The radio version was presented as a real situation. It was not clarified to the audience that was just a "play" ,and the people panicked. What people heard on the radio was taken seriously. THe events in the original novel are developed in England in the 19th century, this was changed to adapt it to the radio show to the United States, in New Jersey to make it more contemporary. Orson Wells wanted a greater broadcast off his novel, so he came up with this idea.