In what has become our Halloween tradition going back six years , we're here to once again point out that sometimes truth is stranger (and scarier) than fiction ...

Most urban legends are just that -- legends. Cautionary tales made up to keep kids on the straight and narrow. But wait, why do we need so many of these cautionary tales in the first place? Well, because the world is a terrifying place out to destroy you in any number of horrifying, ironic ways. In fact, this world is so scary that a lot of the creepy tales you told around the campfire have actually happened to real, very unfortunate people.

5 The Things That Squirm in Your Skull

L-Hamilton/iStock/Getty Images

The Legend:

Us folks from well-off northern countries sure do like to jet down to various tropical countries for a little sun and fun, but we also tend to get a bit weirded out by the Third World conditions that often exist right outside the walls of our hermetically sealed resort destinations. These fears have given rise to all sorts of tales of people returning from trips near the equator with a free souvenir wriggling around inside a particularly sensitive or important area, like, say, their skulls.

pxhidalgo/iStock/Getty Images

"You asked for the 'deluxe travel package.' Next time read the fine print."

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

But come on, these stories are just a bit of low-level xenophobia, right? Right?

The Truth:

Shortly after returning to her native Britain from a vacation in Peru, Rochelle Harris began to hear scratching noises inside her head. Apparently Harris isn't much of a worrywart (or possibly is mildly schizophrenic), because she decided, "Eh, whatever," and went on with her life, as the scratching noises got louder. Then things got worse.

Harris started to get headaches and radiating pain down one side of her face, and she'd wake up with fluids on her pillow (and not the good kinds). Then a fly flew out of her ear. Yeah, this story is going exactly where you were hoping it wasn't going -- after the fly incident, Harris finally went to a doctor, and he found that a writhing family of maggots had set up a home deep within her ear canal. If you need a few minutes to go madly dig at your ears with a Q-Tip, we understand.

Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images

"I should set this on fire first. Just to be safe."

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Not surprisingly, Harris didn't take her "head full of flesh-eating worms" diagnosis well. "I was very scared. Were they in my brain?"

GOOD QUESTION, ROCHELLE. Thankfully, Harris has since managed to put a positive spin on her ordeal:

"I'm not so squeamish around those kinds of bugs now. How can I be? They've been in my ear!"