Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is the idea that a living or recently dead human body can catch fire without something outside the body starting the fire. This idea is not supported by science. Reports of SHC and descriptions of it in books share similar details, such as the situations in which it happens and the remains left behind.
Scientists have studied reported cases of SHC to understand possible reasons. Some ideas include the person's habits, drinking alcohol, being near things that can start fires, and how fires behave when body fat melts. Some natural explanations and unproven events have also been suggested to explain these reports. However, scientists now agree that most cases of SHC are caused by fire sources that were not noticed at first.
Overview
"Spontaneous human combustion" describes a situation where a person dies from a fire that starts inside their body without an obvious outside cause. The idea and the term were first suggested in 1746 by Paul Rolli, a member of a scientific group called the Royal Society, in an article about the unexplained death of Countess Cornelia Zangari Bandi. In 1938, a coroner named Gavin Thurston wrote in The British Medical Journal that the phenomenon had interested both doctors and non-doctors over 100 years earlier, including in a fictional story from 1834. In his 1995 book Ablaze!, Larry E. Arnold, who worked for a science organization called ParaScience International, noted that about 200 cases of spontaneous human combustion had been reported worldwide over roughly 300 years.
The topic was discussed in The British Medical Journal in 1938. An article by L. A. Parry referred to a book published in 1823 called Medical Jurisprudence, which listed similarities among recorded cases of spontaneous human combustion. These included alcoholism being a common feature in early written accounts, partly because some doctors and writers from the Victorian era thought alcoholism might cause the condition.
Scientific investigation
A long research project lasting two-and-a-half years was carried out by science investigator Joe Nickell and forensic analyst John F. Fischer. They studied 30 reported cases of spontaneous human combustion (SHC) that happened between 1725 and 1982. Their detailed two-part report was published in 1984 in the journal of the International Association of Arson Investigators and included in their 1988 book Secrets of the Supernatural. Nickell has written many articles on this topic, appeared on television documentaries, done more research, and taught at the New York State Academy of Fire Science in Montour Falls, New York, as a guest speaker.
The study by Nickell and Fischer looked at cases from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. It found that burned bodies were often near possible sources of fire, such as candles, lamps, or fireplaces. These sources were sometimes left out of reports, likely to make the events seem more mysterious. The study also found a connection between reported SHC deaths and victims who were drunk or otherwise unable to move or think clearly, which might have made them less able to avoid accidents. When the body was not burned very badly, the fire might have started from the victim’s clothing or a blanket.
However, when the body was burned extensively, other materials like chair stuffing, floor coverings, or the floor itself might have contributed to the fire. The investigators explained that these materials could trap melted fat from the body, causing more burning and more melted fat in a cycle called the "wick effect" or "candle effect."
The study noted that nearby objects often stayed unburned because fire usually burns upward and has trouble burning sideways. The fires were small but caused major destruction through the wick effect. Nearby objects might not have caught fire because they were far enough away, like how a person can stand near a small campfire without burning. Nickell and Fischer warned against assuming a single simple explanation for all unusual burning deaths, instead suggesting each case should be studied individually. Neurologist Steven Novella has observed that skepticism about SHC is now influencing broader doubts about spontaneous combustion.
In a 2002 study, Angi M. Christensen of the University of Tennessee burned samples of healthy and osteoporotic human bones and compared the results. The study found that osteoporotic bones showed more discoloration and broke apart more easily than healthy bones. It also found that burning human tissue produces only a small amount of heat, meaning fire is unlikely to spread from burning tissue.
Suggested explanations
Most scientists agree that events that seem like spontaneous human combustion actually have an outside cause, such as a flame or heat source. It is very unlikely that a person could catch fire on their own without something outside the body starting the fire. Some ideas that are not based on real science try to explain how spontaneous human combustion might happen without a flame. Benjamin Radford, a science writer and editor for the magazine Skeptical Inquirer, questions why spontaneous human combustion would not happen more often if it were real. He points out that there are 8 billion people in the world today, yet there are no reports of people suddenly catching fire while walking, attending sports events, or drinking coffee at a café.
Examples
On 2 July 1951, Mary Reeser, a 67-year-old woman, was found burned to death in her home in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her landlady noticed the house's doorknob was unusually warm and called the police. When officers entered the home, they found Reeser’s remains completely burned into ash, with only one leg remaining. The chair she was sitting in was also destroyed. Reeser had taken sleeping pills and had been a smoker. The FBI investigation ruled out the possibility of spontaneous human combustion (SHC). A common theory was that she was smoking a cigarette after taking sleeping pills, then fell asleep while still holding the burning cigarette, which may have ignited her clothing and caused her death. Her daughter-in-law said, "The cigarette dropped to her lap. Her fat acted as fuel that kept her burning. The floor was cement, and the chair was by itself. There was nothing around her to burn."
On 28 March 1970, Margaret Hogan, an 89-year-old woman who lived alone in Dublin, Ireland, was found burned almost completely in her home on Prussia Street. Plastic flowers on a table were reduced to liquid, and a television with a melted screen was found 12 feet from the armchair where her remains were discovered. The rest of the room was nearly untouched. Her two feet and both legs below the knees were undamaged. A small coal fire had been burning in the grate the day before a neighbor left the house, but no connection between this fire and the one that killed Mrs. Hogan was found. An inquest held on 3 April 1970 concluded her death was caused by burning, with the cause of the fire listed as "unknown."
On 24 November 1979, during Thanksgiving weekend, Beatrice Oczki, a 51-year-old woman, was found charred to death in her home in Bolingbrook, Illinois, United States.
In 1980, Henry Thomas, a 73-year-old man, was found burned to death in the living room of his council house on the Rassau estate in Ebbw Vale, South Wales. Most of his body was burned completely, leaving only his skull and part of each leg below the knee. His feet and legs were still covered in socks and trousers. Half of the chair he was sitting in was also destroyed. Police forensic officers determined that Thomas’s body burned due to the wick effect, which is when a person’s body burns from the inside out like a candle.
In December 2010, the death of Michael Faherty, a 76-year-old man in County Galway, Ireland, was recorded as "spontaneous combustion" by the coroner. The doctor, Ciaran McLoughlin, stated at the inquiry into the death, "This fire was thoroughly investigated, and I am left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation."
The Skeptic magazine discussed the 1899 case of two children from the same family who were burned to death in different places at the same time. Evidence showed that although the situation seemed strange, both children enjoyed playing with fire and had been punished for this behavior in the past. After reviewing all the evidence, the coroner and jury ruled that both deaths were accidental.