"War of the Worlds" 1938 Radio Broadcast

On Halloween eve in 1938, the power of radio was on full display when a dramatization of the science-fiction novel "The War of the Worlds" scared the daylights out of many of CBS radio's nighttime listeners.

[@bobcobb7140]

Now THAT is talent. Everything you hear, sound effects and all done from a radio studio. And live without edits. Talented folks.

[@CosmicSponge2004]

and in 1938 no less!

[@smithytom7405]

no there were edits kid

[@CoolName5383]

@@smithytom7405 Well this is unfortunate for you.

[@dekuuchiha9990]

@@smithytom7405 edit free boy

[@71259mark]

@@smithytom7405 Not on a live broadcast, like many of the things they did back then.

[@scottgammon247]

I can see why this caused a panic. It's extremely convincing and enthralling

[@janetbayro7369]

Still not reel

[@ImInDaSkies]

@@janetbayro7369 no way! It wasn't "reel"?

[@thomasoaxaca9771]

The only problem that I have is that the Secretary of the Interior was on the broadcast whereas it should have been the president of the country. Other than that I find the broadcast somewhat believable.

[@skyeresto5937]

I mean It must have been a big thing because in 2021 we are learning about it and it was very convincing

[@izzyplayingidk]

And back then people completely trusted media. Trolling like that was unheard of. That's why it caused such a panic. People believed it because bothe they trusted the radion and his talent was amazing. The news was faked and no one knew. Sorry for the history lesson for people who already knew and people who didn't feel like reading

[@bobbysands6923]

Modern audiences need to understand that this is what radio announcers at the time sounded like--hyper and over-annunciated, just like newsreels of the era. It doesn't surprise me that anyone tuning in would buy it. My father was 14 when it happened and he was scared to death.

[@Demitrival]

basically voice overs haha

[@Jryst]

your dad was born in 1920s :O

[@bobthibodeau5699]

Why are you surprised? Allot more people watch and believe Main Stream Media.

[@SpicyTexan64]

How old are you? 80?

[@WILLIAN_1424]

@@SpicyTexan64 he was born when his father was around 80 years, so now he is around 20-30 lol

[@dreadhawk123]

And a year later WWII started...

[@samael1981]

Are you implying that there is a causal connection? I think you're reaching a bit.

[@thomascampr]

Sam Levin There's a connection. Its all planned .

[@CloakerM8]

The war of the planet...

[@jonathanwright8025]

+dreadhawk123 Some of the people who panicked apparently thought the invaders were German soldiers, rather than Martians. A more plausible, but nevertheless false, interpretation.

[@MrAkashvj96]

+dreadhawk123 Your comment has 28 likes, 8 - 2 = 6 & 666 is number of Devil. It's the end of the world.

[@andreawalker2325]

My grandmother told me that she lived 3 blocks away from South Mountain and she was SO FRIGHTENED because she didn't here the first part that it was just a radio play

[@JazzKeyboardist1]

She was having fun just like I like to say I was scared by movies. People love to be scare and your grandmother's family tried to confirm the story. Their smart phones didn't work

[@KittyAntonikWakfer]

My mother was 16-1/2 at the time & one of many who did not tune in at the very beginning but rather a bit later when the programming sounded like the real thing full of "news" broadcasts. It was frightening for awhile bc it was "taking place" in NJ, not far from where she & her family lived in So Orange. As she told the story to me & my siblings years later, someone came home & said nothing was being reported elsewhere & the realization that it was the Mercury Theater became clear to all listening in the house. But it was still quite an experience according to her, it was so real!!

[@michaelschaefer1904]

It's my understanding that the introduction (i.e. mention of H.G. Wells) was only added later.

[@bronze5885]

My dad played this recording in his car for me. I was 8 at the time and thought it was real...... Shit got real.

[@Redbirds1100]

I first heard this on a record player that my Father had back in the early 70's it is totally awesome!

[@mrhard2000uk]

Redbirds1100 same here it was scary as fuck as a kid but you kept going back to listen to it every so often. wonder what the original vinyl is worth now

[@dibbidydoo4318]

+Bronze you must be very old.

