Weird History
The Alien Broadcast That Terrified America
2026 • E23 May 20, 2026 10m
We've all heard the story... in 1938, millions of Americans tuned in to what sounded like a real breaking-news emergency: Earth was under attack by Martians. The now-infamous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast, led by Orson Welles and inspired by H.G. Wells’s sci-fi classic, allegedly triggered nationwide panic, mass hysteria, and chaos in the streets. But how much of what we heard was actually true? Did people really flee their homes, overwhelm police stations, and believe aliens had invaded New Jersey? Or was the panic itself wildly exaggerated by newspapers looking to discredit radio?
In this episode of Weird History Presents: Graveyard Shift, we uncover the truth behind one of the most legendary media events of all time and explore how a Halloween radio drama became one of the biggest hoaxes in American history.
In this episode of Weird History Presents: Graveyard Shift, we uncover the truth behind one of the most legendary media events of all time and explore how a Halloween radio drama became one of the biggest hoaxes in American history.