Spontaneous Human Combustion

Imagine… You are sitting on a bus, driving to work in a car pool, or walking down a crowded street when suddenly the person next to you burst into flames. Sounds like something right out of a Stephen King novel but in actuality you have just witnessed spontaneous human combustion (SHC). The concept of a human body suddenly catching fire for no apparent reason may seem outrageous but as you will see in this article it is an event documented for quite some time and despite countless hours of research carried out by an almost infinite number of researchers we still have no clue to what causes this event to occur. I hope that through this article I can present you with a few cases, some general beliefs on the subject and also some theories and reasons that could explain the SHC cases we have seen throughout history. So if your fire suit is buttoned up let’s begin to look deeper into the flames of reason and try to explain SHC.

First and foremost, what is SHC? It is most defined as the spontaneous ignition of a human body despite no external source of fire. The definition alone sparks the imagination as to just why this event would occur and how it could be possible. In this section of the article I hope to give you some general ideas that have been brought about by research into this phenomena as well as a few statements made by those who have investigated SHC on a first hand basis.

Several things have come up frequently in SHC cases. While nothing stated here should be seen as the final word it is a good basis to work from and has been taken from several note worthy sources.

In most cases despite the clear fact that the human body has been reduced to mere ashes the surrounding area seems unharmed. On occasion a few black marks or a minor scorch mark is all that can be found to even prove a fire had occurred other than the body itself. This is strange because the body is usually left in a state that would take an intense fire to have created. Dr. Wilton M. Krogman, who has conducted numerous experiments on burning corpses has stated that he had himself seen a body burned at a crematorium for more than 8 hours at a temperature of 2000 degrees F and still recognizable bones were left after the grueling flame was extinguished. He stated that only at 3000 degrees plus did he see the body completely reduced to ash. At these great degrees it would be near impossible for the surrounding area to not at the least see fire damage of a slight kind. While the doctor is an expert other sources state that 1600 to 1800 degrees for 1 to 1 and a half hour would be more than enough to dispose of a human body. Even so those temperatures would still do damage to their surroundings.

Another report is that cases are limited to one victim. Even when others are standing next to the victim the flames do not seem to affect them, failing to catch their clothing and belongings despite the raging heat and intensity of the flame. This leads many to feel the fire is unable to catch anything other than the initial victim. That is an opinion that seems fairly true with the lack of external burns to surroundings or people in the general area of the victim.

All of these and many more things add to a phenomena already shrouded in a dark cloud of mystery. We find ourselves standing back and asking just how does a human being burst into flames and why does such a thing happen? As I have stated one cannot give a 100% accurate answer for this occurrence. We can only look at each individual case and evaluate all the evidence present to better understand what happened and just why it happened. All natural possibilities need to be ruled out before ever implying a case is in fact a SHC. This is the same with any paranormal investigation. While it would be very helpful to view every reported instance and all case files that would be extremely time consuming and rather tiring on my behalf so instead we will look at the most common occurrences reported and a few fascinating cases.

The first and most vital aspect to solving or coming as close to that goal as possible is the way the body is found. Just like a forensic pathologist has to look at evidence after the crime as happened, so must we. One of the strangest reports relayed by witnesses is that despite the badly burned body and hovering smoke most bodies found seem to be cold to the touch. In some instances even the surroundings have been said to be void of heat and colder then the rest of the area in which the body had been found. This strange report has given way to an even stranger theory. The theory of “cold fire”. This is a very seldom and highly debatable theory in which SHC researchers have tried to do away with for the most part. Cold fire is in some ways identical to its hot counterpart. It consumes solid mass reducing it to ashes and even can turn a liquid into a gas. It appears the same as does hot fire and produces smoke, but the main difference is, unlike its alter ego cold fire produces no heat. It uses the air in the room to feed on and thus makes the room colder. This is a familiar concept to ghost researchers when a ghost draws energy from the area to manifest. Cold fire is one possible solution to the SHC events but no real evidence exists to verify that claim.

One other account is that bodies found to still be burning are impossible to extinguish using water. When water in dowsed on the burning body it simply fuels the fire and causes it to burn more intensely. This problem will be discussed later on.

Many things are taken into account with SHC cases. Age, physicality, and consumption of alcohol, drugs and even common medicines are looked at as a possible link to the unforeseen flames. Some have speculated obesity to be the cause but many cases of perfectly healthy people have been documented.

One of the more startling and disgusting reports at least to those of the law enforcement and fire department persuasion who investigate the scene after the burning is done is that there is a lack of smell. I myself have talked with fire fighters in the area as well as mechanics and the such who have worked around victims of fire related death and they all agree that the smell of burning flesh is one that can cause nightmares. It is very distinct and can cause nausea and the like. In cases of SHC that smell is almost always absent and usually no odor whatsoever is reported.

While we now have some reported occurrences in the SHC case we need to look at actual cases to better understand this event and better view what exactly we are dealing with. The first few cases are cases that have a striking similarity; they feature SHC that did little to no damage to the surroundings despite extreme damage to the body.