[@mrhard2000uk]

Damien Green Obviously you're very young and not applying your brain properly, he doesnt have to be old just because his dad played it to him when he was 8.

[@dibbidydoo4318]

mrhard2000uk It happened in the end of the 1930s

[@twilightsymphony1371]

Before I heard this for myself,I thought only idiots would believe something like this.I changed my mind AFTER I heard it,it's so convincing...

[@susanda9469]

+Twilight Symphony What's really interesting is that the time scale is so compressed that if anybody had really thought about it for a moment, they would realize that it can't possibly be describing real time events. For example, large numbers of soldiers couldn't be marshalled and moved many miles in a few minutes! I can only conclude that (a) some people are highly suggestible, (b) some other people may have heard a few scary minutes of the broadcast, then left their radios in panic to look for more information. (BTW, based on Professor Pierson's remark at the end of the program, the war takes place over a period of about 10 days, October 20-30)

[@susanda9469]

+Twilight Symphony P.S. I'm talking about the reaction at the time, of course. Which is not to say that we don't still have plenty of highly suggestible, easily manipulated people today...

[@djchozen91]

+Susan DA People listening to the whole broadcast carefully would have realised that. But people listening to it on and off, joning in part way through, and playing it in the background, as one often does with radio, would have likely been shocked by it easily. The whole reason a lot of people were fooled was because of this. They were listening to it out of context. Also once started, it never seemed to pause at any regular interval to inform the listener of what it really is they are listening to, it just continued the act for a whole hour. It also was done by real news broadcasters the audience would have been familiar with.

[@susanda9469]

djchozen91 Good point about people not really paying attention as it played in the background... until it got their attention in a big way.

[@1977kb0wqh1996]

+djchozen91 Good point! And here is another one! THIS IS WHY EVERYONE SHOULD READ MORE BOOKS! If everyone of those fooled radio listeners on October 30th, 1938 had read H.G. Wells "War of the Worlds", none of them would have been fooled! Am I wrong?

[@beckyhofheinz6245]

Orson Welles was only 23yrs old when this was broadcast...genius!

[@patrickmitchell3192]

Still nobody has been able to trick so many people in nearly 100 years paddy p Churchdown Gloucester 30/8/23

[@mickeydrago9401]

Not really, back then those that were not stuck in blue collar jobs well beyond 40 hours per week could actually be literate above and beyond today because they didn't have TV and rarely went to movies and had to listen to the radio and their past time was reading. And they didn't have weirdo pervert teachers that distract them from basic learning. With today's attention span it also makes it more difficult to learn to speak and write well and they did real writing back then without spell check cheating for them or Google search spelling for you. They had dictionaries and a thesaurus. I bet half of today's younger generations couldn't even tell you what a thesaurus is. Got Roget's?

[@brianwitt2138]

​@@patrickmitchell3192you are drinking the Kool aid if you think we haven't all been tricked.

[@proud2bpagan]

I remember my grandma telling me about this broadcast..she said it was so well done that for those who didn't catch the first of it, where it was announced as a fiction broadcast in celebration of Halloween, scared the living snot out of them.

[@EdWeibe]

I had asked my grandmother about it also. She mentioned, well nothing we can do so lets see what goes on. lol

[@cainealexander-mccord2805]

The newspapers of the day had their headlines for sure. It was amazing how people fell for this, and I thought, "Jeez, what dopes," till I listened to it from start to finish. Yeah, I can see that happening. And boy, I can see it happening NOW, even easier.

[@eddieboggs8306]

​@@cainealexander-mccord2805 Especially with AI.

[@cainealexander-mccord2805]

@@eddieboggs8306 A ruther chilling thought.

[@eddieboggs8306]

@@cainealexander-mccord2805 Yes I know. If you want to see the future now watch science fiction. Remember Star Trek the original series? Big screen TV , flip phones and who could not remember that blue tooth that Uhura had in her ear!? The Arnold Swartetzeneger movie The Terminator is a scary look into the future. Especially the third one, Rise of the Machines. Scenes from the future in that movie sound like what the Bible says about Armageddon.

