It’s World Audio Drama Day. It’s the day before Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Eve. I don’t participate in Halloween. For one, yes, it’s the Christian thing. But the other is that my son is sixteen and just isn’t into it, and children don’t come to the homes around here any longer. On Halloween in our town which has an old fashioned town square where businesses are located, is where the kids go these days. The businesses give out candy and there are other things to do so there is a safe and fun environment for the families to bring their children to. But back to my main reason for being here today.

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells is a science fiction series from Pearson’s Magazine in 1897 which was then released as a book in 1898. It was popular during its time. Readers and critics alike enjoyed the science ficition story with the Martians invading Woking, Surrey in England. In the the famous and infamous Orson Welles telling of the story on Columbia Broadcasting Systems radion one October 30, 1938, Welles modernized the story enough to be set in 1939. He tells at the beginning of the broadcast the story will be told, but some apparently didn’t get the message and thought Martians had invaded. I am not joking. The broadcast starts out like any other, but keep listening, it’s all part of the story.

Listen and enjoy, as I have several times.