Spontaneous Human Combustion

[Althalus]

I remember reading seeing an article in one of my moms old magazines, such as Chat or something similar, that cases of SHC are more likely to happen on the East coast of the UK than anywhere else in the country.  The reason put forward for this is the earths magnetic field is stronger there, then at any other point in the country.

[SpaceyKC]

                But how can a magnetic field cause a body to burn up?   ???

               

                 I have always been curious about SHC.  It seems to only take a few minutes,  but no one ever actually sees it happen before their eyes (they've been as close as the next room, though).  

[crosis]

http://www.csicop.org/si/9611/shc.html

 :sh

[Althalus]

I knew I kept it somewhere, this is what i read:

I HEARD MY BRAINS BUBBLING

Scientists believe they have solved the riddle of why people suddenly burst into flames.  According to research, it's all down to where you live.  So if yu want to avoid SHC just steer clear of Birmingham - or wear asbestos clothes.  David Jack reports......

Up to 100 people burst into flames in Britain each year in bizarre cases that hae baffled experts.

     Now scientists believe they have4 found the missing link and sinister 'fire leynes' have been plotted across Britain.

     The points of intersection become hotspots and if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time yu are more likely to go up in smoke.

     Birmingham has been a hotspot for some time, and other danger areas include:

           - Hull

           -London

           - Lincolnshire

           - Merseyside

Scientist Larry Arnold has studied SHC for 22 years and says Britain is the world hotspot, "there are more cases in the UK peer head of population than anywhere in the world".  he says.

     "in all my years, i have never discovered links between SHC and the people it strikes, but there are defenite geographical links, if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, you, your dog, your car, or your home, seems more likely to go up in flames".

     Arnold charted these strange 'fire leynes' in his new book, ABLAZE! SHC.

He plotted more than 400 British cases and discovered "a veritable cartography of combustion".  

"we hav no way to explain thesecases other than these people burn themselves fromthe inside out."  he says.

     "we have medical evidence to show this and witnesses - even surviviors.  It's as bizarre as nature gets, yet mainstream science won't accep tit can happen."

     The most recent cycle of fires centred on the Birmingham area but a number of 'fire leynes' are set reactivate in the coming years, says Arnold.

[Sheff_Pud]

Sorry to play wet blanket, but surely this phenomenon has been explained using the "candle effect"?

I saw a documentary on tv a while back, showing a pig which was ignited in a certain way (I forget how) and it slowly burned like a candle gradualy melting its own fat as it incinerated its entire body. The "fire" remained localised (as with a candle) and caused only localised burning of its surroundings.

[Althalus]

that has been disproved, in all the tests the fire does not get hot enough destroy the bone, it leaves it only blackened, to help it along they also got a blow torch and used that near the end, again this also did nothing, apart from make the bone completely black.  :sh

[crosis]

Its old i know, but

http://www.urbanlegends.com/death/spontaneous.human.combustion/spontaneous_human_combustion.html

[Guest Guest]

Hello,

From the information i've gathered from the internet, SHC is either a very alien condition to modern science or impossible. First of all, the human body cannot burn so easily, have you ever seen a man's bare hand on fire without the presence of some sort of alchohol or liquid ignition? In order for a body to get enough alchohol inside them to ablaze from inside, they would die of alchohol poisioning first. Cases of SHC have seen burnt bodies in the middle of a rug, for example, with nothing else burnt around it, which makes it harder to explain how the body burned. Perhaps by a fire that did not burn the entire house, just the body and around it? It is a strange thing and interesting I agree, still, I don't believe that human bodies can ignite by themselves.

[Dowdy]

i heard on this TV show once that SHC is caused when the electricity in your body short curcits

he didn't actually use those words but it was similar.

[Ghostboo]

i say either ghosts are doing it or aliens somewhere close by are p***ed.

[Althalus]

isn't it an Indian belief that if the chakras in the body misaline then something very similar happens?

i seem to remember reading this somewhere

[GIZZIE]

Ghost Boo

"p***ed" in English English means drunk so we have one of the "supposed" vital ingredients!

Sheff Pud (how's your head?!) I hope the pig was dead -if it was then the experiment was "nul" as we say in France meaning, amongst other things, useless.  If it wasn't then the ALF should be told and they can conduct the same experiment on a human.

If a hay stack can spontaneously combust, then I suppose it's possible for a human body to be able to combust .  I think a haystack combusts due to a build up of methane gas in the heart of the stack - hence combustion.

If a body can combust, maybe it's a combination of drink, cigarettes/matches, body fat and methane gas..?

