how could people fall for it

You have to think about the time period... There was no TV back then and people relied on the radio for information... So like what most people do now we switch channnels people did with the radio so many people did not hear the intro that it was the Mercury Broadcast presenting War of the Worlds. And those who pannicked didn't wait around to hear the rest of the play. Also the tension over in Europe with special reports coming over the radio caused a night that people remember. I live in NJ . Hopefully this can explain why people acting thiat way.

Check out the DVD, "The Day that Panicked America: The H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds Scandal." It sufficiently explains all of the surrounding circumstances which caused the mass hysteria. Well worth the $10 charged by most online retailers.

-JP

I think that a number of people who heard the broadcast heard only bits and pieces of it and missed the disclaimer that it was only a radio broadcast; thus the ensuing panic. Times were different - people trusted the print and broadcast media and no one probably ever imagined that something like Welles' radio show farce would be produced. In a way, Welles was being opportunistic and did take advantage of people's naivete; he was a genius and probably knew that this radio show would put him and his Mercury Players into a place in history.

As a side note: here in my hometown of Concrete, WA (60 miles northeast of Seattle) those listening to the broadcast were probably the most terrified listeners in the state of Washington. By sheer coincidence, during the midpoint of the broadcast a power failure plunged almost the entire town of 1,000 into darkness. Some listeners fainted while others grabbed their families to head up into the mountains. Some of the men grabbed their guns, planning to blow away any bug-eyed monster or spaceship that got in their way. Legend has it that several residents headed for the surrounding hills to make sure their moonshine stills would be safe in the event of an other-worldly invasion. One man demanded gasoline from a local gas station so he could get to his Catholic priest in Bellingham - 40 miles north of Concrete and a two hour drive in those days - before a sure annihilation from the invading Martians. There is a brief reference to the panic in Concrete toward the end of the movie coming from a radio news report.

Just wanted to add my two-cents worth...

"Leave the gun-take the cannoli"
"She turned me into a newt...!"
"How cosmopolitan"

[deleted]

Listen to it again. There is an anouncement at the beginning and one later -- about halfway through the piece.

The thing was, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy -- then the most popular show on the air -- was opposite the Mercury Theater. Most listeners were tuned to that. When the Bergen/McCarthy show hit its first commercial several minutes into the show, many people did what people still do, they changed stations to hear what else was going on. Thousands hit "The War of the Worlds" just in time to hear the interruption of the music broadcast and to hear "Carl Phillips" broadcasting from the remote pickup in New Jersey.

This was a time of great unrest in America. The Depression was nearing its end but war was gathering in Europe. They'd seen pictures and newsreels about the Nazi bombing in Spain. People were nervous. The radio had become, in just a few short years, the principal source of news and information and no one had ever used it like this!

When people heard about the attack -- on the radio or from friends -- they tried to phone other friends and relatives all over the country. This jammed the lines leading people to think the wires were downed. Thousands more jumped into their cars and tried to flee or to reach other friends and relatives. This jammed highways...

And so forth.

It didn't take long for all this to happen. When the Mercury Theater hit its first break -- remember the Mercury Theater on the Air was a show that was "sustained" by CBS (it had no sponsor but CBS felt that it was of sufficient value to carry it without sponsorship) -- at about 35 minutes into the play, the panic was well underway and self-sustaining.

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[deleted]

thx for the info

You have to think in terms of the History of the Time. The only two ways people recieved information was by newspaper and radio... Radio being what the internet is today fast for the time. People would listen to diffrent programs on diffrent stations and many people tuned in after the broadcast began.