Hello.

I am new to this site, but wanted to comment (and ask for opinions) on a recent TV documentary on Channel 5 in the UK last week concerning the phenomenon of Spontaneous Human Combustion. I have come across this phenomenon on several occasions and am aware of the so-called 'wick effect' and its inadequacies and was hoping that the documentary's self-billing of its research as "unexplained...until now" might present a new light on the matter.

How wrong I was.

After recapping on the Mary Reeser case from 1951, a few FBI photographs were shown and it was remarked that they had been under wraps for more than half a century. I expected that the newly-released FBI files might reveal what actually happened to Mrs Reeser and countless other victims. To my disappointment, the hour-long documentary spent 25 minutes figuring out (through elaborate laboratory analysis) whether or not the death-scene photographs were genuine! I wondered what the aim of this was in determining the truth of the phenomenon, because - whether the photographs were genuine or not - there were still eyewitness accounts going back over half a century in dozens of different cases.

After finally determining that the photos were indeed genuine, the documentary then spent another quarter-of-an-hour talking to fire officers and combustion experts who rather unimaginatively conducted the pig-in-a-blanket experiment to demonstrate the boring old wick effect. This seemed, even to a layman like myself, to backfire when, in an attempt to recreate the death-scene of Mrs Helen Conway from 1964, the telephone, newspaper and lamp began to melt. In the 'real' case, these had been unaffected by fire.

All in all, the documentary was a farce and left me no closer to understanding the phenomena, although some crackpot did suggest nuclear explosions inside the body! I am inclined to believe that this is a natural phenomenon and may be linked in some way to heavy drinking or smoking, coupled with a chemical imbalance within the body, but am unsure precisely how this could happen...and, indeed, why it has not happened more often.

The documentary mentioned only cases which could easily be explained by people dropping cigarettes - i.e. the Bentley, Conway and Reeser cases. It did not cite the cases where eyewitnesses have actually seen flames erupting from victims' torsoes - Jeanna Winchester, Jeannie Saffin and Robert Bailey being obvious examples. It did not comment on the fact that, in those cases, flames were seen coming from their midriffs and chests, apparently at force.

The documentary, nonetheless, sparked my interest, but upon searching the Internet for evidence of recent research, was disappointed that the only options for what causes it are the wick effect (which DOES NOT mention tongues of flame issuing from bodies) and out-of-this-world theories. I am writing to ask if any members on this board have any knowledge of recent, plausible explanations for this phenomenon. I am convinced that it is a 'natural' phenomenon and am surprised that no detailed research has been done or a definitive cause been identified. I would be happy to correspond via email: my address is ben_evans20@hotmail.com.

Many thanks

Ben Evans

Even if SHC is just a myth, it sure scared me

Welcome to this site!

Was this supposed to be a pun or am I just being silly?!

I liked it though!

Spontaneous Human Combustion is indeed mysterious, maybe something I'll cover on my mysteries website in the near future if I get time, it has always fascinated me actually so it might be sooner rather than later!

Nice post. I think SHC is a natural thing. Dunno what causes it, body makes alot of different chemical's/gasses n stuff. Why do they call it the spark of life? But haven't heard anything new on the SHC front.

Oh yes, I'm convinced it is very natural. I am not a believer in 'supernatural' things: after all, a thousand years ago, comets were 'supernatural' events. Supernature only means things we cannot yet understand. I am inclined to agree that, as I said in my original post, it is a combination of factors including smoking, heavy drinking and some sort of chemical reactions in the body, but how this could result in the kind of carnage we have seen in SHC cases I just don't know.

Even if you consider methane in the body, there is simply not enough to cause the body to burn with the ferocity and efficiency to rival a crematorium, nor is there any means for it to breach the wall of the stomach. Further, if we are to assume that it comes from within the body, and not without, what sources of ignition are there in human bodies?

Many thanks for your interest.

Ben

Hi Ben, first of all, welcome aboard!

There was a thread earlier in which we debated over spontaneous human combustion and the wick effect. Here's the link to it, if you are interested.

Link

I believe that SHC is an unexplained natural phenomenon of the human body.

I do believe that this may be a mysery that humanity may never solve!

i beleive that its a faulty cell. The mitochondria in the cell (the part that converts chemical energy into ATP, for those that have done biology will know this stuff)has some sort of disruption causing the cell to destroy itself and the the cell next to it destroys itself and forms a reaction that produces a whole lotta heat resulting in SHC.