Misc Paranormal Topics: Spontaneous Human Combustion

Spontaneous Human Combustion is the ability of the human body to blister or smoke or otherwise ignite in the absence of an external identifiable known source of ignition. In classic spontaneous human combustion the body burns itself more completely than can normally be achieved at a crematorium. The fires are internal in origin.

In the literature, spontaneous human combustion is almost exclusively reserved for corpses. One 17th century tale, however, claims that a German man self-ignited due to his having drunk an excessive amount of brandy. If drinking a great quantity of brandy caused self-combustion, there should be many more cases to study than this isolated report about one man.

Humans have a knack for getting burned. Sip coffee that's a little too hot and you burn your tongue. Reaching the pinnacle of nervousness can cause heartburn. Remaining in the sun for too long without protection leaves you with sunburn. Play with fire and you know what happens. And that's saying nothing of rug burns that can occur when you... How about that weather?

On July 2nd 1951 remains were found of a 67 year old widower named Mary Reeser. Her burnt smouldering remains were found by her Neighbor and some house painters. She had been sitting in an easy chair when the incident happened. Her left foot still wearing a slipper remained intact and only the corner of the room and the chair she was sitting in had been burnt. Firemen, police and pathologists examined Mrs. Reeser's remains and also found her liver which was fused to a lump of vertebrae and her skull which had been shrunk to the size of a baseball by the unusually intense heat.

Forensic scientists very rarely, if ever, mention the (alleged) phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion (SHC). After reading an article on the subject in BILD, Germany's most famous tabloid newspaper (circulation four million daily), I started to wonder about this.

Spontaneous Human Combustion is a phenomenon in which a human body purportedly catches fire as a result of heat generated internally by some type of chemical reaction. This phenomena has been reported for hundreds of years. Indeed, belief in the past was that if a person possessed too much anger or drank too much brandy, he or she might burn to death internally - literally combusting into ash within a matter of minutes

There's one mystery I'm asked about more than any other-- spontaneous human combustion," says Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001, on his 1994 TV program Mysterious Universe. "Some cases seem to defy explanation, and leave me with a creepy and very unscientific feeling. If there's anything more to SHC, I simply don't want to know." Thus has spontaneous human combustion (SHC) remained the hidden malady for more than 100 years, and a hotly debated one for centuries more. No longer. In this amazing book are hundreds of unbelievable examples of The Fire Within, culled from long-forgotten obscure medical journals and never-before-published interviews with witnesses to the impossible...

Humans tend to think of fire as occurring at a high temperature, as when the process is going full bore this is indeed the case. But what of the moment when combustion is first starting, when sunlight is warming chemicals or a match is being dragged across a surface?

In spontaneous human combustion, a person allegedly bursts instantly into flames, immediately burning up, leaving behind only ashes and burned body parts. Incidents have been mentioned in the literature of unexplained phenomena, with the impression that peculiar, unknown forces must be responsible.

On the morning of July 2, 1951, Mary Reese was found dead in her apartment. Everything about her death was mysterious. To begin with, not much was left of her. There was only a pile of ashes, a shrunken skull and a completely undamaged left foot.