Spontaneous Human Combustion Or SHC

Spontaneous Human Combustion or SHC

An odd phenomenon in which people burn for no apparent reason. Cases of spontaneous human combustion have been documented since the 1400s. The classic profile of the victim is an overweight, older, single, alcoholic woman, who is a smoker. Usually only a small pile of ashes remains with one or two extremities, such as a leg from the knee down. If the head remains it may be "shrunken" down to the size of an orange. There is usually no odor or a sweet odor. The air usually is thick with smoke or soot. The flame from the body is generally blue, but is occasionally yellow. The victim usually burns in a confined space, such as a bathroom with the door closed. Oddly, often objects even a short distance from the victim are unharmed by fire. However, fuel such as wax or oil near the victim vanishes. Survivors of spontaneous human combustion will ordinarily report no pain.

While there is a "classic profile," each case is unique and usually varies from the profile in some regard. In 1938, Mrs. Mary Carpenter "burst into flames and was reduced to ashes" while on a boat with her husband and children. In 1835, Professor James Hamilton smothered a strong flame emanating from his left leg, and survived SHC. In 1851, a Parisian painter swallowed a lighted candle and was slowly reduced to ashes in front of helpless onlookers. In 1922, Mrs. Euphemia Johnson was found with her calcinated bones lying in her undamaged clothes.

Several factors make scientific study of the phenomena difficult. The rarity of SHC makes getting sufficient data for a study difficult. The rarity also makes most medical researchers reluctant to invest time in studying such an "offbeat" phenomenon. Finally, the variance in each case makes pinpointing a diagnosis difficult.

However, the "offbeat" nature of the phenomenon has made SHC interesting to some extremely notable writers. Herman Melville, Charles Dickens, and Arthur C. Clarke all mentioned SHC in their works. Arthur C. Clarke said of SHC "There's one mystery I'm asked about more than any other -- spontaneous human combustion. Some cases still seem to defy explanation and leave me with a creepy and very unscientific feeling. If there's anything more to spontaneous human combustion, I simply don't want to know."

Charles Dickens was fascinated by the 1763 case of Contessa Cornelia di Bandi. The Contessa was reduced to ashes in her bedchamber, leaving only stumps of her legs intact. Two candles near to the Contessa "stood upright upon a table, the cotton wick of both the candles was left, and the tallow of both had disappeared."

Dickens uses SHC in his 1853 novel "Bleak House" as a means to kill a character named Mr Krook in chapter 33 titled "Interlopers". Following is an excerpt: "Now do they set forth how it will doubtless be remembered, that some time back a painful sensation was created in the public mind, by a case of mysterious death from opium occurring in the first floor of the house occupied as a rag, bottle, and general marine store-shop, by an eccentric individual of intemperate habits, far advanced in life, named Krook; and how, by a remarkable coincidence, Krook was examined at the inquest, which it may be recollected was held on that occasion at the Sol’s Arms, a well-conducted tavern, immediately adjoining the premises in question, on the west side, and licensed to a highly respectable landlord, Mr James George Bogsby. Now do they show (in as many words as possible), how during some hours of yesterday evening a very peculiar smell was observed by the inhabitants of the court, in which the tragical occurrence which forms the subject of that present account transpired;"

Where does the flame that lights these people on fire come from? Skeptics theorize that people ignite with a cigarette or electrical shock, and their fat then burns slowly like a candle. Others insist that the ignition comes from within the victim, not an external source. Some say spirits, poltergeists, or demons are to blame. One intriguing theory comes from Livingston Gearhart who suggests that geomagnetic activity is responsible for SHC. Mr. Gearhart plotted geomagnetic energy against verified SHC deaths. Very high levels of geomagnetic energy were present in the days before every case of spontaneous human combustion investigated.

Perhaps more than one of these diverse theories is correct. Different causes may be responsible for SHC at different times. Different causes may also be combining in various ways to cause SHC. The variety of occurrences of spontaneous human combustion supports the possibility that multiple hypothesis may be valid.

Comments Comments are left by visitors to Spooky Files, are not endorsed by Spooky Files, and may or may not be accurate.