Mrs. Olga Worth Stephens, who at one point was a noted actress, was sitting in her parked car. Suddenly she burst into raging flames. Her body was found burned to ash with no recognizable features remaining. The car she set in during the entire process of burning had only a small black mark on the dashboard thought to be from her placing her burning hand on it to escape the car.

Another similar case regarding a car (a common place for SHC) is that of Billy Thomas Peterson. Billy had committed suicide by sitting in his car and inhaling toxic carbon monoxide gas. When his body was found it had been severely burned. Upon inspection law enforcement officials made a note that despite the fact that the skin had been badly burned the clothing Billy had been wearing suffered absolutely no damage from the fatal flames that most likely took his life before the gas could take effect. His hair had also been unharmed by the fires. This is common in cases involving heavy electrical shock such as an electrical pole worker who gets a jolt but no source for such a shock was present. The only damage suffered by anything other than Billy’s flesh was a small religious statue on his dash. The statue had melted. I will go into a few possible reasons for this case later on.

Let’s move on to a very similar case and one that debunks the belief that SHC is limited to those who are living. Betty Satlow had taken her own life by way of carbon monoxide gas. (Just how Billy had tried to accomplish self inflicted death). Her body was taken to a mortuary and after she was placed in her coffin she began to smolder. It took little time until her body was engulfed in flames.

So we now see that the living and the dead are susceptible to SHC but let’s lay rest to another myth of this amazing mystery. It is often assumed all who suffer SCH die as a result of the fires but in fact several people have survived to tell about their cases and what they feel occurred. Jeanna Winchester had been driving in her car in Jacksonville, Florida on the date of October 9th 1980 when she suddenly burst into flames. These flames were of a yellowish hue and burned her badly. She lost control of the vehicle and crashed. Despite the injuries caused by the burns and the wreck itself she survived the ordeal. She later talked about her experience stating she lost memory from the time the fire began to the time she wrecked. She just remembers that she caught fire and the windows were up so nothing could have been thrown in her car and she knew nothing inside the car had started the fire. Her account was amazing but shied in comparison to that of the investigating officer.

Officer TG Hendrix stated “The white leather seat she had been sitting in was a little burned and the door panel had a little black on it, otherwise there was no fire damage. I’ve never seen anything like it in 12 years in the force”. This statement would be looked at many times with sincere amazement.

Now I am sure after reading these amazing accounts and statements you are ready for an answer. As I stated no accurate answer can be given but theories exist and ideas and I will do my best to relay those to you now. First the case of water increasing the fire as opposed to ending it. This may sound crazy but it is a scientific fact that when water is added to fires that contain magnesium or titanium it only serves to aid the fire in releasing hydrogen gas which causes the fire to burn more as opposed to less. The human body to some extent contains traces of both these elements and it could be likely that some people have them more abundantly. If that were the case those elements themselves may be the cause of the fire.

Both cases where death was self-inflicted are very similar in that they added the gas carbon monoxide to the body. Carbon monoxide is highly deadly and dangerous in it’s own right but perhaps it could have combined with other chemicals and as a result the flames were created. All of our main functions are bio chemical and as a result the body contains various chemicals that alone are safe but when mixed with other chemicals could result in an internal Molotov cocktail that may be capable of generating a source for the fires that are present in SHC cases. This cocktail could become too pressured and eventually work itself through the body in the form of fire.

Of course many cases are nothing more than carelessness. A dropped cigarette could in fact ignite certain articles of clothing and cause a fire. But one of the strangest theories is that the source is a natural phenomenon known as ball lightning. This is a natural wonder that is just like regular jagged lightning but is found in the shape of a sphere. While something to think on it does not really work into many cases at all so it does not get much attention by researchers.

Another theory is that some people have a very sensitive nature to static electricity and electromagnetic waves. These things in abundance can be dangerous but these hyper sensitives would be unable to combat the effects and as a result the fire could ignite.

One of the most unusual and scientifically correct theories is that of the phosphine fart. (And yes that is the accurate term). Phosphine can be produced within the body by natural causes and is inside the body rather harmless. However when this gas makes contact with the air it reacts violently by catching fire. This same gas is what is known as willowisp in marshlands and can be seen igniting in such places. What happens is basically the victim passes gas, which in turn causes phosphine to make contact with the air igniting in a blaze of intense flame. This would explain the cases in which the backs of the victim seem to be the most damaged. What adds to the probability of this theory is that this gas can also be released by way of the mouth during a belch.

From Charles Dickens’s classic character of Krook who met his end by way of SHC in the book “Bleak House” all the way to the cases I have discussed here SHC is a very “hot” topic and one that continues to arouse our want to know more. My own opinion is that we cannot look to paranormal solutions to this problem. It seems more a matter of traditional science. I feel that SHC is a result of chemical problems within the body that for some reason create fire that engulfs the body and as a result reduces it to ashes. I hope you have at least been entertained with this work and now have your own opinion to go on.