The 'Great Moon Hoax' That Fooled The World

In August 1835, a sensational story captivated the public’s imagination, claiming the discovery of life on the moon. This event marked the beginning of one of the most audacious hoaxes in history, blending science, satire, and the human desire for wonder.

Key Takeaways

• The Great Moon Hoax was published in the New York Sun.
• It claimed the discovery of fantastical creatures on the moon.
• The hoax was initially intended as satire but was taken seriously by the public.
• The event reflects the historical context of 1830s America, including social unrest and religious beliefs.

The story began in Scotland, where the Edinburgh Journal of Science was cited as the source. The headline read, “Great Astronomical Discoveries Made by Prominent Astronomer John Herschel.” Herschel was on a field trip in South Africa, using a new telescope to explore the moon. However, the claims made in the New York Sun were entirely fabricated.

The New York Sun published a series of six articles, claiming that life had been discovered on the moon, including:

• Unicorns
• Beavers that walked on their hind legs
• Man-Bats (the so-called vespertillio homo)

These four-foot-tall creatures were said to fly, talk, build temples, and even engage in public fornication. Yes, you read that right—man-bats fornicating in public. The absurdity of the claims did not deter the public; in fact, it caused a tremendous sensation. By some estimates, 90% of New York City residents believed the story.

The New York Sun, under the leadership of publisher Benjamin Day and editor Richard Adams Locke, became the most widely read newspaper in the world. However, the truth was that John Herschel had made no such discoveries, and the articles were not reprinted from any scientific journal.

Locke’s intention was not to deceive but to satirize the prevailing beliefs of the time. The 1830s were marked by significant social unrest in New York, with violent anti-slavery riots and a populace eager for escapism. At the same time, a religious revival was taking place, with many astronomers believing that all celestial bodies were populated by intelligent beings created by God.

One prominent astronomer, Thomas Dick, claimed there were over 4 billion creatures living on the moon. Locke, finding this notion preposterous, decided to write a series of articles that lampooned these beliefs. He thought that by exaggerating the claims, he could expose the absurdity of the religious astronomers’ ideas.

However, the irony was that the public, already steeped in these fantastical beliefs, accepted Locke’s satire as truth. Religious groups even began raising money to send Bibles to the moon, believing it was their duty to spread the word of God to the lunar inhabitants.

Locke found himself in a moral quandary. He knew the stories were false but felt he could not reveal the truth without jeopardizing the success of the New York Sun. The newspaper capitalized on the hoax, commissioning artists to create lithographs of the lunar landscape based on Locke’s detailed descriptions.

The series was not just a local sensation; it was republished worldwide. The images of lunar man-bats and other fantastical creatures became a part of 19th-century art, showcasing the public’s fascination with the moon.

Today, the Great Moon Hoax serves as a reminder that fake news is not a modern phenomenon. In 2017, the term “fake news” was even named the word of the year. This story went viral long before the advent of social media, the internet, or even radio and television.

Whether we lean towards science or religion, the allure of the moon remains strong. We all want to believe in the extraordinary, to imagine a world filled with two-legged beavers, unicorns, and man-bats. After all, the moon is a strange place, and who wouldn’t want to explore its mysteries?