Comment by Larry Rate this Comment

Larry E. Arnold's Website is Parascience. Larry E. Arnold is the author of the book "Ablaze!: The Mysterious Fires of Spontaneous Human Combustion".

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

Mr. Arnold wrote a book called Ablaze. Would you have a city, state for him? I would like to write him a letter. Thanks.

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

I like your site, and I want to thank you very much. It's helped me a lot. You see, i'm doing research on SHC. I was wondering where to find a few pictures. Do you think you can help me out???

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

hello I just read the article on human combustion, very interesting, but my thoughts were else where when I looked this sight up...ever hesr of being born with a veil? what information if any do you have on the subject? My daughter was born with one, and so far I've learned some very interesting things on the matter.

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

I am a victum and I need info a.s.a.p. my upper back was catching on fire but no further damages were induced, only my sweater and part of my hair were damged. please resspond A.S.A.P.

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

HASNT ANYONE EVER DROPPED A PEICE OF POTASSIUM OR SODIUM INTO WATER? I CANT UNDERSTAND WHY THEY HAVENT THOUGHT OF THIS! THE BODY IS FULL OF THESE HIGHLY VOLITILE CHEMICALS,AND WHEN THEY CONTACT WATER,....BOOM! . THIS IS MY THEORY FOR SHC! CHECK IT OUT!

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

I am trying to find out the sources of the story that Mrs Euphemia Johnson, widow, 68 of Sydenham London spontaneously combusted in the summer of 1922. I have a description in a book by Jenny Randles, called Spontaneous Human Combustion. I have searched the microfiches of three local newspapers from May to September 1922, and looked in the Times Index, but can find no reference to her.

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

I read in your SHC article that Mr Gearhart has discovered evidence of a link between it and geomagnetic activity. As my research also suggests a relationship I think it would be beneficial if we had a chat. I've no idea who he is, or how to contact him, but wondered if you could help us
communicate.

My Background:
I'm 53 years old with a disabling injury that has suddenly accelerated my study of this bemusing phenomenon. Having noted some twenty years ago the similarity between SHC and the "heavenly fire" of the Old Testament's, I have spent my intervening years slowly gathering data on this ancient (global) phenomenon.

The results of this mammoth search are intriguing; the reality of this ancient event, not only supports a relationship, but indicates a natural cause for the event. The repeated circumstances of these ancient events indicate a link between SHC and the geomagnetic field; specifically, the fluctuations in the earths field that are generated by the suns energy as it interacts with its outer field.

How this known, but little understood, electrical process then translates into the rare phenomenon of SHC, or "biological combustion," is gruesomely suggested by my data, but one step at a time. It may help clarify matters greatly if Livingston and I share our data, can you help me contact him?

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

I was in the rescue squad in Petersburg, Va from 1985-1991 and I saw a case of spontaneous human combustion one Sunday in 1987, April if i remember correctly. This case was called in by a passing rescue squad worker at the emergency phone of the now non-existing I-95 South
toll booth.

At the time I was 17 and hadn't a clue as to what spontaneous combustion was. My partner was a 20 yr veteran of the same squad, and so my only reasoning of what SHC meant was based on his expression while we jumped in R-2 and sped away to the scene. In this case a family of 5 was in their car returning home after church, and their driver (an elderly black man) simply burst into flames according to the EMT who witnessed this and called it in and according to the family in the car. Upon our arrival my partner asked me to stay in the ambulance while he went and checked things out, and I didn't understand why he asked this,but I complied, I knew he wanted to protect me from things. 52 rescue squad members responded That is a ridiculous amount, but it did come in over the scanner as SHC.... people knew they would never see this again, and looking back in retrospect now, I understand. A sheet was thrown over the stain of the body. All that remained was the two stumps and feet from below the knees and down, not even a stitch of clothing although the bottom of his pants and socks and shoes were all there. There was a black stain on the pavement that took over a year to fade away even through several rains. It was explained by the family that after their car hit the steel bar that seperated the North bound from the south bound, that the driver jumped out of the car and began to roll on the pavement but was consumed very quickly. I was only allowed out of the ambulance after the body was covered with a sheet and was then given the chance to look for myself. I will never forget what I saw. The inside of the car was only burned where the man sat, on the bottom and on the back of the drivers side area.

