The War of the Worlds: A Paranormal Mystery of Mass Hysteria and Fake News

Was Fake News Fake Before We Called It Fake News?

By Carl A. Harper, Jr.

A Halloween Mystery Worth Revisiting

As Halloween approaches and we prepare to celebrate another evening of ghosts, goblins, witches, and things that go bump in the night, I found myself revisiting one of the most famous incidents of public fear in American history.

It began when I happened upon an episode of Carter Roy’s Spotify's Conspiracy Theories podcast while watching YouTube. The subject was the famous October 30, 1938, radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, performed by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre players.

I had heard the story many times over the years. Most of us have. A radio program about Martians invading Earth supposedly sent terrified Americans into the streets, some carrying shotguns, while others fled their homes believing the end of civilization was approaching.

But the podcast presented a different possibility.

What if the nationwide panic was largely exaggerated by the newspapers of the day?

That started a spark in my mind. Not the kind of spark associated with the disastrous Palisades fire in California, thankfully, but enough to grow into a respectable campfire of curiosity. The kind you can sit around and tell ghost stories.

The Night Martians Invaded New Jersey

On Sunday evening, October 30, 1938, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, 23-year-old Orson Welles presented a radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's science-fiction novel The War of the Worlds, originally published in 1898.

The program aired on CBS as part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air.

What made the broadcast unusual was its presentation. Instead of a conventional dramatic performance, much of the story unfolded through simulated news bulletins interrupting ordinary musical programming.

I would imagine people back then were not very different from us today. Instead of swiping a screen or scrolling through social media, they simply turned the radio dial.

One moment they might have been enjoying Bing Crosby singing I've Got a Pocketful of Dreams, the number-one song in America that week, and the next they could have stumbled onto what sounded like an actual news bulletin announcing an invasion from Mars.

If listeners missed the opening announcement identifying the program as a fictional drama, I can understand how they might have been fooled.

You would think the fact that Halloween was just around the corner might have provided a clue, but perhaps that never registered with some listeners.

I am happy to discover that I am not the only person with a short attention span!

Listeners heard reports of mysterious explosions on Mars, an unidentified object landing near Grovers Mill, New Jersey, and strange mechanical creatures attacking the countryside.

The fictional reports described military forces being overwhelmed, cities threatened, and humanity facing an invasion from another planet.

It was an impressive example of radio drama.

The following morning, newspapers across America carried sensational accounts of widespread panic. People supposedly rushed into the streets, abandoned their homes, called police departments, and prepared to defend themselves against Martians.

The story became legendary.

Newspapers, Radio, and the Battle for America's Attention

Today, we receive news from an almost unlimited number of sources. Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, podcasts, online newspapers, blogs, and countless websites compete for our attention.

Add the 24-hour television news channels, including CNN, Fox News, MS NOW, Newsmax, and others, and we have access to more information than any generation before us.

Of course, having more information does not necessarily mean having more accurate information.

But things were considerably different in 1938.

Now, I am getting old, but I wasn't around back then to personally verify how Americans received their news. Nevertheless, I suspect the printed word carried considerably more influence than it does today. Newspapers were a primary source of local, national, and international information. Radio was rapidly becoming another important source, bringing news and entertainment directly into American homes. I imagine newspaper publishers were watching this development with considerable concern.

After all, something similar happened when television began competing with Hollywood's motion-picture studios. Americans discovered they could enjoy entertainment without leaving their living rooms. Hollywood had to adapt to the changing marketplace.

Could newspaper publishers have viewed radio in much the same way?

Newspapers depended on circulation and advertising revenue. Radio was competing for the same advertising dollars and the public's attention.

Then along came Orson Welles.

Here was a radio production that apparently frightened some listeners into believing Martians had invaded New Jersey.

What an opportunity for the newspapers!

Could publishers have recognized a chance to portray radio as irresponsible, unreliable, or even dangerous?

Perhaps they thought they could put out the spark of radio's growing popularity before it became a fire. As always it comes down to money.

Was the Great Panic Greatly Exaggerated?

During the podcast, host Carter Roy discussed historical research suggesting that the panic following the 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast was nowhere near as widespread as newspapers had reported.

That caught my attention.

Historians Jefferson Pooley and Michael Socolow examined the newspaper accounts and concluded that reports of widespread panic had been greatly exaggerated. They argued that newspapers, already concerned about radio's growing influence, had a commercial incentive to portray the new medium as dangerous and irresponsible.