[@moth606]

As tradition, I listen to this every year on October 30th and can only imagine the terror the listeners at that time was going through, as they believed that their very world was ending.

[@DisapprovingPigeon]

Then, a year or two later, the world did certainly seem like it was coming to an end..... (2 years late i know kek)

[@glenmorgan4597]

​@DisapprovingPigeon why was that ???🤔

[@DinoNuggies333]

It’s amazing that we can still listen to this. Absolutely incredible

[@dekuuchiha9990]

They have the original movie in 4k now that was a shock(haven't watched myself)

[@jamesrobertsonrobertson5690]

The ultimate classic!!

[@JoeMama-ne8wp]

A fellow Joe Mama 🙏

[@minihalkoja590]

This man was the greatest troll ever

[@sagiksp4979]

pootis spencer here

[@kingjulienmydudes9750]

I know

[@LTTobo]

Arttu N no he wasn't it's messed up thousands of people killed themselves because they believed it!

[@minihalkoja590]

Kody Is amazing Uh oh, looks like we've got a guy who takes my comment really seriously.

[@LTTobo]

I'm a girl!, get a life idiot!

[@JasonGafar]

This was actually wonderful. I've never listened to a radio broadcast before, this was my first one, however I was pleasantly surprised. Very dramatic and exciting piece.

[@MsXizan]

The TV series based on the 1953 movie version had an episode honoring the 50th Anniversary of this radio broadcast...and nationwide, radio stations played it once again.

[@richardskola3570]

Give yourself a real treat and try some more. Try some Burns and Allen for humor. There is so much, I hardly know what to suggest next.

[@arielfilmsinc1926]

Also The Lone Ranger and the monster chicken heart

[@MsXizan]

Monster chicken heart?

[@arielfilmsinc1926]

It was a radio horror show do not remember the exact title BUT that is whet it was about

[@Wigfield84]

My favorite is how long it takes to build up, they play the orchestra for a long time and have a lot of moments of quiet, and what today people would call "boring" talk. Movies and TV have such a hard time letting things develop slowly now and audiences don't really know how to handle it.

[@Demitrival]

Im 20 and this is very interesting to me. Its so good it sounds real.

[@VeteranVandal]

I can't believe this is ACTUALLY the original thing. Holy shit!

[@ApartmentKing66]

Believe it. This is the actual 1938 broadcast.

[@кверти-ю4ч]

@@ApartmentKing66 How did they record it?

[@aftersexhighfives]

@@кверти-ю4ч that really flammable tape, they had movies by 1938, this is the same year as the release of Snow White and the seven dwarfs from Disney.

[@lutello3012]

@@кверти-ю4ч probably transcription disc

[@richardskola6982]

29 years after the original broadcast War of The Worlds was rebroadcast by KNX radio, Los Angeles. Sitting in my car in a parking lot with snow falling was a great introduction to this play. I've listened to it many times over the past 50 years and I still enjoy it every time.

[@allanegleston4931]

i remember that . still scared the hectoroonies out of people

[@Wuansocool]

Me too

[@thecoalcoloredfox4004]

Anyone else find their voices so.. pleasant?

[@deku-eku5127]

Hah, you’re not the only one! Their tones and the way they pronounce things and speak is very soothing. Comforting, even. Well, as comforting as it gets on a radio broadcast about an alien invasion, lol. Either way, the way people spoke around this time period was very charming, in my opinion.

[@emnoelle2112]

My 4th grade teacher played this in like 2016 and tbh everyone in my class believed it because she had made it so believable before playing it. She terrified all of her 25 students and then told us that it wasn’t real and then we started learning about persuasive writing 😔

[@joetickle9676]

Orson Wells insisted it wasn't supposed to fool anyone. The news broadcast was just a storytelling medium and they announced it in advance. It just didn't occur to them that people may tune in late.

[@michaelschaefer1904]

They added to the recorded introduction afterward. The original was brief.

[@mooseandsquirrel9887]

If this teaches anything.....” don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see “......

[@mcgregorsghost721]

my grampa lost his lunch when they first played this.

[@markross754]

my grandpa also lost his lunch that day poor soul and his false teeth as his twin step sister told him to run for shelter bus!!!

