Spontaneous human combustion

For combustion not involving the human body, see spontaneous combustion.

Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is a term encompassing reported cases of the combustion of a living (or very recently deceased) human body without an apparent external source of ignition. In addition to reported cases, examples of SHC appear in literature, and both types have been observed to share common characteristics regarding circumstances and remains of the victim.

Forensic investigations have attempted to analyze reported instances of SHC and have resulted in hypotheses regarding potential causes and mechanisms, including victim behavior and habits, alcohol consumption and proximity to potential sources of ignition, as well as the behavior of fires that consume melted fats. Natural explanations, as well as unverified natural phenomena, have been proposed to explain reports of SHC. Current scientific consensus is that most, if not all, cases of SHC involve overlooked external sources of ignition.

Overview

"Spontaneous human combustion" refers to the death from a fire originating without an apparent external source of ignition; the fire is believed to start within the body of the victim. This idea and the term 'spontaneous human combustion' were first both proposed in 1746 by Paul Rolli in an article published in the Philosophical Transactions. Writing in the British Medical Journal, coroner Gavin Thurston describes the phenomenon as having "attracted the attention not only of the medical profession but of the laity" as early as 1834 (more than one hundred years prior to Thurston's 1938 article). In his 1995 book Ablaze!, Larry E. Arnold wrote that there had been about 200 cited reports of spontaneous human combustion worldwide over a period of around 300 years.

Characteristics

The topic received coverage in the British Medical Journal in 1938. An article by L. A. Parry cited an 1823-published book Medical Jurisprudence, which stated that commonalities among recorded cases of spontaneous human combustion included the following characteristics:

"[...]the recorded cases have these things in common:

1. the victims are chronic alcoholics;
2. they are usually elderly females;
3. the body has not burned spontaneously, but some lighted substance has come into contact with it;
4. the hands and feet usually fall off;
5. the fire has caused very little damage to combustible things in contact with the body;
6. the combustion of the body has left a residue of greasy and fetid ashes, very offensive in odour."

Alcoholism is a common theme in early SHC literary references, in part because some Victorian era physicians and writers believed spontaneous human combustion was the result of alcoholism.

Forensic investigation

An extensive two-year research project, involving thirty historical cases of alleged SHC, was conducted in 1984 by science investigator Joe Nickell and forensic analyst John F. Fischer. Their lengthy, two-part report was published in the journal of the International Association of Arson Investigators, as well as part of a book. Nickell has written frequently on the subject, appeared on television documentaries, conducted additional research, and lectured at the New York State Academy of Fire Science at Montour Falls, New York, as a guest instructor.

Nickell and Fischer's investigation, which looked at cases in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, showed that the burned bodies were near plausible sources for the ignition: candles, lamps, fireplaces, and so on. Sometimes these sources were left out of popular accounts of the alleged phenomenon while they were hyped as mysterious. The investigations also found that there was a correlation between alleged SHC deaths and victim's drunkenness or other incapacitation that could have caused them to be careless with fire and less able to respond properly to an accident. Where the destruction of the body was not extensive, the significant fuel source was the victim's clothing.

However, where the destruction was extensive, additional fuel sources were involved, such as chair stuffing, floor coverings, the flooring itself, and the like. The investigators described how such materials helped retain melted fat to burn and destroy more of the body, yielding still more liquified fat, in a cyclic process known as the "wick effect" or the "candle effect".

According to Nickell and Fischer's investigation, nearby objects often went undamaged because fire tends to burn upward, and it burns laterally with some difficulty. The fires in question are relatively small, achieving considerable destruction by the wick effect, and relatively nearby objects may not be close enough to catch fire themselves (much as one can get rather close to a modest campfire without burning). As with other mysteries, Nickell and Fischer cautioned against "single, simplistic explanation for all unusual burning deaths" but rather urged investigating "on an individual basis".

Suggested explanations

Some hypotheses attempt to explain how SHC might occur without an external flame source, while other hypotheses suggest incidents that might appear as spontaneous combustion actually had an external source of ignition – and that the likelihood of spontaneous human combustion without an external ignition source is quite low. Benjamin Radford, science writer and deputy editor of the science magazine Skeptical Inquirer, casts doubt on the plausibility of spontaneous human combustion, "If SHC is a real phenomenon (and not the result of an elderly or infirm person being too close to a flame source), why doesn't it happen more often? There are 5 billion [The world's population reached 5 billion in 1987] people in the world, and yet we don't see reports of people bursting into flame while walking down the street, attending football games, or sipping a coffee at a local Starbucks." Paranormal researcher Brian Dunning states that SHC stories "are simply the rare cases where a natural death in isolation has been followed by a slow combustion from some nearby source of ignition." He further suggested that reports of people suddenly aflame should be called "Unsolved deaths by fire", stating that an unknown cause did not necessarily imply that the fire lacked an external ignition source.

