War of the Worlds

The Eve of the War

Journalist: [as narrator] No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth
century, that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. No one
could have dreamed we were being scrutinized, as someone with a microscope studies
creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Few men even considered the
possibility of life on other planets and yet, across the gulf of space, minds immeasurably
superior to ours regarded this Earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely, they drew
their plans against us.
At midnight, on the twelfth of August, a huge mass of luminous gas erupted from Mars
and sped towards Earth. Across two hundred million miles of void, invisibly hurtling
towards us, came the first of the missiles that were to bring so much calamity to Earth. As
I watched, there was another jet of gas. It was another missile, starting on its way.
And that's how it was for the next ten nights. A flare, spurting out from Mars – bright
green, drawing a green mist behind it – a beautiful, but somehow disturbing sight. Ogilvy,
the astronomer, assured me we were in no danger. He was convinced there could be no
living thing, on that remote, forbidding planet.

"The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one," he said.

"The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one – but still they come!"

Journalist: [as narrator] Then came the night the first missile approached Earth. It was
thought to be an ordinary falling star, but next day there was a huge crater in the middle of
the Common, and Ogilvy came to examine what lay there: a cylinder, thirty yards across,
glowing hot... and with faint sounds of movement coming from within.
Suddenly the top began moving, rotating, unscrewing, and Ogilvy feared there was a man
inside, trying to escape. He rushed to the cylinder, but the intense heat stopped him before
he could burn himself on the metal.

"The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one," he said.

"The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one – but still they come!"

"Yes, the chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one," he said.

"The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one – but still they come!"

Journalist: [as narrator] It seems totally incredible to me now, that everyone spent that
evening as though it were just like any other. From the railway station came the sound of
shunting trains, ringing and rumbling, softened almost into melody by the distance. It all
seemed so safe and tranquil.

Horsell Common and the Heat Ray

Journalist: [as narrator] Next morning, a crowd gathered on the Common, hypnotized

by the unscrewing of the cylinder. Two feet of shining screw projected when, suddenly,
the lid fell off! Two luminous disc-like eyes appeared above the rim. A huge, rounded
bulk, larger than a bear, rose up slowly, glistening like wet leather. Its lipless mouth
 quivered and slavered, and snake-like tentacles writhed as the clumsy body heaved and
pulsated.
A few young men crept closer to the pit. A tall funnel rose, then an invisible ray of heat
leapt from man to man and there was a bright glare, as each was instantly turned to fire.
Every tree and bush became a mass of flames at the touch of this savage, unearthly Heat
Ray. People clawed their way off the Common, and I ran too. I felt I was being toyed with,
that when I was on the very verge of safety, this mysterious death would leap after me and
strike me down. At last I reached Maybury Hill and in the dim coolness of my home I
wrote an account for my newspaper before I sank into a restless, haunted sleep.
I awoke to alien sounds of hammering from the pit, and hurried to the railway station to
buy the paper. Around me, the daily routine of life – working, eating, sleeping – was
continuing serenely as it had for countless years. On Horsell Common, the Martians
continued hammering and stirring, sleepless, indefatigable, at work upon the machines
they were making. Now and again a light, like the beam of a warship's searchlight, swept
the Common – and the Heat Ray was ready to follow. In the afternoon, a company of
soldiers came through and deployed along the edge of the Common, to form a cordon.
That evening, there was a violent crash and I realized with horror that my home was now
within range of the Martians' Heat Ray. At dawn, a falling star with a trail of green mist
landed with a flash like summer lightning. This was the second cylinder.

