Spontaneous Human Combustion: SHC
Living People Mysteriously and Suddenly Burst into Flames
Aug 27, 2008
SHC is the human body abruptly catching on fire and is caused by unknown factors. Deaths involving these conflagrations have been documented by investigators since the 18th century. Charles Dickens used SHC in his novel, Bleak House, to kill a heavy drinking character adding plausibility to the theory that excessive alcohol consumption could spark a fire by flammable gases the substance metabolizes.
Selected Cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion
While circumstances and evidence differ, scientific cause of how all fires were ignited wasn’t established beyond reasonable doubt. Only one victim survived.
- Mary Reeser is the most famous case and hers revived the public’s interest in SHC in the early 1950s. When her smoldering remains were found, they were in an easy chair. Only the corner of the room and the chair were burned. The apartment’s walls were covered with a greasy substance. Plastic switches and two candles, wicks untouched, were melted.
- Dr. J. Irving Bentley’s remains were found by a meter reader in the bathroom. All that was left were ashes and the left leg and foot. A hole in the floor was the fire’s only evidence. The remainder of the house was intact.
- Maybelle Andrews was dancing at a nightclub. Suddenly mysterious flames erupted from her shoulders, back and chest. Her boyfriend said that they came from her body and there were no other fires in the room.
- Jack Larber was a patient at the Laguna Honda Home in San Francisco. His clothing caught fire when his attendant was momentarily out of the room.
- Billy Peterson was found in the front seat of his car. His body had third-degree burns on its back, legs and arms and his flesh was severely burned. Neither his clothing nor the front seat were damaged. Hairs on the charred portions of the body weren’t singed.
- Police and forensic officers discovered a man’s body burnt beyond recognition in his living room. The chair that he was sitting in was barely damaged. The fire was so intense that it left a residue of vaporized flesh on the ceiling.
- John O'Connor was found dead in his living room by the community nurse who regularly visited him. His remains were in a chair. Only his head, upper torso and feet remained untouched. There was little smoke damage to the room and furniture.
- Jean Lucille Saffin’s father saw a flash of light, turned and saw her burst into flames in the kitchen. The conflagration lasted about a minute before it was extinguished.
- Jenna Winchester burst into flames while sitting in a car next to a friend who saw yellow flames coming from her and heard her scream for help. Jenna survived the experience with 20% of her body being burned.
SHC Phenomena: Similarities
Although there has been no theory that has been put forth as a valid one without flawed rationality, including the one solely based on excessive drinking, some common threads have been identified.
- The majority of the victims are female
- The torso tends to be fully consumed
- A yellow, foul smelling oil usually surrounds the body
- The room the body was found in is, for the most part, intact except for a fine layer of residue
Related articles:
Brown Mountain Lights: NC Mystery
Sources:
The Exorcism Series Book I, Raymond Bayless, (Ace Books, 1967)
Mysterious Fires and Lights, Vincent H. Gaddis, ((A Dell Book, 1967)
