In 1938, the actor and director Orson Welles broadcast a radio play titled Invasion from Mars.
The play was so lifelike and convincing that people all over the country panicked, thinking that
the country was being invaded from outer space. This selection is part of that broadcast.
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from Invasion from Mars
by Howard Koch
PHILLIPS: Ladies and gentlemen, you've just heard Mr. Wilmuth, owner of the farm
where this thing has fallen. I wish I could convey the atmosphere...the background of
this...fantastic scene. Hundreds of cars are parked in a field in back of us. Police are
trying to rope off the roadway leading into the farm. But it's no use. They're breaking
right through. Their headlights throw an enormous spot on the pit where the object's
half-buried. Some of the more daring souls are venturing near the edge. Their
silhouettes stand out against the metal sheen. (FAINT HUMMING SOUND)
One man wants to touch the thing...he's having an argument with a policeman. The
policeman wins....Now ladies and gentlemen, there's something I haven't mentioned
all this excitement, but it's becoming more distinct. Perhaps you've caught it already on
your radio. Listen: (LONG PAUSE)...Do you hear it? It's a curious humming sound that
seems to come from inside the object. I'll move the microphone nearer. Here. (PAUSE)
Now we're not more than twenty-five feet away. Can you hear it now? Oh, Professor
Pierson!
PIERSON: Yes, Mr. Phillips?
PHILLIPS: Can you tell us the meaning of that scraping noise inside the thing?
PIERSON: Possibly the unequal cooling of its surface.
PHILLIPS: Do you still think it's a meteor, Professor?
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PIERSON: I don't know what to think. The metal casing is definitely extra-
terrestrial... not found on this earth. Friction with the earth's atmosphere usually tears holes
in a meteorite. This thing is smooth and, as you can see, of cylindrical shape.
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PHILLIPS: Just a minute! Something's happening! Ladies and gentlemen, this is
terrific! This end of the thing is beginning to flake off! The top is beginning to rotate
like a screw! The thing must be hollow!
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VOICES:
She's a movin'!
Look, the darn thing's unscrewing!
Keep back, there! Keep back, I tell you.
Maybe there's men in it trying to escape!
It's red hot, they'll burn to a cinder!
Keep back there! Keep those idiots back!
(SUDDENLY THE CLANKING SOUND OF A HUGE PIECE OF FALLING METAL)
VOICES:
She's off! The top's loose!
Look out there! Stand back!
PHILLIPS: Ladies and gentlemen, this is the most terrifying thing I have ever
witnessed... Wait a minute! Someone's crawling out of the hollow top. Some one or...
something. I can see peering out of that black hole two luminous disks...are they eyes? It
might be a face. It might be... (SHOUT OF AWE FROM THE CROWD)
Good heavens, something's wriggling out of the shadow like a grey snake. Now it's
another one, and another. They look like tentacles to me. There, I can see the thing's body.
It's large as a bear and it glistens like wet leather. But the face. It...it's indescribable. I can
hardly force myself to keep looking at it. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The
mouth is V-shaped with saliva dripping from it rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate.
The monster or whatever it is can hardly move. It seems weighed down by...possibly
gravity or something. The thing's raising up. The crowd falls back. They've seen enough.
This is the most extraordinary experience. I can't find words...I'm pulling this microphone
with me as I talk. I'll have to stop the description until I've taken a new position. Hold on,
will you please, I'll be back in a minute. (FADE INTO PIANO)
PHILLIPS: Ladies and gentlemen (Am I on?). Ladies and gentlemen, here I am, back of a
stone wall that adjoins Mr. Wilmuth's garden. From here I get a sweep of the whole scene.
I'll give you every detail as long as I can talk. As long as I can see. More state police have
arrived. They're drawing up a cordon in front of the pit, about thirty of them. No need to
push the crowd back now. They're willing to keep their distance. The captain is conferring
with someone. We can't quite see who. Oh yes, I believe it's Professor Pierson. Yes, it is.
Now they've parted. The professor moved around one side, studying the object, while the
captain and two policemen advance with something in their hands. I can see I now. It's a
white handkerchief tied to a pole...a flag of truce. If those creatures know what that
means...what anything means!... Wait! Something's happening! (HISSING SOUND
FOLLOWED BY A Humming that increases in intensity
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PHILLIPS: A humped shape is rising out of the pit. I can make out a small beam of light
against a mirror. What's that? There's a jet of flame springing from that mirror, and it leaps
right at the advancing men. It strikes them head on! Good Lord, they're turning into flame!
(SCREAMS AND UNEARTHLY SHRIEKS)
Now the whole field's caught fire. (EXPLOSION) The woods...the barns...the gas tanks of
automobiles....it's spreading everywhere. It's coming this way. About twenty yards to my
right...(CRASH OF MICROPHONE...THEN DEAD SILENCE...)
ANNOUNCER TWO: Ladies and gentlemen, due to circumstance beyond our control, we
are unable to continue the broadcast from Grovers Mill. Evidently there's some difficulty
with our field transmission. However, we will return to that point at the earliest
opportunity. In the meantime, we have a late bulletin from San Diego, California. Professor
Indellkoffer, speaking at a dinner of the California Astronomical Society, expressed the
opinion that the explosions of Mars are undoubtedly nothing more than severe volcanic
disturbances on the surface of the planet. We continue now with our piano interlude.
(PIANO...THEN CUT)
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