Natural explanations

• Almost all cases of SHC involve persons with low mobility due to advanced age or obesity, along with poor health. Victims show a high likelihood of having died in their sleep, or of being unable to move once they had caught fire.
• Cigarettes are often seen as the source of fire, as the improper disposal of smoking materials causes one of every four fire deaths in the United States. Natural causes such as heart attacks may lead to the victim dying, subsequently dropping the cigarette, which after a period of smouldering can ignite the victim's clothes.
• The "wick effect" hypothesis suggests that a small external flame source, such as a burning cigarette, chars the clothing of the victim at a location, splitting the skin and releasing subcutaneous fat, which is in turn absorbed into the burned clothing, acting as a wick. This combustion can continue for as long as the fuel is available. This hypothesis has been successfully tested with animal tissue (pig) and is consistent with evidence recovered from cases of human combustion. The human body typically has enough stored energy in fat and other chemical stores to fully combust the body; even lean people have several pounds of fat in their tissues. This fat, once heated by the burning clothing, wicks into the clothing much as candle wax (which typically was originally made of animal fat) wicks into a lit candle wick to provide the fuel needed to keep the wick burning. The protein in the body also burns, but provides less energy than fat, with the water in the body being the main impediment to combustion. However, slow combustion, lasting hours, gives the water time to evaporate slowly. In an enclosed area, such as a house, this moisture will recondense nearby, such as on windows. Note that feet often have the least fat, so don't typically burn. (Hands also have little fat, but may burn if on the abdomen, which provides all the needed fat.)
• John Abrahamson suggested that ball lightning could account for spontaneous human combustion. "This is circumstantial only, but the charring of human limbs seen in a number of ball lightning cases are very suggestive that this mechanism may also have occurred where people have had limbs combusted," says Abrahamson.
• Scalding can cause burn-like injuries, including death, without setting fire to clothing. Although not applicable in cases where the body is charred and burnt, this has been suggested as a cause in at least one claimed SHC-like event.
• Brian J. Ford has suggested that ketosis, possibly caused by alcoholism or low-carb dieting, produces acetone, which is highly flammable and could therefore lead to apparently spontaneous combustion.
• Sometimes there are reasonable explanations for the deaths, but proponents ignore official autopsies and contradictory evidence, in favor of anecdotal accounts and personal testimonies.

Unverified natural phenomena

• Larry E. Arnold in his 1995 book Ablaze! proposed a pseudoscientific new subatomic particle, which he called "pyrotron". Arnold also wrote that the flammability of a human body could be increased by certain circumstances, like increased alcohol in the blood. He also wrote that extreme stress could be the trigger that starts many combustions. This process may use no external oxygen to spread throughout the body, since it may not be an "oxidation-reduction" reaction; however, no reaction mechanism has been proposed. Researcher Joe Nickell has criticized Arnold's hypotheses as based on selective evidence and argument from ignorance.
• In his 1976 book Fire From Heaven, UK writer Michael Harrison suggests that SHC is connected to poltergeist activity because, he argues "the force which activates the 'poltergeist' originates in, and is supplied by, a human being". Within the concluding summary, Harrison writes: "SHC, fatal or non-fatal, belongs to the extensive range of poltergeist phenomena."

Notable examples

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, in 1980. His entire body was incinerated, leaving only his skull and a portion of each leg below the knee. The feet and legs were still clothed in socks and trousers. Half of the chair in which he had been sitting was also destroyed. Police forensic officers decided that the incineration of Thomas was due to the wick effect. His death was ruled 'death by burning', as he had plainly inhaled the contents of his own combustion.

In December 2010, the death of Michael Faherty in County Galway, Ireland, was recorded as "spontaneous combustion" by the coroner. The doctor, Ciaran McLoughlin, made this statement at the inquiry into the death: "This fire was thoroughly investigated and I'm left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation."

Debunked examples

In August 2013, Rahul, a two and one half months-old infant from Tamil Nadu, India, was admitted to the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital in Chennai, having four reported burn injuries since birth. Initial tests ruled out any abnormalities, and further results led the hospital to conclude that it was not spontaneous human combustion. The baby's mother used to live in another village which had come in the news in 2004, when residents had complained that their homes spontaneously burst into flames. Investigations had shown that phosphorus hidden in cow dung had been present in the huts; phosphorus has a low ignition point and can cause fires.

In January 2015, Jayaramachandran, Rahul's younger brother, suffered 10% burns, claimed to be due to spontaneous combustion. However, doctors at Kilpauk Medical College Hospital have reported the claims as suspicious. When interviewed about the cases, the physician who treated the older brother in 2013 stated that "[t]here is no such thing as spontaneous human combustion. When Rahul was admitted to the hospital last year we clearly told the parents that it looked like someone was deliberately setting the infant on fire."

