Spontaneous Human Combustion

the  mere  nation that  a  human  being has  the  potential  to  burst  into  flames without   the   help   of   an   external ignition  source  seems  too  ridiculous  for study.  Surely  there  is  nothing  inside  the body that could create such a reaction? And yet,  for  over  three  hundred  years,  reliable records  have  testified  to  a  phenomenon where  people,  with  no  prior  warning  or exposure to naked flames, simply combust in a fit of intense heat. All that is left is a pile of ash and perhaps a random charred limb. The fact that no damage ever seems to be done to nearby  textiles  leaves  experts  perplexed.

This  inexplicable  phenomenon  is  called spontaneous human combustion. Many   of   those   who   are   attacked   by spontaneous human combustion, or SHC, are often simply sitting in a chair when the event affects  them.  At  one  time,  it  was  thought many  subjects  were  alcoholics,  and  one  old theory      behind      spontaneous      human combustion  was  that  it  was  caused  by  a chemical  reaction  brought  on  by  alcohol  in the blood and a fit of geriatric pique. This is now  largely  discredited,  but  there  are  some common    qualities    in    occurrences    of spontaneous  human  combustion.  Generally,it  is  the  trunk  of  the  body  that  is  most severely  burnt,  and  frequently  a  couple  of smouldering, blackened feet are found where the  person  should  have  been. 

Similarly, arms, skulls and even spinal cords are often the only distinguishable remains. The  actual  damage  to  the  bodies  affected by  spontaneous  human  combustion  appears to  be  created  by  a  heat  more  intense  than even  that  of  a  crematorium.  A  universal theme  of  spontaneous  human  combustion occurrences  is  that  despite  this  extreme temperature  –  which  experts  believe  is probably around 600°C – objects or material around   the   person   are   not   destroyed, although  obviously  their  clothing  is  burnt, and  sometimes  there  is  a  patch  of  scorched carpet  where  their  feet  would  have  been.

  In one   case,   a   woman   died   following   anincidence       of       spontaneous       human combustion  in  bed  and  the  sheets  were  not even   marked.   However,   occasionally   a greasy,  sooty  dust  is  found  on  ceilings  and walls nearby. Spontaneous   human   combustion   was recorded  in  1673  by  a  Frenchman,  James Dupont,  who  studied  a  selection  of  cases  of the  phenomenon  in  his  book, De  IncendiisCorporis   Humani  Spontaneis.   Dupont’ sinterest  in  the  subject  was  initially  aroused by  the  Nicolle  Millet  court  case.  In  this instance,  a  man  was  found  not  guilty  of murdering  his  wife  because  the  jury  ruled that  she  had  actually  suffered  an  attack  of spontaneous  human  combustion. 

From the late    seventeenth    century    the    idea    of spontaneous   human   combustion   gained credence  and  acceptance  in  popular  life. Indeed,     Charles     Dickens     used     the phenomenon  as  the  reason  of  death  for  a character  called  Krook  in  his  1852  novel, Bleak House. The  most  celebrated  case  of  spontaneoushuman  combustion  happened  on  2nd  July1951 to a 67-year-old pensioner from Florida, USA  called  Mary  Reeser. 

The  only  parts  of Reeser’s  body  to  be  found  were  her  skull, which  had  shrunk  to  the  size  of  a  baseball, her spinal column, her left foot, and a pile of ash  still  in  her  armchair.  The  authorities declared she had died in a normal house hold fire, but no part of her apartment, including cotton  sheets  and  a  pile  of  newspapers  left nearby, was damaged. A   similar   event   occurred   recently   in France.  On  17th  November  1998,  the  fewer mains  of  a  67-year-old  woman  called Gisele  were  found  in  her  farmhouse  near Hon fleur. 

Only  a  pile  of  ashes  and  her slippered  left  foot  were  discovered.  In  this case, even the wheelchair in which she was sitting had disintegrated, although the rest of her farmhouse stood untouched by fire. In such cases, police investigators can only take  a  guess  or  choose  the  most  plausible option  given  the  seemingly  inconsistent facts.    Spontaneous    human    combustion investigators themselves have no satisfactory explanations.

 The  alcoholism  and  anger mixture has no scientific grounding and the suggestion  that  it  is  caused  by  excessive  fat deposits  that  catch  alight  is  also  dismissed, whilst  the  idea  that  spontaneous  human combustion  is  caused  by  some  error  in  the body’s electrical system is unverifiable. Perhaps  the  most  acceptable  explanation for the time being is that spontaneous human combustion  is  caused  by  an  Act  of  God. Although  that  can  have  no  easily  studied scientific  basis,  for  now  it  is  the  most reassuring  answer  to  a  mystery  that  truly  is inexplicable..