“The War of the Worlds,” Orson Welles’ legendary show, aired 85 years ago

On the evening of October 30, 1938, the CBS radio station decided to entertain its listeners with an entirely new and decidedly frightening program and entrusted the programming of “The Mercury Theater on the Air” to 23-year-old Orson Welles. who within hours created one of the most sensational media cases in American history. Shortly before Halloween, Welles brought his near-namesake HG Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds to life in his own voice.