The Artilleryman and the Fighting Machine

Journalist: [as narrator] The hammering from the pit and the pounding of guns grew
louder. My fear rose at the sound of someone creeping into the house. Then I saw it was a
young artilleryman, weary, streaked with blood and dirt.
Artilleryman: Anyone here?
Journalist: Come in. Here – drink this.
Artilleryman: Thank you.
Journalist: What's happened?
Artilleryman: They wiped us out. Hundreds dead – maybe thousands.
Journalist: The Heat Ray?
Artilleryman: The Martians! They were inside the hoods of the machines they'd made –
massive metal things on legs! Giant machines that walked – they attacked us! They wiped
us out!
Journalist: Machines?
Artilleryman: Fighting Machines! Picking up men and bashing 'em against trees. Just
hunks of metal, but they knew exactly what they were doing.
Journalist: Mmm. There was another cylinder came last night.
Artilleryman: Yes. it looked bound for London.
Journalist: London! Carrie! I hadn't dreamed there could be danger to Carrie and her
father, so many miles away. I must go to London at once.
Artilleryman: And me. Got to report to Headquarters – if there's anything left of it.
Journalist: [as narrator] At Byfleet we came upon an Inn, but it was deserted.
Artilleryman: Is everybody dead?
Journalist: Not everybody. Look! Six cannons with gunners standing by.
Artilleryman: It's bows and arrows against the lightning. They haven't seen the Heat Ray
yet.
Journalist: [as narrator] We hurried along the road to Weybridge. Suddenly, there was a
heavy explosion. The ground heaved, windows shattered and gusts of smoke erupted into
the air.
Artilleryman: Look! There they are! What did I tell you?
 Journalist: [as narrator] Quickly, one after the other, four of the Fighting Machines
appeared. Monstrous tripods, higher than the tallest steeple, striding over the pine trees
and smashing them. Walking engines of glittering metal. Each carried a huge funnel and I
realized with horror that I'd seen this awful thing before. A fifth Machine appeared on the
far bank. It raised itself to full height, flourished the funnel high in the air – and the
ghostly, terrible Heat Ray struck the town. As it struck, all five Fighting Machines exulted,
emitting deafening howls which roared like thunder.
Martians: Ulla! Ulla!
Journalist: [as narrator] The six guns we had seen now fired simultaneously,
decapitating a Fighting Machine. The Martian inside the hood was slain, splashed to the
four winds, and the body, nothing now but an intricate device of metal, went whirling to
destruction. As the other Monsters advanced, people ran away blindly, the Artilleryman
among them, but I jumped into the water and hid until forced up to breathe. Now the guns
spoke again, but this time the Heat Ray sent them to oblivion.
Martians: Ulla!
Journalist: [as narrator] With a white flash, the Heat Ray swept across the river.
Scalded, half-blinded and agonized, I staggered through leaping, hissing water towards the
shore. I fell helplessly, in full sight of the Martians, expecting nothing but death. The foot
of a Fighting Machine came down close to my head, then lifted again, as the four Martians
carried away the debris of their fallen comrade... and I realized that by a miracle, I had
escaped.
Martians: Ulla! Ulla! Ulla!

Forever Autumn

Journalist: [as narrator] For three days I fought my way along roads packed with
refugees, the homeless, burdened with boxes and bundles containing their valuables. All
that was of value to me was in London, but by the time I reached their little red-brick
house, Carrie and her father were gone.

The summer sun is fading as the year grows old

And darker days are drawing near

The winter winds will be much colder

Now you're not here.

I watch the birds fly south across the autumn sky

And one by one they disappear

I wish that I was flying with them

Now you're not here.

Like the sun through the trees you came to love me

Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away

Through autumn's golden gown we used to kick our way

You always loved this time of year

Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here

Journalist: [as narrator] Fire suddenly leapt from house to house, the population

panicked and ran – and I was swept along with them, aimless and lost without Carrie.
Finally, I headed Eastward for the ocean, and my only hope of survival – a boat out of
England.
Like the sun through the trees you came to love me

Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away

A gentle rain falls softly on my weary eyes

As if to hide a lonely tear

My life will be Forever Autumn

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here

Journalist: [as narrator] As I hastened through Covent Garden, Blackfriars and

Billingsgate, more and more people joined the painful exodus. Sad, weary women, their
children stumbling and streaked with tears, their men bitter and angry, the rich rubbing
shoulders with beggars and outcasts. Dogs snarled and whined, the horses' bits were
covered with foam... and here and there were wounded soldiers, as helpless as the rest. We
saw tripods wading up the Thames, cutting through bridges as though they were paper –
Waterloo Bridge, Westminster Bridge. One appeared above Big Ben.
Martians: Ulla!
Journalist: [as narrator] Never before in the history of the world had such a mass of
human beings moved and suffered together. This was no disciplined march – it was a
stampede – without order and without a goal, six million people unarmed and
unprovisioned, driving headlong. It was the beginning of the rout of civilization, of the
massacre of mankind. A vast crowd buffeted me towards the already packed steamer. I
looked up enviously at those safely on board – straight into the eyes of my beloved Carrie!
At sight of me she began to fight her way along the packed deck to the gangplank. At that
very moment it was raised, and I caught a last glimpse of her despairing face as the crowd
swept me away from her.
Like the sun through the trees you came to love me

Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away.

Through autumn's golden gown we used to kick our way

You always loved this time of year

Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here

Martians: Ulla!
Thunder Child
Journalist: [as narrator] The steamer began to move slowly away – but on the landward
horizon appeared the silhouette of a Fighting Machine. Another came, and another,
striding over hills and trees, plunging far out to sea and blocking the exit of the steamer.
Between them lay the silent, grey Ironclad Thunder Child. Slowly it moved towards
shore; then, with a deafening roar and whoosh of spray, it swung about and drove at full
speed towards the waiting Martians.
There were ships of shapes and sizes

Scattered out along the bay

And I thought I heard her calling

As the steamer pulled away

The Invaders must have seen them

As across the coast they filed

Standing firm between them

There lay  Thunder Child

Moving swiftly through the waters

Cannons blazing as she came

Brought a mighty metal warlord

Crashing down in sheets of flame

Sensing victory was nearing

Thinking fortune must have smiled

People started cheering

"Come on, Thunder Child"

"Come on, Thunder Child"

Journalist: [as narrator] The Martians released their Black Smoke, but the ship sped on,
cutting down one of the tripod figures. Instantly, the others raised their Heat Rays and
melted the Thunder Child's valiant heart.
Lashing ropes and smashing timbers

Flashing Heat Rays pierced the deck

Dashing hopes for our deliverance

As we watched the sinking wreck

With the smoke of battle clearing

Over graves in waves defiled

Slowly disappearing

Farewell,  Thunder Child!

