Fast Fact: How Orson Welles Scared Seattle

Did you know that Orson Welles once
freaked out Seattleites?

It’s true! On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles did a radio broadcast on CBS. It was a dramatization of H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, a book about an alien invasion. Many listeners across the country, including some in Seattle, thought the invasion was real. Local CBS affiliate radio stations KIRO and KVI were flooded with phone calls from concerned citizens. Switchboards at both the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer were jammed. In the nearby town of Concrete, a power failure at the midpoint of the broadcast freaked people out something fierce. Many made a quick escape into the nearby mountains, bringing their guns with them. CBS soon issued an apology for the havoc the broadcast caused. •

Illustration by Regina Volpi Baerwalde for City Arts.