Oct. 30, 2021

This Day in Halloween: Orson Welles panic-inducing radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds is broadcast across the country in 1938. / Illustration by Allison Jimenez

Orson Welles radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds is broadcast across the country in 1938. Presenting the story in what sounds like a live news broadcast thrills some and fools others, creating a panic in areas. He feigns shock in a press conference the next day.