Spontaneous human combustion is the term thrown around to describe the borderline supernatural event of someone bursting into flames out of nowhere. There’s no matches, no lighters, no gasoline, it just sort of…happens. Oh, right, the fire is supposed to have started from within the person, as well.
The first mention of S.H.C came about in 1746, in an article written by Paul Rolli. Larry E. Arnold mentioned in his book Ablaze! (1995) that there had been at least 200 reports of S.H.C within the last 300 years. These reports came from all around the globe. So, is there some sort of fire demon running around the world, setting people on fire from within? Well, here’s what we know.
The 1823 book Medical Jurisprudence talks about certain commonalities found between the majority of S.H.C victims.
1. Victims were all severe alcoholics.
2. They are usually female and elderly.
3. A lit substance came into contact with the body.
4. Hands and feet are typically detached.
5. The fire caused little or no damage to combustible things found on the body.
Because of reports like this, many writers at the time believed that S.H.C was a side effect of alcoholism. That’s one way to get them to quit.
Science investigator Joe Nickell and forensic analyst John F. Fischer worked for two years looking for answers about S.H.C. Looking at cases from 3 centuries, they found that the majority of the bodies were near potential sources for ignition. Things like lamps, candles, etc. They believe that these heat sources may have been left out of popular accounts, thus over-hyping the idea of a ‘supernatural’ type of event. They also believe that the victims may have been more prone to being careless with fire sources.
There have always been, and always will be, the people who truly believe that human bodies can burst into flames out of nowhere. Some people point to witch craft, others to a very far-fetched scientific approach. For example, one theorist believes that the high amounts of alcohol in the blood causes it to be more flammable, and that rising temperature in the body can actually ignite it. Some people believe that S.H.C. is the work of demons and ghosts. But, fortunately, or unfortunately, science seems to point towards a few more ‘likely’ causes.
The most common natural explanations for what people believe to be S.H.C are as follows:
1. Victims were too old or sick to be able to move once they had caught fire. They had also likely caught fire in their sleep.
2. Victims had suffered a heart attack while smoking or holding a fire source and then proceeded to catch fire. God that is grim.
3. Brian J. Ford believes that ketosis which can be caused by alcoholism and having an extremely low-carb diet, will produce acetone, which is extremely flammable and can cause what some people may perceive as ‘spontaneous’ combustion.
It looks like science takes the cake on this one. But hey, let your imagination run wild. It makes things more fun anyhow.
