At Grover’s Mill, Halloween recalls Martian invasion
A memorial marks the fabled Martian landing site at Grover’s Mill, N.J. made famous by the 1938 radio Mercury Theater broadcast of the “War of the Worlds.” PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
Orson Wells is depicted on the memorial during the radio broadcast of the “War of the Worlds” as a family sits listening in terror. You’ll note the evil Martian craft looming in the background. The monument was erected on the 50th anniversary of the fictitious Martian landing. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
There’s no longer a mill at Grover’s Mill, N.J. or a farm. Today a park and memorial mark the place of the fabled 1938 Martian landing made famous by Orson Wells and the Mercury Theater radio broadcast. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
A memorial marks the fabled Martian landing site at Grover’s Mill, N.J. made famous by the 1938 radio Mercury Theater broadcast of the “War of the Worlds.” PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
Orson Wells is depicted on the memorial during the radio broadcast of the “War of the Worlds” as a family sits listening in terror. You’ll note the evil Martian craft looming in the background. The monument was erected on the 50th anniversary of the fictitious Martian landing. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
There’s no longer a mill at Grover’s Mill, N.J. or a farm. Today a park and memorial mark the place of the fabled 1938 Martian landing made famous by Orson Wells and the Mercury Theater radio broadcast. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
In New Jersey, where I grew up, Halloween is still remembered as the place the Martians invaded.
The invasion from the Red Planet never happened of course. It was all a hoax that took place in 1938 and dreamed up by an actor named Orson Wells and his peers of the Mercury Theater. Wells later co-wrote, directed, produced and starred in the movie “Citizen Kane.” He’s also remembered for doing wine commercials in the 1970s; “We’ll sell no wine before its time.” Remember?
The Martian attack was a radio adaptation of the novel “The War of the Worlds” written by H.G. Wells, no relation to Orson. There were a number of announcements telling listeners it was simply a dramatization, but lots of people took the broadcast seriously. It aired on Oct. 30, the night before Halloween.
Radio was a big deal in those days; back then there were only a few television sets around and nothing to watch anyway. Wells’ program was carried over the CBS network and took the format of a live, developing news story. It was pretty convincing. People who were listening were in a panic. Many fled their homes to escape the imaginary invaders, their fiery death ray and deadly poison gas.
The spot where the Martians landed was on a farm at a place called Grover’s Mill in West Windsor Township. It’s located about 40 minutes from where I grew up. I visited there during a trip to the Garden State on the occasion of the 75thanniversary of the War of the Worlds radio broadcast. The mill itself is long gone although the mill pond is still there along with a small park fronting not a farm, but a quiet suburban neighborhood.
At the back of the park, surrounded by high bushes, is a futuristic-looking bronze sculpture erected to commemorate this place as the site of the fictitious Martian invasion. The text on it reads:
“On the evening of Oct. 30, 1938, Orson Wells and the Mercury Theater presented a dramatization of H. G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds” as adapted by Howard Koch. This was to become a landmark in broadcast history, providing continuing thought about media responsibility, social psychology and civil defense. For a brief time as many as one million people throughout the country believed that Martians had invaded the (Earth), beginning with Grover’s Mill, New Jersey.”
The citizens of West Windsor dedicated the monument in 1988, on the 50th anniversary of the broadcast. Naturally, I took a picture of it, several in fact. Honestly, who would believe it?
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