[@stubbyfoamz1]

Did he ever find it?

[@pcstudios182]

Dude i must know!!!!! Did he find it????

[@aborttrump7863]

My grandpa was one of the police men that saw the REAL farm. Which was nothing

[@fastfootedone]

beta!!

[@TheOldOakSyndicate]

Even though I know it's a fictional broadcast, I still like to suspend my disbelief and pretend it's real!

[@ewinter3]

There's magic in the old movies and voices that modern entertainment just can't match...

[@KajunMs39]

This was incredibly brilliant for the 30's. H.G. Wells was a genius.. In 2021, we now have many different movie versions, thanks to his wild storytelling!!! 👍👍💋❣️❤️

[@speedracer1945]

Almost 80 years ago . This must have been one freaky scary broadcast for many people think there was a alien invasion. People were more isolated back then and radio had no images and you always had to use your imagination when you listen . People today have no imagination because we have so much visual images . We lost our imagination .

[@dododoobirdowo1916]

We still have an imagination, it's just influenced by the images we see. We think 'alien' and we start thinking of a picture of an alien we once saw but each person remembers it differently. One is green, one is grey, one has no nose, one slits, one black eyes, one glowing.

[@xstant1]

So.. Little kids playing don't have imagination? Or inventors, engineers, etc. We still have imagination- it's a thing you cannot lose.

[@KittyAntonikWakfer]

My mother, 16-1/2 at the time Halloween eve 1938, was one of many who did not tune in at the very beginning but rather a bit later when the programming sounded like the real thing full of "news" broadcasts. It was frightening for awhile bc it was "taking place" in NJ, not far from where she & her family lived. As she told the story to me & my siblings years later, someone came home & said nothing was being reported elsewhere & the realization that it was the Mercury Theater became clear to all listening in the house. But it was still quite an experience according to her, it was so real in an age when the radio truly WAS "the window on the world!"

[@DTKGaming0]

I heard this in English class and had to come back and listen to it again, it's so great, today's radio is garbage compared to this.

[@WhiteShaq93]

I've always wanted to listen to this broadcast. It never even crossed my mind that it'd be on youtube.

[@KajunMs39]

8 yrs later, Everything is on youtube. :)

[@BeeBumper]

There are a lot of old radio drama and horror on here and it is awesome.

[@SpartanManch]

That broadcast paints a vivid portrait in my modern mind. You can only imagine people who heard this...

[@MrHereWeGoYo]

Wow. I've always wondered about America's fascination with Mars and the idea of "Martians". This pretty much answers that question.

[@jackson528]

The screaming seems so realistic geez

[@Lethaltail]

Well, it's theater, it's usually that way. c:

[@Neithie]

Of course... it was literally people standing in the radio studio screaming.

[@xstant1]

That's because it is. You can't get good screams without screaming.

[@bentramer682]

Even though everything about this was fake i couldn't help but wince and chill when the soldiers were coughing and dying

[@thinginground5179]

@@bentramer682 timestamp?

[@lavoixdevelours]

It was believable because people relied on the radio for everything from news to entertainment. Your imagination can get away from you like that.

[@mikesnyder1788]

+Kristi Marie Correct! Entire families would gather round the radio and listen to it for hours! Yes, the imagination flowered during those golden radio days!

[@SpacemonkeyDurden]

+Kristi Marie Wells admitted that was the inspiration for doing this in the format of a real news bulletin. In an interview, he claimed it was partially done out of spite, to show people that, just because it's on the radio, doesn't make it true. Kind of like how people believe everything on the internet is true, even if it's an obvious troll "fact."

[@d.o2785]

Edgar Vilhelm I have bedded many women

[@shinrascaryweather7640]

America's first and most epic Troll. Gotta say even though i know its fake the way they did it made it seem so real. 32 million people across the country heard this.

[@jackmeovf4010]

Kinda like covid 19 is new great troll

[@joeymarie72]

I can't tell you how many times over the last ten years or so that I have listened to this amazingly scripted, well acted production! When I found out more about the actual production and how Welles times each and every breath of the listeners, that made the story even greater! I guess some people actually thought something horrible was going on because they didn't hear the beginning of the broadcast announcing that it was, of course, the weekly (I believe it was weekly) Mercury Theatre on the Air. Huge fan of Orson Welles and his knack for squeezing every last bit of tension from me!

