We Bet You Didn’t Know That New Jersey Is Home To The Only Martian Landing Site In North America
Talk about Halloween gone wrong! The War of the Worlds broadcast caused panic nationwide as the radio reported on a Martian invasion in New Jersey.

On Sunday, October 30, 1938, radio host Orson Welles and a small cast performed a re-telling of the science fiction tale The War of the Worlds. He changed around some of the story, so he was telling the tale of a Martian landing in Grovers Mill, leading to an invasion and the fall of New York City.
What Welles did not anticipate is that viewers took the work of fiction and entertainment as truth, and panic was stirred up across the country.
What Welles did not anticipate is that viewers took the work of fiction and entertainment as truth, and panic was stirred up across the country.

Many listeners missed the disclaimer at the beginning of the show explaining the premise, and so thousands panicked, believing it to be either a true Martian invasion, or perhaps an invasion from Germany, as the beginning of World War II was on the horizon.



While the true impact of the broadcast is hard to measure, this spot is certainly special to anyone who grew up in the area.


You can listen to the War of the Worlds broadcast on YouTube, if you’re interested in hearing what caused all of the hysteria.
Address: Martian Landing Site Marker, West Windsor Township, NJ 08550, USA