Orson Welles was an actor, producer and writer, best remembered for directing and staring in the classic film Citizen Kane. But Welles was also known during his time for his radio broadcasts.
On October 30th 1938, Orson Welles’ radio performance of “War of the Worlds” caused mass hysteria. This performance was aired through the American radio drama station and it would have been expected to be taken as just another drama on the station. The only difference was that it started off as if it was a News Bulletin and therefore people began to believe it.
The “announcement” was that there was an alien invasion occurring and people panicked at the thought of that. It was cleared up, but nonetheless it was a shocking moment for many households.