Another important source is Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles's War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News, written by historian A. Brad Schwartz and published in 2015.

Schwartz examined surviving letters written to Orson Welles and the Federal Communications Commission following the broadcast. His research revealed a more complicated public reaction than the sensational newspaper headlines suggested.

Some people were genuinely frightened. Others recognized the program as fiction and enjoyed it. Still others criticized the way newspapers reported the incident.

As someone who has spent decades investigating unusual incidents, I have learned that what actually happened, what witnesses reported, and what the public eventually believes are not always the same thing.

Was there a coordinated conspiracy among newspaper publishers to discredit radio?

I cannot establish that from the available evidence. However, the documented competition between newspapers and radio certainly provides a possible motive for sensational reporting.

And that leaves us with an intriguing possibility.

Perhaps the greatest misconception associated with The War of the Worlds was not the fictional Martian invasion, but the exaggerated newspaper accounts that followed.

After watching the podcast, my curiosity got the better of me. I searched the programming available through DISH Network and discovered several other shows discussing the same theory about the 1938 broadcast.

Apparently, this was not some newly discovered secret. Researchers and historians had been questioning the traditional account for years.

So why wasn't this more commonly known?

Part of the answer may lie in the extraordinary cultural life of The War of the Worlds and the remarkable staying power of its fictional Martian invaders.

H. G. Wells's novel became one of the most influential works of science fiction ever written. The 1938 broadcast introduced the story to another generation and added something particularly memorable: the idea that an alien invasion could be presented as breaking news.

Hollywood eventually embraced the Martian invasion.

George Pal produced the classic motion picture The War of the Worlds in 1953. More than half a century later, Steven Spielberg directed War of the Worlds in 2005, starring Tom Cruise.

Several independent adaptations also appeared in 2005. Other productions followed, including the animated War of the Worlds: Goliath in 2012, War of the Worlds: The Attack in 2023, and a 2025 adaptation starring Ice Cube.

Depending on how independent films, animated productions, sequels, and loosely adapted versions are counted, the original novel has inspired approximately a dozen motion pictures.

Television has also revisited the story repeatedly.

A War of the Worlds television series ran from 1988 to 1990. In 2019, the BBC produced a period adaptation, while another contemporary television series began that same year.

The famous radio broadcast itself inspired television dramatizations and documentaries, including The Night That Panicked America in 1975 and PBS's American Experience: War of the Worlds in 2013.

Books, graphic novels, radio dramas, and other adaptations have continued the tradition.

Most of these productions retell Wells's fictional invasion rather than the events surrounding the 1938 broadcast. Nevertheless, documentaries, historical accounts, and popular retellings have helped preserve the story of the supposed nationwide panic.

Over time, the fictional invasion, and the stories about its supposedly terrifying effect on American listeners became intertwined in popular memory.

Perhaps that explains why the familiar version has survived for nearly nine decades.

A story about an entire nation panicking over Martians is considerably more entertaining than one about a limited number of confused or frightened radio listeners.

And there is another factor worth considering.

Sensational stories attract attention. Attention sells newspapers, attracts television viewers, generates advertising revenue, and today produces clicks and social media engagement.

The technology changes, but the financial incentive to capture an audience remains.

That incentive has not disappeared. Modern platforms can spread dramatic claims faster than ever, even when the underlying evidence remains incomplete.

None of this establishes a coordinated conspiracy among newspaper publishers. It does remind investigators to distinguish documented events from interpretations and stories repeated until they become accepted as fact.

The more I examined the history of the broadcast, the more I began to wonder whether the most important lesson had very little to do with Martians.

Perhaps it was about the power of the news media to shape public perception, and how difficult it can be to correct a popular story once it becomes firmly established.

The question also has a modern counterpart.

Is Fake News Still at Work Today?

Long before President Donald Trump made the phrase fake news a familiar part of modern political conversation, newspapers and other publications were sometimes accused of sensationalism, exaggeration, and misleading reporting.

In the nineteenth century, the term yellow journalism became associated with sensational newspaper reporting intended to attract readers and increase circulation.

Today, a questionable report can spread around the world within minutes. Social media users can repeat it thousands of times before anyone establishes whether it is accurate.

Consider two examples from recent American history.

