Fear, invented
The Night Radio Frightened America
How broadcasting learned to scare people, from the Martian hoax through the anthology thrillers to the modern folklore hour.
1938 – now · 5 stops · 2h 45m
- 1
October 30, 1938. The broadcast that proved the medium could be believed too well.
- 2
Horror written for the dark, aired after the children were in bed.
- 3
The craft hour — dread built out of casting, silence and one sound effect.
- 4
The same technique pointed outward: dread with a passport.
- 5
Eighty years on, the identical trick — a calm voice and a very old story.
