Finally, the brand new story-a myth about the broadcast-was created by a poorly conducted scientific study. Then came the listeners’ shocking reaction and the sensational newspaper reports about the night’s events. (My book contains many of the amazing illustrations from the early editions of Wells’s novel.) Next came Orson Welles, John Houseman, and Howard Koch, who used genuine-sounding newsflashes to turn Wells’s novel into an hour-long radio drama. Wells, who wrote The War of the Worlds in 1897. Third, I saw parallels between 1938 radio listeners accepting the idea of a Martian invasion and 2018 Internet users falling for scams, misinformation, and falsehoods.Īs my research for SPOOKED! went on, the book evolved into a story within a story within a story within a story. The reaction to the radio broadcast shows what can happen when people jump to conclusions. Second, as someone with a science background, I know how important it is to analyze information and to think critically. I’m interested in how and why we can be misled into believing something preposterous. I thought it was an entertaining story that they would enjoy. First, after talking with middle grade students, I realized that few were aware of the 1938 broadcast. I decided to write about this moment in history for three reasons. The widespread panicked reaction triggered a national discussion about the media’s responsibility, censorship, and Americans’ gullibility-topics we’re discussing right now. Wells novel, The War of the Worlds. Thousands became convinced that Martians were invading Earth and annihilating every human they could find. On Halloween Eve 1938, the radio audience heard a dramatization of the H.G. In SPOOKED!: How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America, I write about people who were fooled by media…eighty years ago. It can be especially challenging when you’re age eleven or twelve. But it isn’t always easy to separate truth from lies or news from entertainment. In an ideal world, none of us would ever be duped.

Spooked by gail jarrow