Slowly disappearing

Farewell,  Thunder Child!

Farewell,  Thunder Child!

Farewell,  Thunder Child!

Journalist: [as narrator] When the smoke cleared, the little steamer had reached the
misty horizon, and Carrie was safe. But the Thunder Child had vanished taking with her
man's last hope of victory. The leaden sky was lit by green flashes, cylinder following
cylinder, and no one and nothing was left now to fight them. The Earth belonged to the
Martians.
Martians: Ulla!
The Red Weed
Journalist: [as narrator] Next day, the dawn was a brilliant, fiery red and I wandered
through the weird and lurid landscape of another planet; for the vegetation which gives
Mars its red appearance had taken root on Earth. As Man had succumbed to the Martians,
so our land now succumbed to the Red Weed. Wherever there was a stream, the Red Weed
clung and grew with frightening voraciousness, its claw-like fronds choking the
movement of the water; and then it began to creep like a slimy red animal across the land,
covering field and ditch and tree and hedgerow with living scarlet feelers, crawling,
crawling!
The Spirit of Man
Journalist: [as narrator] I suddenly noticed the body of a Parson, lying on the ground in
a ruined churchyard. I felt unable to leave him to the mercy of the Red Weed and decided
to bury him decently.
Beth: Nathaniel! Nathaniel!
 Journalist: [as narrator] The Parson's eyes flickered open. He was alive!
Beth: Nathaniel! I saw the church burst into flame! Are you all right?
Parson: Don't touch me!
Beth: But it's me – Beth. Your wife.
Parson: No. You're one of them. A devil!
Beth: [to Journalist] He's delirious!
Parson: Lies! I saw the devil's sign.
Beth: What are you saying?
Parson: The green flash in the sky. His demons were here all along in our hearts and souls
– just waiting for a sign from him. And now they're destroying our world.
Beth: But they're not devils – they're Martians.
Journalist: We must leave here.
Beth: Look! A house still standing! Come, Nathaniel, quickly!
Journalist: [as narrator] We took shelter in a cottage and Black Smoke spread, hemming
us in. Then a Fighting Machine came across the fields, spraying jets of steam that turned
the smoke into thick, black dust.
Martians: Ulla!
Beth: Dear God – help us!
Parson: The voice of the devil is heard in our land!
Listen, do you hear them drawing near, in their search for the sinners?

Feeding on the power of our fear and the evil within us?

Incarnation of Satan's creation of all that we dread

When the demons arrive, those alive will be better off dead

There must be something worth living for

There must be something worth trying for

Even something worth dying for

And if one man can stand tall

There must be hope for us all

Somewhere, somewhere in the spirit of man

Once there was a time when I believed without hesitation

That the power of love and truth could conquer all

In the name of salvation, tell me what kind of weapon is love when it comes to the fight

And just how much protection is truth against all Satan's might

There must be something worth living for

There must be something worth trying for

Even some things worth dying for

And if one man could stand tall

There must be some hope for us all

Somewhere, somewhere in the spirit of man

Beth: People loved you and trusted you, came to you for help.
Parson: Didn't I warn them this would happen? "Be on your guard," I said, "for the Evil
One never rests." I said, "Exorcise the devil!" But no, they wouldn't listen. The demons
inside them grew and grew until Satan gave his signal and destroyed the world we knew.
No, Nathaniel

Oh no, Nathaniel

No, Nathaniel, no

There must be more to life

There has to be a way

That we can restore to life

The love we used to know

No, Nathaniel, no

There must be more to life

There has to be a way

That we can restore to life

The light that we have lost

Now darkness has descended on our land and all your prayers cannot save us

Like fools we've let the devil take command of the souls that God gave us

To the altar of evil like lambs to the slaughter were led

When the demons arrive, the survivors will envy the dead!

There must be something worth living for (No, there is nothing!)

There must be something worth trying for (I don't believe it's so.)

Even something worth dying for

If just one man could stand tall

There would be some hope for us all

Somewhere, somewhere in the spirit of man

Parson: Forget about goodness and mercy. They're gone. Didn't I warn them? "Pray," I
said! "Destroy the devil," I said! They wouldn't listen! I could have saved the world! But
now it's too late! Too late!!!
No, Nathaniel

Oh no, Nathaniel

No, Nathaniel, no

There must be more to life

There has to be a way

That we can restore to life

The love we used to know

No, Nathaniel, no

There must be more to life

There has to be a way

That we can restore to life

The light that we have lost

Parson: Dear God! A cylinder's landed on the house! And we are underneath it – in the
pit!
Journalist: [as narrator] The Martians spent the night making a new machine. It was a
squat, metallic spider with huge, articulated claws – but it, too, had a hood in which a
Martian sat. I watched it pursuing some people across a field. It caught them nimbly and
tossed them into a great metal basket upon its back.
Parson: Beth! She's dead! Buried under the rubble. Why? Satan! Why did you take one of
your own?
There is a curse on Mankind

