On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles and "The Mercury Theatre on the Air" presented their weekly radio play. On this particular Sunday evening, the night before Halloween, it was an adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. The Germans had just invaded Czechoslovakia, the Depression was still raging and there were other daily terrors. It was this atmosphere of insecurity that enabled Welles and his company of actors, technicians, musicians and producers to produce one of the most famous hours of programming in broadcast history. Orson Welles proved, unwittingly, that when we are in an environment where people are easily frightened, fear becomes contagious. And when people are afraid, they are at their most vulnerable.
