There have been over 200 reported cases of spontaneous human combustion spanning nearly 300 years. The validity of many of these cases of spontaneous combustion have been questioned, but many cases appear to be legitimate examples of this strange phenomenon. In this article we will look at the possible causes of spontaneous human combustion. We will also take a closer look at some of the more interesting occurrences of spontaneous combustion that have taken place over the last 300 years.
Spontaneous Human Combustion - What Happens
When a human is struck by spontaneous combustion it is more than someone merely catching fire.
There are several aspects of this phenomenon that are truly strange and as yet, unexplained. Firstly the degree to which the bodies are burnt requires such extreme heat that even cremation does not burn bodies to the same extent. In spontaneous human combustion, even the bones are often reduced to ash, which requires temperatures well in excess of 1000 degrees.The second strange aspect of spontaneous human combustion is the fact that the extremities are often left intact, completely unburnt. This results in a torso and head completely reduced to ashes, with the feet and sometimes hands left completely unaffected.
The third aspect of spontaneous combustion, and possibly the most bizarre, that separates this phenomenon from ordinary fires is that the immediate surrounds of the person usually do not show any signs of burning. For instance one of the earliest accounts of spontaneous human combustion was of a girl who was lying on a straw mattress. She was almost completely consumed by the fire and yet the mattress showed no signs of catching alight.
Spontaneous Human Combustion - Current and Past Theories
Wick effect
The most widely excepted theory for spontaneous human combustion is the "wick effect". This theory states that the body has enough fat to sustain a slow burn and eventually consume the body. The flammable fat in the body acts like the wax of a candle. As it melts it soaks into the clothes and hair of the person causing them to act like a wick and keep the fire slowly burning.
The "wick effect" explains why the extremities of the body are often left in instances of spontaneous human combustion. The legs and arms often have less fat content and therefore cant sustain the heat needed for a continuous slow burn.
The issue with the wick effect is that it requires an external source of ignition, which in many cases of spontaneous combustion has not been present.
Static electricity
Another theory for spontaneous human combustion revolves around the idea of static electricity. It is theorised that the body, for some reason, builds up a larger than normal amount of static electricity which then sparks causing something akin to a mini explosion.
The static electricity theory explains the source of ignition, however it does not explain why the body continues to burn and at such high temperatures, or why the immediate surrounds of the body are not effected by the fire. some people suggest that true spontaneous combustion is a combination of the static electricity theory and the wick effect.
Divine intervention
While the evidence for divine intervention is obviously not observable, this does not stop it from being a very popular belief, especially in
past history. Many people believed that spontaneous human combustion was the judgement of God on individuals much in the same way that the bible depicts the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah.Many of the people that were struck by spontaneous human combustion were individuals prone to alcoholism and lived lonely introverted lives. This only lead to the compounding of the belief that spontaneous combustion was an act of God.
Alcoholism
Many of the people that were struck by spontaneous combustion appeared to be alcoholics, or at the very least, large drinkers. This lead to the theory that the high alcohol content in a persons body could somehow ignite and facilitate the rapid burning of the persons entire body.
Experiments have shown that flesh with a high alcohol content will readily burn, but not at the temperatures that are required to consume bones, and the source of ignition is still unexplained by this theory.
Spontaneous Human Combustion - Some compelling examples
While science as a whole is still very sceptical of the whole idea of spontaneous human combustion, there are some examples that are very hard to explain with any other conclusion. Here we will look at just a couple of such cases.
The first known record of spontaneous human combustion dates back to 1663. It was recorded by the Danish anatomist Thomas Bartholin. Few details are given except what was mentioned above. It involved a Parisian woman who while sleeping on a straw mattress, was almost completely consumed by fire. The straw mattress on which she slept showed no sign of fire damage and there was no obvious source of ignition.
In 1951, a 67 year old American woman by the name of Mary Reeser became a victim of spontaneous combustion. A neighbour broke into her apartment after discovering that her front door was hot. all that remained of Mary was a black charred circle, her spine, a portion of her left foot and her skull which had been burned down to the size of a baseball. There was a black oily residue on the walls and ceiling above her remains but the rest of the room and house showed no signs of fire damage.
In 1982, a 61 year old Woman named Jean Saffin became one of the most recent examples of spontaneous combustion when she mysteriously burst into flame while sitting in her wooden chair inside her London home. Her father reported seeing a flash of light out of the corner of her eye and turned to see his daughter engulfed in flames, centered maily around her head and hands.
Paramedics who attended the scene reported that despite the intensity of the fire and the physical damage done to Jeans body, there was very little damage to other areas except a small burn on her red nylon cardigan. She died 8 days later in hospital.