We may as well be resigned

To let the devil, the devil take the spirit of man

Journalist: [as narrator] As time passed in our dark and dusty prison, the Parson
wrestled endlessly with his doubts. His outcries invited death for us both – and yet I pitied
him. Then, on the ninth day, we saw the Martians eating. Inside the hood of their new
machine, they were drawing the fresh, living blood of men and women and injecting it
into their own veins.
Parson: Aaah! It's a sign! I've been given a sign! They must be cast out, and I have been
chosen to do it! I must confront them now!
Journalist: No, Parson, no!
 Parson: Those machines are just demons in another form! I shall destroy them with my
prayers! I shall burn them with my Holy Cross! I shall–
Journalist: [as narrator] The curious eye of a Martian appeared at the window slit, and a
menacing claw explored the room. I dragged the Parson down to the coal cellar. I heard
the Martian fumbling at the latch. In the darkness I could see the claw touching things:
walls, coal, wood. And then, it touched my boot. I almost shouted. For a time it was still,
and then, with a click, it gripped something: the Parson! With slow, deliberate movements,
his unconscious body was dragged away, and there was nothing I could do to prevent it.
The Red Weed (Part Two)
Journalist: [as narrator] I crept to the blocked window slit and peered through the
creeper. The Martians, and all their machinery, had gone! Trembling, I dug my way out
and clambered to the top of the mound: not a Martian in sight! The day seemed dazzling
bright after my imprisonment and the sky a glowing blue. Red weed covered every scrap
of ground but a gentle breeze kept it swaying, and oh, the sweetness of the air.
Again, I was on my way to London through towns and villages that were blackened ruins,
totally silent, desolated, deserted. Man's empire had passed away, taken swiftly and
without error by these creatures who were composed entirely of brain. Unhampered by the
complex systems which make up man, they made and used different bodies according to
their needs. They never tired, never slept, and never suffered, having long since eliminated
from their planet the bacteria which cause all fevers and other morbidities.
Artilleryman: Halt! Who goes there?
Journalist: Er, a friend.
Artilleryman: Be on your way. This is my territory.
Journalist: Your territory? What do you mean?
Artilleryman: Wait a minute... it's you! The man from Maybury Hill!
Journalist: Good heavens! The Artilleryman! I thought you'd surely burned.
Artilleryman: I thought you'd surely drowned.
Journalist: Have you seen any Martians?
Artilleryman: Everywhere. We're done for, all right.
Journalist: We can't just give up.
Artilleryman: 'Course we can't. It's now that we've got to start fighting. Not against them,
cause we can't win. Now, we've got to fight for survival. I reckon we can make it. I've got
a plan.
Brave New World
Artilleryman: We're gonna build a whole new world for ourselves. Look, they clap eyes
on us and we're dead, right? So we gotta make a new life where they'll never find us. You
know where? Underground. You should see it down there – hundreds of miles of drains –
sweet and clean now after the rain, dark, quiet, safe. We can build houses and everything,
start again from scratch. And what's so bad about living underground, eh? It's not been so
great living up here, if you want my opinion.
Take a look around you at the world we've come to know

Does it seem to be much more than a crazy circus show

But maybe from the madness something beautiful will grow

In a brave new world

With just a handful of men

We'll start – we'll start all over again

All over again

All over again

All over again

Artilleryman: We'll build shops and hospitals and barracks right under their noses, right
under their feet! Everything we need – banks, prisons and schools. We'll send scouting
parties to collect books and stuff, and men like you'll teach the kids. Not poems and
rubbish, science, so we can get everything working. We'll build villages and towns and...
and... we'll play each other at cricket! Listen, maybe one day we'll capture a Fighting
Machine, eh? Learn how to make 'em ourselves and then wallop! Our turn to do some
wiping out! Whoosh with our Heat Ray – whoosh! And them running and dying, beaten at
their own game. Man on top again!
Now our domination of the Earth is fading fast

And out of the confusion the chance has come at last

To build a better future from the ashes of the past

In a brave new world

Give me a handful of men

We'll start all over again

Look, man is born in freedom but he soon becomes a slave

In cages of convention from the cradle to the grave

The weak fall by the wayside but the strong will be saved

In a brave new world

With just a handful of men

We'll start all over again

I'm not trying to tell you what to be

Oh no, oh no, not me

But if mankind is to survive

The people left alive

They're gonna have to build this world anew

And it's going to have to start with me and you

Yes!