[@jmatthew40]

Listen to this every Halloween it's one of the best adaptations of such a classic story

[@alexbrazviana]

Orson Welles was lucky for not suffering any kind of harm. In 1949 in Quito, Ecuador, the same radio play was aired resulting in complete chaos. When people found they had been duped, they stormed the radio station and burnt it to ground killing 15 people.

[@darcyrosewilson]

All live, too. No editing existed then. I am impressed 😂

[@SpaceCase132]

Why can’t we have radio shows like this anymore?

[@crishaunthedon]

We do..They're called podcasts

[@deku-eku5127]

A good podcast is Welcome to Nightvale. It’s really weird.

[@dt5348]

Sirius xm old fashioned radio

[@rvb7232]

check out The Magnus Archives, i think you would like it

[@pleaseenteraname6590]

@@rvb7232 that is pretty creepy

[@richardskola3570]

Welles was a creative genius with his made for radio voice. Many people now don't remember radio remotes that featured big bands. The frequent breakins would not be unusual during I newsworthy event. NO ONE should go through life without experiencing this program.

[@Moronvideos1940]

GOOD FOR YOU ! ! ! Good for you ! Other uploads of this gem had cut off endings and missing middle parts. Yours is perfect....Thank you very much for preserving history perfectly !

[@kirtt4299]

This dude caused the whole world a big problem. That’s really talent.

[@41357500]

like hitler???

[@macdhomhnaill7721]

@@41357500 No no, he tried to solve the problem.

[@41357500]

@@macdhomhnaill7721 hahaaaaaaahhhhhaha

[@teganrand5204]

I love their voices it’s so nice and calm I could fall asleep to it

[@clairewyndham1971]

I have been a fan of this my mother played a cassette of this. Until I actually heard this for myself, I couldn't understand how anyone could "fall" for this..man oh man, I don't care what anyone says NOW, if you didn't catch this broadcast right from the very very 15 seconds, there is no way that you wouldn't know that wasn't a " put up " job.. I still get the heebie-jeebies listening to it. There is no way this could happen today, but, come on, this ROCKED.

[@uzi598]

Fun(sorta) fact, the extreme panic this caused when it first aired had residents of princeton, nj(where the story took place) shooting at a water tower because it matched the description in the story

[@PlayIt4MeAgainSam]

This is sheer brilliance and a must for anyone interested in media studies.

[@barbarayoung2944]

I just finished rereading the original book by HG Wells. Excellent writing and truly believable. Read it --160 pages

[@DigitalApex]

The imagery and acting are so vivid and enthralling. I kept putting myself in the mindset of a regular guy listening to the radio in the late 30s. I can see why people lost it over this and were pissed at Welles for a long time afterward. Great stuff.

[@BeeGeesFan999]

Today 80 years ago (October 30th 2018)

[@zman3886]

First and best troll.

[@loganwilson3976]

+Zman Games true true it was pretty funny

[@spintop285]

Well he didn't expect to have that much people to be scared to death that its going to be the end of the world, and he admit it, he felt bad for the people who were scared to death to make this so call "troll"

[@wigster600]

+Zman Randomness! People actually committed suicide because they thought the world was ending.

[@spintop285]

Wow

[@cosmic_guy3897]

+Spintop90 the not so boreing guy must be smart those people

[@fmor2779]

Its funny how Orson Welles never planned this to be a prank. People just or were too naive or , like most of the viewers who beleved this was true, didnt heard the first announcement that this was just a play adapted from the novel "The War of the Worlds" by HG. Wells. In fact he announced it was a play twice. It was even scheduled in the newspapers!!! The only thing I can say about this is that listeners back then were very naive, ofcourse only the ones who beleved it couse not everyone did.

[@deku-eku5127]

Definitely agree on this one. The panic was self-inflicted.

