I used to be terrified of earwigs - because I thought that they would, quite literally, crawl into my ear & stay there when I was asleep in bed.

If you lie with your ear against the pillow really quietly, you can hear the faint sound of your pulse - can you imagine the terror I felt when I heard this, aged around 5/6, and thought the earwigs were already there!!!

Jazzy

On my first camping trip,my dad told me to watch out for ear wigs,he told me they go up your ear and into your brain,then start eating your brain.I used to sleep on top of my toys so they couldnt get me.But then when i was ten i saw an ear wig and screamed"Its going to eat my brain ahhhh"and a little boy ran up to me and told me the truth!I was ten and he was four!!!!

Emma Hayward

My Nana told us as kids that earwigs crawled into your ear and ate through your brain before emerging out the other ear. Me and my brother would tease them by lying on the laundry floor with an ear on the lino. Very brave (or so we thought).
Nana also said that ticks burrow into you and lay eggs under your skin. I believed this until a Wilderness camp instructor got the s***s with me for making my fellow campers hysterical with the news.

Anon

When I was a kid, I was told that earwigs can only crawl forwards, not backwards. If they got inside your ear they could end up eating through your brain, because they can only go forwards. To this day I still believe it.

Anon

when i was little, i was terrified that earwigs would crawl in my ears in the night, so i'd try and stuff the ends of the bed sheet into my ears..
many strange looks occured the next morning..

sue

When I was little, my older sister told me that earwigs would
crawl in your ear and eat your brains. To this day I hate earwigs and freak out when I see one. But thats a better reaction then covering you're ears and screaming (I did that when she first told me that)

Mariah

I used to believe that earwigs were called that because they really liked to live in ears. If I laid in the grass for too long I was worried that an earwig would crawl into my ear and make a home there, then pinch my brain with its little pincers. To this day, earwigs give me the creeps.

Alexis

I used to believe that earwigs (those little pincher bugs) would crawl into your ear while you were sleeping and eat your brain! Needless to say, i slept every night with the covers over my ears.

skybluegirl

When I was little I used to believe that Earwigs really lived in your ears and that was where they came from. I would get parinoid if I felt something in my ear (probably just an itch), and would be very cautious playing in the grass.

Wendy

When I was little I used to fill up the sink with water to play in it. But I thought that if I filled the sink with water all the way to the top, sewage and baby crocodiles would suddenly burst out of the drain. Needless to say, I always made sure to fill it only halfway.

Jessica

I once saw a Twilight Zone where a bug was put in someone's ear and it crawled in and layed eggs that ate the guy's brains. I assumed that earwigs were those bugs, and I still can't stand the sight of them.

Jon

My Dad used to tell me that earwigs (the insect)would climb into your ear to have their babies then eat holes in your brain.....I still believe that and I am 32 years old...this isnt true is it?

Amy

i only just recently found out that earwigs are not going to eat my eardrums. i'm 18 years old.
when i was younger i would always cover my ears with my hair, thinking that this would keep them out.

Anon

I used to believe that ear wigs would climb in your ears while you slept and make you go mad

troy

I used to believe that "Earwigs lived in your ears", scared
me to death for years.

Will Chapman

Wow you mean they earwigs don't go in your ears? I was just looking at that section and i'm 28 and still am rather wary about that. i figure they probably don't eat your brain...but ewww

Anon

When i was in infant school somebody told me that earwigs climb in your ear and go into your brain. I was never really a fan of creepy crawlies!

Lea

I used to believe that pincher bugs were called earwigs because if they crawled into your ear they made you deaf. Some of the older kids in the neighborhood were responsible for selling us younger kids on this. And all of us younger kids totally believed it and would get all panicky if someone held an earwig next to our ear.

mr strauss

I used to believe the earwig one as well (the one where they would crawl into your ears and lay eggs etc).
And Amy (below), no it isn't true.

Tim

When I was little I was deathly afraid of earwigs. I always called them "Pincher bugs" and thought they would crawl into your ear and eat their way through your eardrum and into your brain, and eventually consume your entire brain.

Mmm... eardrum... tasty