I'm not trying to tell you what to be

Oh no, oh no, not me

But if mankind is to survive

The people left alive

They're gonna have to build this world anew

Yes, and we will have to be the chosen few

Just think of all the poverty, the hatred and the lies

And imagine the destruction of all that you despise

Slowly from the ashes the phoenix will arise

In a brave new world

With just a handful of men

We'll start all over again

Take a look around you at the world you've loved so well

And bid the aging empire of man a last farewell

It may not sound like Heaven, but at least it isn't Hell

It's a brave new world

With just a handful of men

We'll start – we'll start all over again

All over again

All over again

All over again

Artilleryman: I've got a plan! Can't you just see it? Civilization starting all over again, a
second chance. We'll even build a railway, and tunnel to the coast, go there for our
 holidays. Nothing can stop men like us. I've made a start already. Come on down here and
have a look.
Journalist: [as narrator] In the cellar was a tunnel scarcely ten yards long, that had taken
him a week to dig. I could have dug that much in a day, and I suddenly had my first
inkling of the gulf between his dreams and his powers.
Artilleryman: It's doing the working and the thinking that wears a fellow out. I'm ready
for a bit of a rest. How about a drink, eh? Nothing but champagne; now I'm the boss.
Journalist: [as narrator] We drank and then he insisted upon playing cards. With our
species on the edge of extermination, with no prospect but a horrible death, we actually
played games. Later, he talked more of his plan, but I saw flames flashing in the deep blue
night. Red Weed glowing, tripod figures moving distantly, and I put down my champagne
glass. I felt a traitor to my kind and I knew I must leave this strange dreamer.
Take a look around you at the world we've come to know

Does it seem to be much more than a crazy circus show

Maybe from the madness something beautiful will grow...

Dead London
Journalist: [as narrator] There were a dozen dead bodies in the Euston Road, their
outlines softened by the Black Dust. All was still, houses locked and empty, shops closed,
but looters had helped themselves to wine and food, and outside a jewellers, some gold
chains and a watch were scattered on the pavement.
Martians: Ulla!
Journalist: [as narrator] I stopped, staring towards the sound. It seemed as if that mighty
desert of houses had found a voice for its fear and solitude.
Martians: Ulla!
Journalist: [as narrator] The desolating cry worked upon my mind. The wailing took
possession of me. I was intensely weary, footsore, hungry and thirsty. Why was I
wandering alone in this city of the dead? Why was I alive, when London was lying in state
in its black shroud? I felt intolerably lonely, drifting from street to empty street, drawn
inexorably towards that cry.
Martians: Ulla!
Journalist: [as narrator] I saw, over the trees on Primrose Hill, the Fighting Machine
from which the howling came. I crossed Regents Canal. There stood a second machine,
upright, but as still as the first.
Martians: Ulla! Ul–
Journalist: [as narrator] Abruptly, the sound ceased. Suddenly, the desolation, the
solitude, became unendurable. While that voice sounded, London had still seemed alive.
Now suddenly, there was a change, the passing of something – and all that remained was
this gaunt quiet. I looked up and saw a third machine. It was erect and motionless, like the
others. An insane resolve possessed me, I would give my life to the Martians, here and
now. I marched recklessly towards the Titan and saw that a multitude of black birds was
circling and clustering about the hood. I began running along the road. I felt no fear, only
a wild, trembling exultation, as I ran up the hill towards, the motionless monster. Out of
the hood hung red shreds, at which the hungry birds now pecked and tore. I scrambled up
to the crest of Primrose Hill, and the Martian's camp was below me. A mighty space it
was, and scattered about it, in their overturned machines, were the Martians – dead... slain,
after all man's devices had failed, by the humblest things upon the Earth, Bacteria. Minute,
invisible, bacteria! Directly the Invaders arrived and drank and fed; our microscopic allies
attacked them. From that moment – they were doomed!
The torment was ended. The people scattered over the country, desperate, leaderless,
starved... the thousands who had fled by sea, including the one most dear to me, all would
 return. The pulse of life, growing stronger and stronger, would beat again. As life returns
to normal, the question of another attack from Mars causes universal concern. Is our
planet safe, or is this time of peace merely a reprieve? It may be that, across the immensity
of space, they have learned their lessons and even now await their opportunity. Perhaps
the future belongs not to us – but to the Martians?
Epilogue
Pasadeda Control: It's looking good. It's going good. We're getting great pictures here at
NASA Control, Pasadena. The landing-craft touched down on Mars 28 Kilometers from
the aim-point. We're looking at a remarkable landscape, littered with different kinds of
rocks – red, purple. How about that, Bermuda?
Bermuda Control: Fantastic! Look at the dune field.
Pasadeda Control: Hey, wait. I'm getting a no-go signal. Now I'm losing one of the craft.
Hey, Bermuda, you getting it?
Bermuda Control: No, I lost contact. There's a lot of dust blowing up there.
Pasadeda Control: Now I've lost the second craft. We got problems.
Bermuda Control: All contact lost, Pasadena. Maybe the antenna's...
Pasadeda Control: What's that flare? See it? A green flare, coming from Mars, kind of a
green mist behind it. It's getting closer. You see it, Bermuda? Come in, Bermuda!
Houston, come in! What's going on? Tracking station 43, Canberra, come in Canberra!
Tracking station 63, can you hear me, Madrid? Can anybody hear me? Come in, come in...