[@WillScarlet16]

I don't blame those people - the news broadcast bits are pretty convincing, not to mention terrifying. And remember, there was no TV or internet to check on these things then, and no probes on Mars to say invasion wasn't possible.

[@FNGLHR]

It wasn't that widespread, there were some people who went a little wild, but most tried to seek confirmation first before that. So, even back then, they weren't totally gullible.

[@cliffbird5016]

there was TV around back then but the USA was way behind the rest of the world on tech and they hadnt got round to making TV,s in the USA lol. Britian had computors and internet in the 1930,s but it was military only that had them back then.

[@_.Leo_.]

@@cliffbird5016 dumb

[@diegoribeiro9165]

When I listen this broadcast I think how inteligent they were.. magic!!! radio is magic

[@fivesballsack5555]

I'm 11 and I love this book, I have read and listened to it over and over again. :-)

[@larspettersson4587]

Now you are 14 ;)

[@swagnuscarlson]

@@larspettersson4587 Jesus haha its rare that a comment makes me physically laugh and you sir have done just that.

[@velix2000]

Happy late or early 15th birthday!! 👑

[@fivesballsack5555]

And now I’m 17 😂😂 I think my young dumbass brain was wrong on my own damn age lmaooooo

[@shloski]

@@fivesballsack5555 I’m 16, the first time I listened to this was when I was 12. It’s crazy that we are already so grown up from when we first listened to this. Also nice crossfire pfp

[@mrluxinatux5697]

This is so classic and intriguing......I love it.

[@FNGLHR]

It's a really compelling piece, a very well done modernized version of HG Wells' original. Orson Welles certainly had a great sense of respect for the material, as can be seen in his narration and performance.

[@susanda9469]

+FNGLHR Yes it's fully worthy of the original. There are so many details that are quite compelling. Especially the closing words of Prof. Pierson - they've stuck with me for many years since I first heard this.

[@jerobriggs6861]

Great program. I can see how people might have mistook it for a real Martian invasion at certain parts if they'd just tuned in. I could only imagined how silly they felt when they heard the announcement that they would return to The War of the Wrolds by H.G. Wells perform by Orson Wells after a brief intermission.

[@gtf187]

that's actually what happened. a lot of people listened to a different stations broadcast and when that broadcast ended the intoduction for this had already been played so a lot of people missed it and only heard the news portions of the play onward

[@gtf187]

+gtf187 during slow parts they would turn over to other channels for music then turn back etc...

[@kellyfox5547]

Well geez, if I were listening to the radio & a supposed "government news broadcast" started talking about explosions on Mars back in the 30's, I'd probably freak out too, lol...the ppl speaking on the radio sound a lil too calm though

[@susanda9469]

+Kelly Fox Well, they're playing professional reporters. Have you seen the old film of Walter Cronkite announcing (live) the assassination of JFK? He wipes away a tear but his voice does not change one bit from its normal tone.

[@128JayB]

Because they're professionals 🙃

[@sKraat528]

Honestly, I feel like this is one of the greatest shows, television included. It's fun to imagine living in that time and hearing this. Even if you knew it was still 'war of the worlds' it's riveting and gripping

[@masterjedi343]

Gonna be listening to this tonight while playing Fallout NV and shooting things in the head. Perfect era for it.

[@feveryotheryoutubename3991]

+Greg Mejia Fallout NV = Fallout New Vegas

[@finn4790]

+Anakinfan12002 do the mothership zeta dlc

[@danielnunez1587]

+Cal Chuchesta wish I had gotten that dlc all I have is the Pitt and anchorage

[@user-ro4lf9pv2g]

I have the game of the year edition so I have all of the dlcs

[@MegaAmazingc]

Masterjedi343 This does go great with any fallout game 😂👍 Grovers Mill even sounds like a place that fallout would have . 😂

[@Waffletoasters]

They should make a movie about the radioshow, no not the Spielberg one but about the radioshow and effect it had on the public during broadcast

[@TriumphantPenguin2]

They did... The Night That Panicked America. You can find it on KZbin.

[@jpsym9]

I just asked my son if he had heard of this and he said no. Of course I told him about this, and am now playing for him.

