RADIO 1938: Orson Welles's Broadcast of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

"Boo!"

In Newark more than 20 families wrapped their faces in wet towels to save themselves from the gas raid, tied up traffic with their calls for gas masks and ambulances. In Harlem the godly gathered in prayer. Eight hundred and seventy-five panic-stricken people phoned the New York Times alone. St. Michael's Hospital, Newark, treated 15 people for shock. A man called the Dixie Bus Terminal, shouting "The World is coming to an end and I've got a lot to do!" In Providence frightened townsfolk demanded that the electric company black out the city to save it from the enemy.

The cause of...

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