The War of the Worlds (1938 radio broadcast )

The radio broadcast is a radio adaptation of the novel. It was directed by Orson Welles and aired on
October 30,1938. It is world famous for being staged like a News Bulliten, and being extremly
realistic. In order to make sure no one got scared, they announced it was a play. However, many
people tuned into the broadcast after they announced it was a play. So when people heard it, they
thought it was a real news broadcast, so everybody thought the alien invasion was really happening.
Lots of people began to panic, and the people didn't learn the truth until the end of the story.

Plot
Astronomers report seeing several large explosions of incondecent gas on the surface of the planet
Mars. A large meteor is then described to have landed somewhere in the New Jersey farmland. A
cylinder, which is thought to have been said meteor, was found on Grover's Mill, New Jersey. The
cylinder is almost identical to that of the novel being 30 yards in diameter and a yellow hue. The top
end of the cylinder begins to unscrew, and when it comes off a martian appears above the rim. A
policeman approaches the martian with a white handkerchief in his hand, to show the humans were
friendly. This is when the heat ray appears and kills at least 40 people.

The military is sent in to destroy the cylinder but a Martian Fighting Machine rises out of the
cylinder, burning or crushing over five-thousand soldiers. The Martians advance eastward, cutting
down bridges and power lines in their track.
An artillery unit comes into combat with some Fighting Machines but are killed quickly after they
suffocate in the Black Smoke. A B-17 Bomber, which replaces the HMS Thunder Child in this story,
is used to bomb the Tripods but is struck with the heat ray but crashes into a fighting machine.

The Martians continue north until they reach New York City. It is here when the 'radio part' of the
broadcast ends. The Martians use black smoke on the fleeing population, this is what kills the
broadcaster.

The second part of the story includes Professor Pearson hiding in a house and after watching the
martians outside his window he ventures out, into the city. Here he finds a slightly crazy soldier
(The Artillary man) who describes his dream of living underground. The Professor then leaves this
man and wanders into the city.

He discovers the martians dead. Killed by bacteria. Black birds eating their bodies.

Production
H. G. Wells's original novel tells the story of a Martian invasion of Earth. The novel was adapted by
Howard E. Koch for the 17th episode of the CBS Radio series The Mercury Theatre on the Air,
broadcast at 8 pm on Sunday, October 30, 1938. The programme's format was a simulated live
newscast of developing events. The setting was switched from 19th-century England to
contemporary Grover's Mill, New Jersey, in the United States.

Howard Koch was assigned to rescript "The War of the Worlds" for broadcast as news bulletins
interrupting another program. "I had conceived the idea of doing a radio broadcast in such a manner
that a crisis would actually seem to be happening," Welles later said, "and would be broadcast in
such a dramatized form as to appear to be a real event taking place at that time, rather than a mere
radio play. This approach was similar to Ronald Knox's radio hoax Broadcasting the Barricades,
about a riot overtaking London, that was broadcast by the BBC in 1926, which Welles later said
gave him the idea for "The War of the Worlds". A 1927 drama aired by Adelaide station 5CL
depicted an invasion of Australia via the same techniques and inspired reactions similar to those of
the Welles broadcast.

The script was reworked, increasing the number of news bulletins and using the names of real
places and people whenever possible. Friday afternoon, the script was sent to Davidson Taylor,
executive producer for CBS, and the network legal department. Their response was that the script
was 'too' credible and its realism had to be toned down. As using the names of actual institutions
could be actionable.

On that particular evening, October 30th, the Crossley service estimated that 32 million people were
listening in on radios…
The Panic and Reaction

A Front page of a newspaper following the broadcast

The War of the Worlds Radio broadcast was aired on October 30th, 1938. It began at 8:00 pm.
Because of the play being acted like a series of News Bullitens, Orson annouced at the begining
"The following may contain scenes with realistic content, but all viewers need to know, everything
you will hear is completely fictional." Thousands of people who heard this annoucment or learned
about the play being aired through newspaper articles, listened to the play, and loved it!

Unfortunately, what Orson didn't count on was people tuning into the broadcast at the wrong time.
Thousands of people who hadn't heard of the play, did not hear the announcment, or even heard
about the original book, turned on their radios to CBS, to hear the interruptions, and have no idea
that these were fictional.

Timeline of the Panic

The first interruption stirred concern and intrest. It claimed that plasma explosions were occuring on
the planet mars, and shooting green beams of light toward Earth.

The second interruption increased the tension. It claimed a plasma beam had crashlanded on Earth,
at Grovers Mill, New Jersey.

The thrid interruption began to scare people, when fictional reporter Carl Phillips reported, with a
giant crowd, at the crash site, and told the viewers that the object was no meteor, it was large
cylinder. Listeners soon got the scare of their lives, when it was reported, that the lid of cylinder,
unscrewed and fell off, revealing the Martians that were described to have a terrifying apperance of
a squid with snake-like tentacles. Worse, the scare of the night began, when it was reported that the
Martians activated their first weapon, the Heat Ray, and used it to blow up the innocent crowd and
the field with flames. Suddenly the radio cut out, and the announcer said they were having techincal
difficulties, leaving listeners frozen with fear and shock.