[@o0long2be30]

it's just a prank bro

[@minihalkoja590]

god damnit!

[@stuffedfilms819]

well...not really a prank just for a made up story. but people thought I was real. when It was a story for a forecast.

[@stuffedfilms819]

it*

[@JazzKeyboardist1]

it was a prank because Orson wouldn't cut it to the broadcast to settle down the listeners.. The radio president asked him but Orson loved it... The kids rioting in Portland about Trump is about the same thing... The kids think Trump is an alien

[@markross754]

did it work bro hope so

[@MrJafredderf]

When we were kids every Halloween my brother's would get out the record of this broadcast. I remember how creepy and scary it seemed and thinking how frightening it must have been to people then. It is a genius of a new kind.

[@brianbarfield7138]

Someone just tried to pull this on me because there was a rebroadcast (with partial script changed because of this happening in Western New York), and it made me realize how much this wouldn't make a panic today. During one part it said "the peace bridge has been destroyed" (one of the script changes), but you can find a live feed of cameras on the peace bridge at any given time. I hadn't even heard of this before tonight; but there was no way it was real without some live video feeds of it. Really, this wouldn't work at all with our easy access to information of today. It's interesting to think about how far we've gone in information exchange since that time.

[@Fluttergirl297]

we listened to this in school today and i thought it was REAL it is FREAKY

[@GamergirlsFTW560]

Me too but we thought it was real... It was a Performance the whole time.

[@lexihovesworn8292]

My teacher put it on for me yesterday

[@fabbiegaming1235]

my teacher put it on wed. and thur.

[@GamergirlsFTW560]

lol same

[@junipercosmic6841]

GoldenCupcakes AJ Well that seems somewhat suspicious that all of your schools played students this clip.. What reason did they give may I ask? Sounds like they could be trying predictive programming on y'all or something lol (getting you used to the idea of an alien invasion before it happens to gauge your reactions etc) Seems a tad odd. Have they been showing you anything else weird? Just curious lol

[@Muse060558]

Brilliant production. Captured the mood of the times. Still powerful today.

[@frankpatraziebe5515]

My grandmother and her parents took cover in their dank basement in Michigan for the rest of the evening after about 10 minutes of listening after tuning in later. They fell asleep late into the night and awoke to a crisp cool tranquil morning.

[@utube11235]

Eerie, how many of the descriptions after 45:00 have been happening around the world the last few months, with the world under the Corona virus lockdown..

[@TylerBrown-up5jp]

I tried to imagine myself in 1938. I would’ve left my body. This was well put together.

[@RCAvhstape]

That part around 17 minutes is epic.

[@madeleinebaier5347]

It sure is, I just now listened to it! Orson Welles was genius!

[@deku-eku5127]

This is actually terrifying. Especially with how many times the reporter around 35 minutes kept saying that it was the end of the world, and his hysterical behavior.

[@bigbrian920]

Hey guys I'm Joll from WatchMojo.com and you watching 10 Greatest Trolls of all Time

[@MegaAmazingc]

I wish i had found this out b4 my grandparents passed away. I would of liked to have asked them about this . I remember back as a kid watching the movie with my dad back in the 80s. As my dad was like go to sleep ur going to get nightmares. 😂😂

[@fakepro5848]

I have watched the original movie, listened to this and read the book and this is my favorite version.

[@numberluvah2594]

is the book good?

[@hollydearolf3291]

The man was a genius in his right , in the records for the best story teller taking what Stephen king could only dream of scaring the s*it out of the entire country .

[@sweeabn6736]

very very interesting piece of history

[@jazmynsharp2859]

I recalled this happening and this event made me question everything I hear and see on MSM......so it did a service to me many years later. The Plandemic seem like a similar story....not real and made real by MSM.

[@megacrashthehedgehog5377]

I still cant believe he was able to pull this off.

[@EnRiCo45100]

I've heard about this radio broadcast, this is my first time listening to it and it brought me some chills as soon as it ends....

[@roytrotter8306]

This is awesome, was then and still now.

[@poppybell8217]

He was speaking about a year in the future in this broadcast, but that went over most peoples' heads. If I could travel in a time machine, I travel to the radio studio when Orson was giving his oration.

