I used to believe that 'prosecuted' meant the same as 'exterminated', so the signs on the wall of our local cricket ground; 'Trespassers will be prosecuted' scared me to death. I thought there were daleks in there...

Shaun Ashwrth

When I was young I understood that people died in one of two ways: either through old age or some terrible accident or disease. However, I thought that once someone had a mid-life crisis, they knew *exactly* what age they would die by simply doubling however old they were when it happened. It made sense at the time, and indeed until I was probably 11 or 12 years old.

Michael

When I was little I believed that people only died at night. So, I'd sleep with my light on thinking that I'd die if it was turned off. I only thought I was safe if someone else was there, like a friend. Until one night when it was lightning and the lights went off, I panicked for awhile and went to sleep at 6 a.m. when I found out I was still alive.

Melissa

my older brother told me that if i didnt clean every bit of dirt out of the prints on my feet, i'd die

chel

My parents didn't get married until I was 4 and my brother was 8. One day my aunt was taking care of us and I asked my borther where my parents were. He said they were getting married, but I thought he said 'buried' and cried until they came home because I thought they were dead.

Greg

I used to believe that I was certain to be hit by a car and killed while wearing a red polka-dotted dress at the age of 19. However, this fear didn't stop me from also worrying that I would randomly die in my sleep.

Mariah

After watching a vintage Disney cartoon, and hearing other tales of that strange time called midnight, I arrived at the following conclusions:

1. Night and day occurr simotaniously all over the globe.

2. At midnight, the dead walk the earth.

It was terribly disturbing to think of these dead souls, wandering the landscape, rotting and miserable, some with their existances worn down to a single skull and spine, dragging itself along by worn teeth.

Naturally, I knew that these dead, although horrible and frightening, had no business with, and thus, meant no harm to me, and so I must expose myself to their existance.

I watched my clock and waited, patiently. Midnight arrived and I approached my window, ready to be terrified by the vision of what, I myself, would one day be.

No one was there.

PhrenicGermal

I used to believe that if you bled to death, you'd get flat!

Lisa G

When I was around five my grandma died. I had refused to give her a kiss goodbye the previous night and for a long time I believed that she died because of that.

Barb

I used to believe that a street sign that read "Dead End" meant that there were dead people buried there.

Anon

When I was little, I didn't know that cemataries were where dead people were buried. I used to think they were farms where people grew statues instead of trees or crops. When we drove though the country, I used to point them out to my mom, saying, "Look mommy! A statue farm!"

There also used to be graves behind the church we when too. They were covered in glittery white rocks. I used to sneak outside afterwards and pick the stones off of the graves so I could take them home because they were so pretty. I didn't realize there were dead people under the rocks.

Kayle

i used to believe that euthanasia has something to do with young chinese people

CW

When our pet bird died I saw a cloud shaped like a bird. The same thing happened with my dog, so I thought you became a cloud when you died.

Vicky

I thought that when I got older "they" would invent a cure for death and I could live forever.

wishful thinking

I once heard the story of Rip Van Winkle and from then on I thought the reason they wrote R.I.P. on gravestones was because the people were sleeping.

Solan

I had heard then term "kick the bucket" and took it very literally. When I was about 6 i kicked over the janitor's mop bucket at school. I was convinced I was going to die. One of my teachers was walking down the hall, and saw me sitting on the floor and crying. I couldn't manage to explain coherently why I was crying, and she just assumed I was crying out of fear of being in trouble. She alerted the janitor, who cleaned up the water. After I didn't die, for a year or so I thought that it would be ok to kick over a bucket if whatever was in it was ceaned up fast enough. Then someone explaines.

Bethan J

For some really odd reason, I thought when we died we became mermaids (i dunno why) And then are parents and family and best friends would become them too. I also thought that our pets became catfish, dogfish, and parrotfish. Then after awhile of thinking that i remembered i couldn't swim well and so i thought i would drown if i became a mermaid.. (uh i know, mermaids can swim, i was a realllllllly stupid child) so i was crying and i thought i would die and then die again and then my mom told me the truth and weirdly i felt better that i wouldn't become a mermaid.

Taylor- the mermaid

When I was around 5 or 6, I saw part of some police procedural tv movie, and the victim had died from a "blow to the back of the head". For at least a year or two afterwards, I thought that if someone blew on the back of your head, you could die. It affected me enough that I could not fall asleep on my side, with the back of my head exposed.

Vincent Kargatis

My Great Aunt Louise died when I was about four years old, and it was my first funeral.
A few hours before the wake, my older siblings began explaining to me that a wake was a pagen ritual (we are Catholic, as was my Aunt) in which we would cut off the head of a chicken, drink the blood, dance around a fire in the nude, and "WAKE" the person from the dead.

Needless to say, I stuck close to my mother that entire night.

Wake what now?

I had some idea of rigor mortis when I was young, but I thought it meant that at the moment you died all your apendages became totally straight and flat. I decided to test this by lying on the bed in a crucifix position, hands flat to the bed and fingers pointing rigidly out, holding my breath. I thought my mother would be terrified to see me OBVIOUSLY dead...but she just told my it was time for supper.

dawn