Following the August 2017 violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, President Donald Trump was widely criticized for saying there were “very fine people on both sides.” Those words were spoken, but the complete transcript also shows that Trump specifically excluded neo-Nazis and white nationalists from that description and said they should be condemned. His broader remarks about responsibility for the violence remained controversial.

Depending on which portions of his statements were reported, audiences could receive different impressions of what he actually said.

Another example followed the events at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Early news reports claimed that Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick had been struck in the head with a fire extinguisher during the riot and subsequently died. That account received widespread attention.

However, the medical examiner later determined that Sicknick died from strokes and classified his death as resulting from natural causes. The originally reported fatal blunt-force injury was not supported by the medical findings.

Sicknick had been assaulted during the riot, and Capitol Police continued to recognize his death as occurring in the line of duty. Nevertheless, the initial explanation of how he died proved incorrect.

These examples illustrate how selective quotations, incomplete reporting, and rapidly developing information can shape public understanding. An incorrect report does not, by itself, prove an intention to deceive.

Were these examples of deliberate misinformation, premature reporting, or the difficulties of covering controversial events?

The answer may differ from one incident to another.

Is the modern era of mistrust justified?

Perhaps to some extent, but there is a difference between healthy skepticism and automatically rejecting information because we dislike or distrust its source.

That distinction is especially important to paranormal investigators.

Consider a witness who reports hearing an unexplained sound in an old building. After the story circulates, someone describes it as a ghostly voice. Before long, the location develops a reputation for being haunted.

But what did the original witness actually hear? What evidence was collected? How much of the story developed after the initial report?

Those questions are fundamental to a proper investigation.

The same approach applies to historical accounts, news reports, and unusual claims of every kind.

Our responsibility is to investigate objectively, consider competing explanations, and allow the evidence to support our conclusions.

Whether investigating a haunted house, an unexplained light in the sky, or a sensational news report, the principle remains the same:

Beware of broadcasts designed to scare you.

References and Further Reading

1. Wells, H. G. (1898). The War of the Worlds. William Heinemann.

2. Cantril, Hadley (1940). The Invasion from Mars: A Study in the Psychology of Panic. Princeton University Press.

3. Schwartz, A. Brad (2015). Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles's War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News. Hill and Wang.

4. Pooley, Jefferson, and Michael Socolow (2013). “The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic.” Slate, October 28, 2013.

5. Schwartz, A. Brad (2015). “The Infamous War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast Was a Magnificent Fluke.” Smithsonian Magazine, May 6, 2015.

6. Library of Congress. National Recording Registry materials concerning the 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast.

7. PBS (2013). American Experience: War of the Worlds. Documentary.

8. Spotify, Conspiracy Theories podcast. Discussion of the October 30, 1938, War of the Worlds broadcast (October 7, 2026, episode)

9. White House Archives (2017). “Remarks by President Trump on Infrastructure.” August 15, 2017. Official transcript of the Charlottesville remarks.

10. Associated Press (2021). Reporting on the medical examiner's findings concerning Officer Brian Sicknick. April 19, 2021.

11. PolitiFact (2021). Reporting on Officer Brian Sicknick's cause of death and corrections to initial accounts. April 20, 2021.

The book that challenged the legend   

The 1953 movie

A. Brad Schwartz, 2015 One of the best-known film adaptations

Orson Welles and the 1938 radio broadcast              The newspaper reaction

October 30, 1938 — CBS Radio                      Headlines reporting widespread panic

About the Author

Carl A. Harper, Jr. — OZ Paranormal Investigation Group member

Carl A. Harper, Jr. is a retired law enforcement officer, experienced investigator, author, and paranormal researcher with more than four decades of investigative experience.

He serves as Missouri Chief Investigator for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), investigating reports of unidentified aerial phenomena and assisting field investigators throughout the Central Region.

Carl is also a member of the OZ Paranormal Investigation Group. His interests include hauntings, unexplained phenomena, historical mysteries, and unusual witness experiences.

A former Chief of Police, Sheriff's Sergeant, private detective, and U.S. Air Force Security Police veteran, Carl brings a practical, evidence-based approach to investigations.

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Be sure to listen to the Unexplained Network on Halloween night when we play the entire original War of the worlds broadcast with Orson Welles. Scheduled for midnight central time. Connect on your favorite digital radio app.