilated entire armies. In the end, the aliens were defeated – but only by germs, to which they had no immunity.
|
|
As the play wrapped up, a final monologue again declared this a work of fiction. However, the real-life response was not so subdued. According to longtime belief, the broadcast’s realism sparked “mass hysteria” across the nation. Thousands drove from cities, clogging highways. Phone lines were jammed and listeners formed alien-hunting militias or prayed for salvation. In sleepy Grovers Mill, a farmer was said to have shot at the local water tower, confusing it for a Martian machine. Another family purportedly left in such a hurry that they rammed through their closed garage door!
Newspapers nation-wide plastered the story across their front pages. In the days following the broadcast, debate about punishing the Mercury Theater and regulating the airwaves swept the nation. And the rest is history – or is it? |
|
Well, reality is more nuanced. Contemporary research confirms that there certainly were many people who believed the broadcast. However, many others were more curious than afraid. For instance, many phoned their friends or families to see what the hubbub was about, but quickly realized it was just a radio play. In fact, many cars streamed into Grovers Mill, as amateur astronomers hunted for a meteor crater. Others even ignored the “aliens” entirely, believing the broadcast to instead be about a human-caused war or natural disaster! And, of course, there were countless people who realized, from the beginning, that the broadcast was just a play.
|
|
Ultimately, while there certainly was panic, there were many other, equally fascinating reactions. And that farmer shooting at the water tower, or the family ramming through their closed garage door? These stories may or may not be true - we just can't say for certain. Regardless, the play, the reactions to the play, and the reactions to the reactions (and so on) potently represent how quickly our perceptions of reality can be turned upside-down – all we need is a little nudge.
|
|
To this day, the broadcast remains one of radio’s best-known events and a local point of pride. So, in 2025, several community institutions united to organize an annual “Martian Week.” This annual tradition celebrates West Windsor’s “alien invasion” with several days of community events. From history tours to interpretive plays to Halloween bonanzas, reenactments, and more, there’s something for everyone. So, bring on the next invasion!
|