Cultural references

• The first chapter of Frederick Marryat's book Jacob Faithful (1834) describes the spontaneous combustion of Jacob's mother.
• In their 2004 book "Brimstone", Preston and Child used Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC) as the initial possible explanation for a series of unsolved murders.
• In the comic story "The Glenmutchkin Railway" (1845) by J.E. Aytoun, one of the railway directors, Sir Polloxfen Tremens, is said to have died of spontaneous combustion.
• Herman Melville's 1849 novel Redburn describes the spontaneous combustion of a sailor.
• In Charles Dickens' 1853 novel Bleak House, the character Mr. Krook, an alcoholic landlord, combusts spontaneously due to excessive alcohol in his body. In his preface to the novel, Dickens gives examples of other reported cases.
• According to a March 2013 BBC feature, it has been suggested that the Book of Numbers contains a reference to spontaneous human combustion, but that "their accuracy may be disputed as these accounts are much too old and based on second-hand knowledge to be considered reliable evidence."
• In an episode of The X-Files titled "Trevor", Dana Scully examines charred human remains and hypothesizes that the victim might have succumbed to spontaneous human combustion.
• The South Park episode "Spontaneous Combustion" deals with Kenny McCormick dying from spontaneous combustion.
• In an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation entitled "Face Lift", Sara Sidle and Warrick Brown investigate the case of a woman who was incinerated in her easy chair, leading Sidle to suspect spontaneous human combustion. The CSI episode "The Theory of Everything" also explores the case of a man who spontaneously combusts after a police officer douses him with pepper spray and shoots him with a stun gun, until it is discovered he was doused with pepper spray that contained alcohol; the effect was repeated and deemed "plausible" on MythBusters, whose hosts were also guest stars in the CSI episode.
• Several installments of the popular video game series The Sims implement spontaneous combustion as a cause of death. The chances of experiencing this are very low, approaching 0.1%.
• In the 1984 film This Is Spinal Tap, one of the band's former drummers dies from spontaneous combustion. David St. Hubbins comments that "Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It's just not really widely reported."
• The fifth episode of the sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf, titled "Confidence and Paranoia", includes a visual representation of the spontaneous combustion of the Mayor of Warsaw in 1546 as a hallucination by one of the crew members.
• In the manga/anime series Rurouni Kenshin, the character Shishio Makoto, one of the main antagonists, dies from spontaneous combustion as a result of over-exertion from fighting and a lack of sweat glands.
• In Season 7 Episode 3 of ER ("Mars Attacks"), a patient who complains of spontaneous human combustion is found on fire by Drs. Weaver and Finch.
• The video game Parasite Eve deals with the main character investigating a mass-spontaneous combustion during an opera at Carnegie Hall.
• In the TV series Picket Fences, a town mayor dies from spontaneous combustion.
• In an episode of the TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ("Transylvania, January 1918"), a character dies from spontaneous combustion, with only his charred feet remaining intact.
• In Season 2 Episode 10 of the TV series Dead Like Me ("Death Defying"), a reaper target dies by spontaneous combustion.
• On the book "Si Janus Silang at ang Tiyanak ng Tabon", the gamers were initially alleged to have died from spontaneous human combustion but later on was revealed to have been caused by a supernatural phenomenon.
• Within the work of the fiction writing group, the SCP Foundation, most cases of SHC are caused by the effects of SCP-081, a virus that was discovered and contained by the eponymous organization.
• In the TV series Bones Season 5 Episode 8 ("The Foot in the Foreclosure"), when tour of a house - ashes are found on a bed, only remains of one foot was left.
• In Season 2 Episode 8 "Heart Break" of NCIS, spontaneous combustion is suspected by Abby. This theory is debunked as the resulting combustion was rigged by the Doctor to cover up the failing of a valve she had repaired instead of replacing in a heart surgery. The combustion occurred by filling his chest cavity with oxygen after he suffered cardiac arrest and then igniting via letting a cigarette slow burn into a match book to spark the ignition.
• The Series 4 finale of New Tricks features a body being reduced to a smoldering pair of feet. Several members of UCOS claim it to be spontaneous combustion, inspiring Brian to disprove the myth. He successfully demonstrates the "Wick effect" using a dead pig dressed in the same attire as the victim, thereby explaining how the body was disposed of after the murder.

See also

• Death by burning
• Exploding animal
• Fan death
• List of paranormal magazines
• Self-immolation
• Pseudoscience
• Pyrokinesis

External links

• [1]
• Spontaneous Human Combustion: A Brief History
• A BBC article describing the experiment
• "HowStuffWorks: 'How Spontaneous Human Combustion Works'"
• A possible SHC case from Izmir – Turkey, dated 19 May 2013
• SHC: Reports in Chronological Order