[@PeterAgostiniJdcap26]

What a story teller he is with his incredible voice .

[@ericaquilina5636]

The acting is AMAZING and that was the 1930s!

[@everybodyhasone19]

Eric Aquilina not that long ago and people were the same as today

[@mamadoupapito549]

I started crying over this, i don't know why

[@Lilmeowzivert]

Stewie

[@__________Troll__________]

*Even the audio is in black and white*

[@dominickstewart433]

Hug Wells wasn't a troll. He explained it was a book beforehand.

[@talkingaboutstuff5410]

Many ppl missed that part

[@babiespice4099]

i have chills, this is crazy

[@lollersaqwescfgvh]

omg you spell your name Lili too?

[@SwagGuffington]

Lilianna Lee g

[@loganlombard5332]

This was pretty convincing for a radio drama. Also, the 20's/30's style of music and audio is very unique compared to today, and arguably makes it feel more realistic.

[@timmeans2664]

The. Best radio broadcast on the planet..... Boo.....happy holloween

[@sariahstudios]

In 7th grade we had to read a play things if this and she let us listen to this for only like ten minutes and I just popped in my head and I’m like “meh why not.” 0-0 wow.

[@eugeniawillis8532]

Eighty years ago from today. wow. you gotta love Orson!!

[@asschleiss]

Damn, am I glad my birthday is October 30th. I would have no clue about this if it wasn't. And this is truly fantastic.

[@ethanbradberrystightasshol2096]

Same bday👍

[@skarocker21]

Wow this is just great I can see why people might think this was actually happening.

[@maryduarte3248]

Hi I'm glad KZbin has original the war of the worlds radio thanks for sharing

[@mobilisinmobili74]

A M A Z I N G!! It's like a movie, but you have to imagine the visuals.

[@bebebeans683]

My grandma was 8 years old when this happened. Her father was still at work and her mother (who was easily frightened) heard the broadcast, and either didnt hear the first part or just didn't understand what was happening. She and her two kids walked to her sister's house and they stayed there for hours, until they learned the broadcast was just a radio drama. My grandma believed that they had done this to cause hysteria on purpose.

[@Rambo-Gaming]

This was way before my time, but it sure is a lot of fun to listen to. I love stuff like this. I've been a "War Of The Worlds" fan ever since I saw the 1953 movie. Haven't read the original novel, but I plan to.

[@YourPalKindred]

You read that book yet, Jeremy?

[@jacoblang2712]

We have a little farm and I remember my dad played this for me on the radio y we was milking the cows miss those days

[@azrieldark64]

someone should take this broadcast and make it a move in a 1930's stile recording and present day graphics. but keep it like it is in the broadcast fully :)

[@freddie488]

There are a couple of movies based in the radio broadcast. I think one of them is called 'the day America trembled'. i can't remember the name of the other one :(

[@freddie488]

'Night that panicked America' is the other one. They're both in the suggested videos.

[@azrieldark64]

Cool

[@garettcauble3612]

would be very interesting

[@classicgunstoday1972]

It’s amazing watching the 1953 movie just how much Gene Barry’s voice sounds like Orson Wells here in the radio broadcast. Whenever I picture the radio broadcast, I always see Gene Barry as the main character because it sounds like his voice

[@laraghmanning5488]

The broadcast that completely scared the crap outta New Jersey :')

[@cunningwarrior1827]

I started reading the comments and I shocked by the aggression among posters. First of all, there were no deaths caused by this radio broadcast. There were no successful suicide attempts and the rumor of a heart attack by a listener is just that, a rumor. No one killed anyone else due to listening to this broadcast. Yes, people were scared, even terrified, but remember, World War II was just around the corner and people were scared on a daily basis. With what is going on in the world today, you might be more understanding. Remember that the last World War was only 20 years before. Second, some people are older than others. Stop being amazed that there are some people that are older than you are. Third, no one knows if a poster is a man, woman or other. You can't be offended if someone gets you gender wrong. Fourth, this is an amazing piece of history brought to you by old time radio. Enjoy it for what it is. Thank You for posting it. 👻