SPOOKED! How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America
A family gathers around the radio set In the 1930s listening to the radio was Americans favorite entertainment By 1938 about 80 percent of American homes had a radio
CHAPTER ONE HAUNTED ON HALLOWEEN EVE We figured our friends and families were all dead New Jersey college student Mischief Night 1938 was crisp and clear in the northeastern United States Following the tradition of the region teens and older children prowled their neighborhoods They soaped windows smashed carved pumpkins and toiletpapered toiletpapered bushes The mischief-makers planned to return to the scene of their tricks the next night Halloween dressed in costume innocently asking the neighbors for treats Few Americans knew that a group of adults was plotting a different sort of mischief for October 30 1938 That Sunday evening began with people gathered around the family radio relaxing as the weekend drew to a close On Monday morning the young would be back at school Men and some of the women would report to their jobs if they were lucky enough to have one Radio was an escape from the challenges and concerns of their lives The music sports comedy and drama programs helped them forget the money troubles they’d had since the Great Depression began nine years earlier Millions were still unemployed doubtful about ever finding work again Those with jobs weren’t sure how long they would keep them Many had lost their houses and farms because they couldn’t pay their debts Lately it seemed as if the bad news wouldn’t stop In September a powerful
hurricane pounded the East Coast from New York through New England The storm hit without warning killing about seven hundred people damaging thousands of homes and toppling millions of trees The ominous developments overseas added to the public’s worries Europe was on edge again just twenty years after the Great War tore it apart Nations watched warily as Germany’s power grew again The country’s dictator Adolf Hitler had broken international treaties and built up his military force In March 1938 he took control of Austria and in early October part of what was then known as Czechoslovakia Anxious Americans feared what the war-mongering Hitler might do next As the Sunday program was about to begin men leaned back in a favorite chair Women settled nearby stitching the final touches onto Halloween costumes Children who had finished their homework and returned from Mischief Night pranks lay on the floor by the radio set Someone in the family switched it on and twirled the dial to the evening’s entertainment
During the Great Depression which began in late 1929 businesses across the United States closed down putting millions of people out of work Police in New York City distribute bread and eggs to the unemployed in 1930
