A 7 metre steel tripod, The Woking Martian, stands in Woking town centre.

In 1938 Orson Welles broadcast it as a live news report. Some listeners believed it was real.

Pearson's Magazine paid Wells £200 and wanted to know the ending first.

Woking, Weybridge, Shepperton and Putney Hill are all real places you can visit.

Humans do not win. Earth's bacteria do.

The Martians bring a red plant that spreads wherever there is water.

Jeff Wayne made a hit musical album of the story in 1978, with Richard Burton's voice.

Henrique Alvim Corrêa drew famous pictures of the tripods for a 1906 Belgian edition.

The War of the Worlds

Surprising facts

1/8
A Martian in Woking
A 7 metre steel tripod, The Woking Martian, stands in Woking town centre.
Source
2/8
Panic on the radio
In 1938 Orson Welles broadcast it as a live news report. Some listeners believed it was real.
Source
3/8
Paid £200
Pearson's Magazine paid Wells £200 and wanted to know the ending first.
Source
4/8
Real places
Woking, Weybridge, Shepperton and Putney Hill are all real places you can visit.
Source
5/8
Killed by germs
Humans do not win. Earth's bacteria do.
Source
6/8
Red weed
The Martians bring a red plant that spreads wherever there is water.
Source
7/8
A musical album
Jeff Wayne made a hit musical album of the story in 1978, with Richard Burton's voice.
Source
8/8
Early art
Henrique Alvim Corrêa drew famous pictures of the tripods for a 1906 Belgian edition.
Source