Incidentally, talking about methane gas - how many of you men will own up to having experienced "blow back"  when you were young and foolish?? :sh :sh ;D

[dean-g]

last night, i had about 8 pints of beer followed by a very nasty curry, after which i felt very hot and started to sweat a lot! (sounds like a good night!) ;D

question: was i on the verge of a SCH?  :sh

[GIZZIE]

It depends on whether you had a match or an "igniter" doesn't it?!

iI've put you down on my list of "blow out experience" because you know EXACTLY what I was talking about :s2

Vindaloos are great - Phalls are dynamite :sh

(Toilet roll in the fridge etc?)

[Homer]

And doesn't it also depend on a person's body fat as well?

[Althalus]

a number of the cases that have hit the news, and also that people know about, are not fat or have very little body fat on them, there are even cases when the person who burnt did not smoke, nor were they anywhere near a heat source.

An example is the lady who burnt to death on her bed, evidence showed that she started to burn on the bed, when she went for a lie down, the lady in question had burnt so fast she could not even call for help to the person who was just leaving at the time, from visiting her.  

[SpaceyKC]

               Yes,  Homer,  I heard that was why many of (what was left of) the bodies,  were just below the knees,  since they have a low amount of body fat.

[cerberus]

i dont know if it's true...but here is a scientific explanation i heard recently.when you are burned in a cremation your bones do not reduce to ash.the temperature to burn bones is past 1000 degrees.even then the body takes a few hours to totally burn.when 'SHC' happens the whole body burns to ash in a matter of minutes.it is believed now, that when the body fat burns, it creates enough heat to literally combust the rest of the body.when the body gets to a certain temperature an unknown chemical is produced..the heat mixed with this chemical, may cause a spark(like a match) igniting the body fat.this since everyone has a fat content, this may be relevant.the more fat, i assume the quicker you burn.

[Althalus]

If the body fat burns during SHC, then why does the fat not help the bones to be reduced during cremation?  that is one of the reasons why I think that the phenonemon of SHC is a totally paranormal thing and not as yet controllable experiment.

[cerberus]

That is an excellent point Althalus. this is just  a speculative question... is the same type of heat applied in a cremation or induced burning, the same as SHC? From a scientific point of view, i'm thinking the problem must be a chemical produced by that person's body that is flammable and causes the combustion.If a chemical was present...it would have burned up anyway, so it'll never be discovered.From a paranormal perspective, all i can suggest is demonic possession, or a misuse of a power we have not discovered that we dont know how to use. All i can think is that SHC is caused by a heat generated from inside the body.In cremations, the heat that is applied to the body initially, is from the outside... as far as i know.Would the body have a faster rate of burning from the inside or outside?

[cerberus]

i'm using my imagination here a bit, but bear with me folks....  some witches and people who were deemed evil sometimes, used to be burned alive. is it possible, that once someone is burned alive,(which is a most horrific and traumatic death), that it scars the spirit that it leaves behind? are these 'spirits' re-incarnated in a new body at some stage..... but still carry either the original demonic spirit or an innocent person's trauma with them? is the burning a punishment so draconian and evil , that no matter what the person did, the 'traumatised spirit' will haunt anybody they can or are chosen to possess? seeing as witch burning is practically non existant now...it may not occur so much now. Or, alternatively, is SHC similar to the mystical and legendary 'phoenix' that simply self-induced suicide, so it can re-incarnate itself? if a person is so terminally ill or has suffered severe trauma, is it a natural progression to something better? this is just me banding ideas around.... personally, i dont believe SHC is paranormal, but science cannot prove it either, so until it is proven..... who knows what causes it?

[cerberus]

has anyone here on this forum ever heard about a story or stories that involved people or persons that developed 'phantom' injuries similar to that of crucifixion?

[Magikman]

Cerberus,

 You're thinking of stigmatics, although you speak of 'phantom' injuries, where the wounds suffered by these people are quite real. The current issue of the FORTEAN TIMES (Oct.) has an excellent article on the recently cannonized saint Padre Pio (1887-1968.), who was a well known stigmatic. It is a two part feature, the Nov. issue will deal with the stories of other famous stigmatics through history. Additionally, you could use the Google search engine to bring up quite a bit of information and examples of stigmatics.

Magikman  :sg

[cerberus]

thanx magikman  

[cerberus]

the last recorded case of SHC in england was in the 1980's and it was a truck driver who was found 'ashed' in his seat.the temperature in the cabin was exceedingly hot, but no ignition source was found.the cabin was not affected by the fire.