Over the years I have studied SHC to gain an educated theory as to what causes it. my theory has never been proven but to me it is logical. To start any fire, there must always be 3 ingredients. Heat. Fuel. Air. That is all. We are walking candlesticks thanks to our Central Nervous System which supplies "fuel", an electrical charge that connects to every muscle tissue, every fat cell, every skin cell. We have air. The heat source is the malfunctioning of the pitutary gland which controls our standard body temperature of 98.6 (give or take) degrees Fahrenheit. Something goes awry. It raises the temperature from the normal 98 to a piping 1000+ degrees fahrenheit in a matter of a very few minutes.

There is a spiritual side. i used to blame it on demons and such. No. The world is undergoing such a spiritual growth and our chakra systems are changing as a result. This affects our CNS in different ways. When the body feels as if it is under attack (which can be because of the spiritual changes going on within our astral bodies) our physical bodies can react by the onset
of diseases otherwise illogical and unpredictable (neither hereditary nor otherwise foreseen). Examples of this would be the sudden increase in MS diagnosis, Parkinsons diagnosis, and SHC, to name 3 of many related to the CNS and the evolution of our chakra system. I enjoyed your site. Thank you.

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

Is it true that a woman just recently died from shc while at work and claimed that a demon or some force was there supposedly her coworkers who witnessed said she was screaming it was a demon.

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

Possible explanation for Spontaneous Human Combustion

Russians have reported a superconductor at 371 degrees K, and the Proc. IEEE, p. 357, 1976, indicated six bile salts which were superconductive, one at 277 degrees K.

Next, cold fusion is a benign nuclear reaction emitting much heat but little neutron or other such radiation. Cold fusion can occur at room temperature, and has been observed to occur with organic substances given an ionic electrolyte such as salt water and quite low electrical voltages such as might be produced within the body.

It is possible that cold fusion, perhaps in combination with organic superconductivity, within the body initially produces enough localized heat to dissociate cellular water into hydrogen and oxygen, which burns with an intense blue flame, and with the oxyhydrogen heat accelerating the process so that the entire body is consumed in just a few minutes.

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

I am wondering if there have ever been any cases of people involuntarily producing sparks of light? I am hoping that you can direct me to any information regarding this possibilty. You see, I was watching a friend walking from one room to another in her house. As she passed by, I heard what sounded like a match being light at the exact same time that I saw what appeared to be a flame (or spark of light) fall from slightly above her head to about her mid-back region. She was obviously unaware of what had happened, because when I asked her if she felt O.K. she looked at me strangely (in a "How do you know"? kind of way), then she said, "I actually felt a weird tingly feeling through my body. Why do you ask?" I told her that I saw a flame by her head. My observation frightened her. Why wouldn't it?

One other bit of information: She has several health problems, which include scoliosis, severe migraines, neck, shoulder, and back pain. I bring up her health issues to discuss her occassional feeling of being attacked from within her body by a virus, although tests have shown no evidence of a virus. Also, and this is where the idea of SHC has has entered my mind, her spine becomes super hot when she is experiencing a great deal of back pain. On these occassions she has said, "My spine feels like it has an electric wire running through it".

Comment by archive Rate this Comment

When I was about 18 or 19 yrs old, a friend of the family, and my brothers best friend, Bill, had called us over to see his new trailer. We, my brother and I, checked it out, and we were standing inside the trailer, just talking. Bill, was standing with his back to the counter, leaning against the stove. All of a sudden, the back of his shirt was on fire. My brother and I pulled him around, thinking that his shirt had caught fire from the stove. We put him out, the flame was right in the middle of his back, and very blue. We then found out that the stove was not hooked up, and had no gas. Also, after we put out the fire, there was nothing burned, not him or his shirt. We all left quickly and have never been able to come up with an explaination.

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