A significant incident that surprised thousands of people and plunged them into panic took place in 1938. The scene is a CBS radio station. It was a routine radio production of The War of the Worlds by the Mercury Theater on the Air, directed by Orson Welles. Over a million people perceived the staging of the reportage as real events and believed in the authenticity of the reportage. But let's take a closer look at how everything really happened.
How the radio show took place
It was on October 30, All Saints Day, when the people of America celebrate Halloween in an atmosphere of fun and practical jokes. But the relaxed atmosphere that day was disrupted for the entire US east coast and even a small part of Canada. Orson Welles did not have any evil thoughts when creating the radio show, but the panic it caused surprised the radio director himself. He considered his prank a great addition to the festive Halloween atmosphere. But first things first.
At the start of the evening radio show, one of the actors announced the start of a radio show. Then the usual weather forecast followed and classical music began to play. But suddenly the music was interrupted by an urgent message announcing strange outbreaks on Mars. Following the message, a certain astronomer-scientist made a speech, refuting the slightest possibility of the existence of living things on Mars.
The beautiful and unobtrusive music continued to play, but was again interrupted by a special message. A special correspondent reported on the fall of a cylindrical object near the village of Grovers Mill. It was said that the object fell on one of the farms, caused human casualties, left behind a huge crater, and was surrounded by the police, who drove away curious onlookers. Then the voice of a crying farmer appeared on the air, describing the damage suffered, the loss of livestock and grieving for the dead neighbors. A moment later, the reporter announced in a broken voice that an incredible war machine had emerged from a giant cylinder. With the help of laser beams, she incinerated all people within reach, and then began to destroy the village buildings. The reporter, like a sane person,is naturally put to flight and periodically throws fragments of phrases on the air. Having reached a safe place, the radio transmission continues more or less steadily. The correspondent reports on the arrival of regular troops to the place where the aliens fell and cordon off the territory. Immediately one of the military agrees to be interviewed. A little later, an astronomer, who had previously reported on outbreaks on Mars, established contact with the radio station, began to think about the technical superiority of the aliens.began to speculate on the technical superiority of the aliens.began to speculate on the technical superiority of the aliens.
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Suddenly, the scientist's conversation was interrupted by the head of the US National Guard and declared martial law in the nearby states, asking to free the territory as quickly as possible, and said that he had sent troops to immediately evacuate people and take positions for military operations. Tension grew, and with it panic among the people.
It was later revealed that the military's weapons were incapable of harming the Martians, and their death machines were still arriving in huge numbers. The newly arrived technology of the Martians came into action at an enviable speed and burned everything around in the blink of an eye. There were already thousands of human casualties.
Suddenly one of the White House officials on an emergency line contacted the radio station and made an announcement in which he asked the nation to rally at such a difficult hour. Then a correspondent appeared on the line, reporting near the artillery crew. There was a message about the attack of the Martians by bombers, which, however, were destroyed, but were able to disable one of the alien killing machines.
The Martians used poisoned gas, after which the radio broadcast was interrupted again. A few minutes later, one of the radio station staff climbed onto the roof and reported alien vehicles crossing the Hudson. Soon, he sensed the poison gas and the broadcast died down. Making his way through the interference, a man appeared on the air, trying to get in touch with at least someone. At that time, about forty minutes of radio transmission had already passed. And only then the radio again announced the re-enactment of what was happening. Then the scientist got in touch with the station and told about the end of the attack of the invaders due to their lack of immunity to terrestrial microbes. The last minutes of the radio show ended with the announcer congratulating the listening audience on All Saints Day.
Residents' reaction to the draw
As newspapers later reported, over six million people listened to the radio show, one-fifth of whom took the rally seriously. The reasons for this could be different - either many simply did not hear the start of the radio broadcast with the notification of the performance, or simply forgot about it, plunging into the believable atmosphere of what was happening on the radio wave.
Mercury Theater on the Air did not have a sponsor at that time, so there was no need to insert advertising into the program. By the fortieth minute, when the second announcement of the frivolity of what was happening followed, few of those who believed continued to listen to the radio. Some hid whole families in the basements of their homes with weapons at the ready, while others collected the most necessary things in the hope of leaving to the west, without getting hit by aliens. In the streets there were calls to the authorities to arm all volunteers to fight the invaders. Whole groups of armed citizens were declared to the police stations, ready to help with all their might in the fight against the enemy.
Telephone lines were congested all over the place several times, traffic jams caused by mass hysteria exceeded a hundred kilometers. There were even cases when listeners, due to their inattention, took what was happening for the invasion of the Germans. There were eyewitnesses who saw terrible shots from alien guns or smelled poisonous gases. A very interesting incident also occurred on the west coast, which also listened to the broadcast. At the climax of the events in the town of Concrete, Washington state, a power plant went out of order. Its inhabitants piously believed that the newcomers had reached them, and the chance greatly strengthened people's faith in what was happening.
Having calmed down and understood the situation, the mass fear turned into anger. CBS radio station became the subject of legal proceedings, citizens filed dozens of claims for compensation for moral damage. However, the claims were not satisfied, except for one thing. The announcer himself decided to compensate the material damage to the guy who broke new shoes, fleeing from the invasion of invaders. For about a month, conversations around the radio show did not subside. The newspapers were full of articles about her. And overnight they openly criticized the instigators of the deed.
The staging aroused particular interest among the military structures. A new kind of mass weapon was demonstrated - a psychological influence that could effortlessly lead the country into appalling stagnation. Also, what happened clearly showed that a huge mass of people tend to blindly trust the media if the performance is skillfully played.