The fourth interruption announced that hundreds of people, including Carl Phillps lay dead, burned
up by the Martian´s heat ray. Listeners were terrified, thinking that the horrible massacre they had
just heard about was actually happening. 

The fifth interruption announced that the millitary was heading to New Jersey to kill the Martians.
This left many listeners relieved, thinking that they would destroy the Martians. But terror soon rose
again when the battle began, and the Martians revealed their main weapon. The Fighting Machines,
300 ft tripods that stood up, and used heat rays, and crushing legs to destroy the millitary. Worse,
instead of being shot down, the Fighting Machines put out an electromagnetic force shield, that
stopped all the firing weapons from destroying it. Listeners began to get frantic, thinking the events
were still true, and assuming that the Fighting Machines were invincible, and they would destroy
anything.
The sixth interruption reported that 7,000 millitary officials were killed, and all of the tanks,
cannons etc were blown up. They then claimed that based off the evidence of the plasma explosions
and the cylinder, the strange creatures must be an invading army from Mars which has come to take
over our planet.

With these words, the listeners were convinced that a devestating invasion from Mars had started,
and the panic began. Families stashed up all their food, got a shotgun or any weapons they could
find, got board games for entertainment, and the radio, and cowered in the basement.

Other listeners, who were closer to Grover´s Mill, packed up all their things into their cars, and fled
America. During the fleeing, many cars accidently crashed into each other, and many people were
killed or injured.

More people ran from house to house shouting that Martians were destroying the world, and The
End of The World had begun. People also called the police, and they had no idea of the events that
were going on.

The seventh interruption stirred up more chaos, when reports of a second cylinder crashed into
Jersey Marshes of Newmark. The millitary then advanced to destroy the cylinder before the
Martians got out.

Now, people in Newmark began to flee too, and some even fled to Canada.

The Eighth interruption caused chaos in a small town, when a report from the cockpit of a B14
Bomber said that the Fighting Machines were currently destroying the city of Trenton. People in
Trenton began to panic, and stampede through the streets in blind terror. Shops and buisnesses were
looted by rioters, and cars were stolen by people desperate to get away. Soon, a large light lit up
over the city, and people began to go crazy. People hugged and cowered, thinking that they would
see the Martian Fighting Machines, and then be blown up by their heat rays. However, the large
light was only coming from a seachlight, on top of a police car. A police officer was shouting, ¨Stop
Panicking Now! Stop rioting or you're under arrest!! Listen! There is no invasion from Mars!!
There are no Tripods with Heat Rays!! It is just a radio play by CBS! Repeat, there is no invasion
from Mars! It is just a radio play!¨ People stopped panicking, and their feelings of fear and panic
was replaced with feelings of embarssement, stupidity, remorse, and relief. Other people who
thought they would be seeing the fighting machines were confused, not knowing where they were.
They soon learned the truth, and felt silly. Trenton was one of the first towns to be convinced that
their was no invasion from Mars, though their will still thousands were still convinced.

The Ninth interruption was from the B14 Bomber, and other planes were convirging on the Fighting
Machines too, but they were soon all downed by the Heat Ray. However, an accidental crash
between a plane and a Fighting Machine without the force field managed to destroy the machine.
The 10th interruption announced the battle at the second cylinder had begun. The Fighting
Machines and the Heat Rays rose out of the cylinder, as the millitary began to attack. But, instead of
using the heat ray, the Martians reveal a new weapon. The black smoke. They Martians launched
balls of black smoke into the army, and the smoke grows bigger and bigger and bigger. The soilders
put on their gas masks, but just like the force field, the black smoke penetrated through the gas
masks, and suffocated all the soilders to death. The reports then went up when that the Martians
were heading towards, New York City, and people were fleeing.

However, listeners who heard about the Martians heading towards New York City, began to flee in
real life. Looting began, people croweded the subway stations, and gun shops were filled with
customers looking to defend themselves. Police lines were still full. Terrified Listeners were calling
for help, thinking that the world was going to die. The officers all said the same thing. 

¨There is no danger. What you have heard is fake. It´s just a radio play. There is no invasion from
Mars.¨

Drastic things began happening to the people who were convinced. People were arrested by police,
for causing panic in communities, by pulling out guns and shooting at Water Towers, which looked
to them like the Alien Tripods. People were also arrested for rioting, reckless driving, robbery, and
even assault. Fires had started by rioters, or by accidental mistakes during the panic. What was
worst of all, was over 50 people commited suicide, 40 suffered heart attacks, and 20 began to get
hysterical because they were so panicked by the broadcast.

