Where I live there is an insect called a Jerusalem Cricket. A lot of people call these insects "Child of the Earth". They have a reputation for being poisonous.
When I was little I was always told to stay away from these insects because they were poison and that I could die if one bit me. So I grew up having a fear of these nightmarish creatures. I was so afraid of them that if I saw one in the yard I wouldn't go anywhere near that part of the yard for hours - even days!
A few years ago I saw one of these insects in the house and finally decided to do some research to find out what they were. That was when I found out that the mysterious Child of the Earth that I had been so afraid of all my life was really just a type of cricket and wasn't poisonous at all. Now instead of being afraid of Jerusalem Crickets I actually kind of like them.
A childhood belief about creepy crawlies
others believed things like this
I used to believe that some insects had twenty lives.LOLAnon- I used to believe that cricket ice cream used to be made out of real crickets!!!— Lt. Fuzz
- I used to believe that Jiminy Cricket was a grasshopper because I had never seen a green cricket.Anon
- When I was a child I used to be afraid of clowns because they used to have very big shoes— LIZA
- When I was a child, I used to believe that my dad was the most powerful and strong man on earth. — LM
- I forgot the expression "not cricket", so I said, "not tennis" instead.Anon