Mars

In the early years of the twentieth century Percivel Lowell and others speculated that Mars was inhabitated by an intelligent species much older than our civilization. This page archives texts (fictional and otherwise) about this hypothesis.

About the photo: This is a recent (2001) Mars Orbiter photo of the notorious 'face' formation in the Cydonia region. Is it just an unusually symmetrical mesa or a huge, heavily eroded artificial landform? You be the judge... It helps if you view this photo at a distance or squint a bit.

Mars
by Percivel Lowell [1895]
Lowell was one of the first to interpret what he saw on Mars as evidence of intelligent life.

The War of the Worlds
by H.G. Wells [1898]
The Martians are coming!

From India to the Planet Mars
by Théodore Flournoy, tr. Daniel B. Vermilye [1900]
Psychic contact with Mars at the dawn of the 20th century.

The Planet Mars and its Inhabitants
by Eros Urides (A Martian), written down and edited by J.L. Kennon [1922]
This classic book is a 'channeled' account of life on Mars.

My Trip to Mars
by William Ferguson [1959]
A contactee's out-of-body trip to Mars.

The following material is of unknown copyright status.

The War of the Worlds
by Orson Wells and the Mercury Theatre [1938]
Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our program of dance music ...

KeeleyNet files about the 'Face of Mars'

The "Message of Cydonia": First Communication from an Extraterrestrial Civilization?
By Richard C. Hoagland and Erol O. Torun [1989].

Compuserve chat with Richard Hoagland [1989].