some famous stories were written about this idea. the writers used the name "martians" for intelligent beings from mars. in 1898, h. g. wells wrote "the war of the worlds", a famous novel about martians attacking the earth. in 1938, orson welles broadcast a radio version of this story in the united states, and many people thought it was really happening and were very afraid. beginning in 1912, edgar rice burroughs wrote several novels about adventures on mars.