The War of the Worlds mass hysteria in 1938

An interesting example of mass hysteria in sound occurred in 1938. The radio play, War of the Worlds, was broadcasted in 1938 where Martians attacked Earth. Due to an unsettling time due to the Munich Agreement (Where many European countries agreed that Czechoslovakia must surrender its border and defences to Nazi Germany [1]), many listeners believed this was true and hysteria ensued. Thousands of people flooded newspaper offices, radio and police stations with calls on how to flee, how to hide and how to protect themselves. Many were rushed to the hospital for shock and hysteria.

The radio broadcast was made to sound real as if it was really happening. But it was done so well that nearly everyone believed it, especially the listeners who tuned in late.

historians now claim that the newspapers at the time greatly exaggerated the hysteria. There are estimates that about 20 per cent of those listening believed it was real.

Sources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7913136/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/war-of-the-worlds-behind-the-panic

https://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/1933-1938/munich-agreement