The most chaotic part of the night happened at the 11th interruption. When reporting from the
evacuations in New York, an entire army of 22 Fighting Machines rose up out of the Hudson River,
and Jumped onto George Washington Bridge. More reports said that 14 more Fighting Machines
jumped out of the East River and onto the Brooklyn Bridge. All the tripods then marched into the
city, and began going on a rampage. They destroyed buildings with their heat rays, massive
tentacles and legs, crushed and blew up cars, people panicked throughout the streets, running away
from the evil Monsters, and humans were either burned up or abducted. The NYPD shoots at the
Fighting Machines, to no avial. The fatal moment came, when all the machines launched black
smoke into the city, and the rest of manhattan was flooded with the nasty chemical, killing almost
everybody in the city. The announcer is killed too, and his last words were¨2x2l calling CQ. 2x2l
calling CQ! 2x2l calling CQ! Please! Is their anyone on the air?..............Anyone?¨ And this marked
the end of Part 1.

In real life, things in downtown New York City were disasterous. Terrified people stamped through
the streets, thinking the Martians were going to kill them. Cars crashed! Shops were looted! People
were trampled to death! However, people realized their comon sense, when some looked out to the
Brooklyn and George Washington bridges at the time the Martians were reported to be on them.
Their were no Martians. Some assumed they already went into the city, while others realized the
entire broadcast was a fake. People also realized their common sense to, when they saw no
explosions, building collapses, or black smoke. People who were waiting to die at the black smoke
were confused when nothing came. Then, the radio said, ¨This concludes part 1 of The War of The
Worlds radio broadcast. For those of you who are tuning in now, the War of The Worlds is a book
by H.G Wells, that tells the story of evil martians coming to take over Earth to steal our natural
resouces. We will be back after these messages for part 2.
At this point, all of the people in New York, and half of the people had taken the broadcast for being
real, realized that they had been wrong the whole time. Their was no danger. They panicked over
nothing, over less then nothing. They panicked over a radio play.

Part 2 of The War of The Worlds began, and it was different than the first part. Instead of being in
the form of a News Bulliten, its the diary entry´s of one of the last people alive after the Martians
invasion and he explained how the world had changed, and how the Martians were defeated by
Viruses.

Some Listeners heard this, and realized it was a play. While others had already fled. One couple fled
from Texas to the Redwood Forest, and didn´t stop driving until they ran out of gas. In Washington
DC, the president, who had heard of the events, was trying to contact CBS, to tell them to stop the
broadcast. He also adressed to the people of Washington DC that it was just a radio play. Many
people did not believe him, because during the broadcast, Orson Welles did the best inpersonation
of him, telling that America was now going to War against the Martians. They then believed him
when he said that it was not him who said that.

At the end of the broadcast, the panic finally came to an end, when Orson Welles adressed to the
nation that it was just a play. He said "This is Orson Welles, ladies and gentlemen, out of character,
to assure you that The War of the Worlds has no further significance than as the holiday offering it
was intended to be; The Mercury Theatre's own radio version of dressing up in a sheet and jumping
out of a bush and saying "Boo!" Starting now, we couldn't soap all your windows and steal all your
garden gates by tomorrow night, so we did the next best thing. We annihilated the world before your
very ears and utterly destroyed the CBS. You will be relieved, I hope, to learn that we didn't mean
it, and that both institutions are still open for business. So goodbye everybody, and remember please
for the next day or so the terrible lesson you learned tonight. That grinning, glowing, globular
invader of your living room is an inhabitant of the pumpkin patch, and if your doorbell rings and
nobody's there, that was no Martian, it's Halloween."

This marked the end of the panic, when all of the people who had been duped realized that their was
no invasion from Mars, and all that pent up fear, panic, and chaos was all for nothing.

Aftermath

The following hours for CBS was a nightmare. Police entered the studio, saying that people all over
the U.S panicked over the broadcast. Orson Welles feared at that very moment, that he and all the
Mercury Theater actors were going to Prison. However, Orson honestly told the police that he had
no intention to cause panic, and he had announced at the begging that it was only play. Orson felt
guilty of scaring everybody, but he also felt proud that he had pulled off the biggest moment in his
carrer so far. It was actually the start of him becoming one of the most famous actors in American
history.
Many letters arrived to CBS over the Next week. Many of them congratualted the broadcast for
pulling off an amazing story and making The War of The Worlds story now famous in America.
Other letters unfortunatley were furious, and told CBS that it was a horrible joke to play on the
innocent, and it was the most terrifying night of their lives. 

H.G. Wells had even listened to the broadcast. He was happy that his story had received an
adaptation, and he loved the storyline, but he also said it was not necessary to make it so realistic to
scare the living daylights of out people.

The War of The Worlds book became famous throughout America. Now everybody had heard of the
story, and everybody was interested to read about what scared them half to death. As for Orson
Welles, he went on to star in one of the greatest movies of all time, Citizen Kaine.

There is some dispute about how big the panic was. It's possible that the newspapers
exaggerated the scale of the panic.
The number of people affected are still unknown. Between 50,000 and 600,000 are believed
to have panicked, mostly in the eastern states of New Jersey and New York.
The public's response inspired the films The Night That Panicked America and Brave New
Jersey.