Radio was still a young media to which the entire country tuned in to get news and entertainment. Like people use streaming and the internet today, radio was the primary source for keeping in touch with the world. People and families would gather around the radio basically believing every story they heard. On the fateful night on Halloween eve, the Mercury Theater on the Air presented a radio broadcast that seemed so real in its scope that people believed the reinactment of the novel War of the Worlds was true and actually happening. Earth was being invaded by Martians destroying humanity. The national broadcast instilled fear and panic to a population that was yet to question what they were hearing.
Despite disclaimers, the live reports of the show were accepted as real. Quite the Halloween hoax to perpratrate the intimate Halloween trick with no treats.
Happy Halloween.
