The War of the Worlds, written by author H. G. Wells was published in December of 1897 by Pearson’s Magazine in the UK and the Cosmopolitan Magazine in the US. This novel was written in a time period where possible foreign attacks were of great concern. This was because of the navy and army’s failure to provide enough soldiers.

Some science fiction may be quiet cruel and gory. Exposing readers to this material can cause stress and worries to arise. Science fictions books can bring about “What if” thoughts, taking the human mind to a place of negative but also engages readers to think creatively.

In October of 1938 The Mercury Theatre broadcasted H. G Wells’ novel, The War of the Worlds. They broadcasted this novel in the form of a news report, making it very convincing to listeners. Many took this out of context and panicked to the thought of martians invading their planet earth. Lapointe gives readers a great visual of the reactions of many individuals to this novel broadcast. “There were dozens of confused, angry calls to police and radio stations, which some journalists later assumed was a nationwide panic.” (Lapointe 3). This event in time greatly affected many people negatively, causing panic, anxiety, and stress.

Lapointe, G. (2021, October 29). The War of the Worlds: The Influence of the novel and its infamous broadcast. BOOK RIOT. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://bookriot.com/war-of-the-worlds/
Wells, H. G. The War of the Worlds. Dover Publications, 1997.