13 Nights of Halloween: Night 12 - The War of the Worlds

Send over your dead SMS messages.

Greetings, listeners! Though Night 10 is in Pluto's hands, and Night 11 is currently unclaimed, Ares waits for no one, so we bring to you the infamous old-time radio episode, The War of the Worlds which first aired on October 30, 1938. This clever episode had the world in quite the panic. Its format, a seemingly innocuous orchestral concert interrupted by breaking news broadcasts, is what made this such a brilliant show. Though those who tuned in from the beginning knew it was a hoax, anyone who caught it part-way through were fooled, and back in 1938, you couldn't just send an E-mail to ask your friends if everything was all right. That was why, as a result of this show, many nurses, doctors, firefighters, and others reached out to try and help. That is the power of the media, and why, dear listeners, it's important to check your facts, and ask who's doing the broadcasting and what are their motivations for doing so. Never leave critical thinking at the door, for that is your best protection against propaganda. As ever, any dead letters should go to me, Hades@firesidefolklorewithhades.com.