IT’S like something from a nightmare: You’re relaxing in your armchair when all of a sudden you burst into flames, burning to death in a flash and leaving just a charred foot in your wake.
But the centuries-old myth that people can spontaneously combust may be real – and the evidence is there to prove it, according to one prominent scientist.
Author and biology boffin Dr Brian Ford says spontaneous human combustion (SHC) burns you like an incendiary bomb, singeing your nerves in mere seconds.
“Humans suddenly burst into searing hot flame. Left alone, their bodies burn fiercely until little but hot ash remains, though the hands and legs may remain unscathed,” he told Sun Online.
“There are many pain receptors in the skin, so the sensation would be agonising in the extreme – though I’d guess that unconsciousness would follow quickly.”
Scientists have spent decades arguing over whether spontaneous human combustion is real.
UK SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION DEATHS
Here are some alleged cases...
Ipswich – 1744
Grace Pett’s torso was “reduced to ash” and discovered in her home. Those living with her claimed they had not heard the fire during the night.
Norfolk Broads – 1938
While enjoying a boating holiday, a Mrs Carpenter was reduced to a charred corpse after she spontaneously burst into flames.
Newport (Gwent) – 1980
Annie Webb reportedly burned to death in her home. When she was found, only a pair of legs, piece of arm and skull remained. A nearby tablecloth was left unscathed
Stanmore (Greater London) – 1987
Peppi the cat spontaneously combusted in front of residents at the nursing home where the poor puss lived.
More than 200 cases have been reported around the globe, with many victims reduced to ashes in the comfort of their own homes – seemingly from nothing.
But the strangest thing about each death is that the fire is so well contained, it causes little to no damage to the surrounding room.
Many victims have been alcoholics, and experts suggest they were doomed to a fiery end when they fell asleep in a booze-soaked daze while holding a cigarette or match.
Dr Ford disagrees: His experiments show your chances of combusting skyrocket with the buildup of a chemical known as acetone.
“Alcoholism was traditionally thought of as a risk factor, but this isn’t plausible: Fatty flesh, even when soaked in alcohol, does not burn,” the scientist, a visiting professor at the University of Leicester, told Sun Online.
“However, when a person is ill they sometimes naturally produce traces of acetone in the body, and acetone is highly inflammable.
“I experimented with scale model humans using pig flesh that had been marinated in acetone; they burn like incendiary bombs.
“Alcoholism can cause people to produce acetone, as can many diseases. My conclusion is that an unwell individual produces high levels of acetone which accumulates in the fatty tissues and can be ignited, perhaps by a static spark or a cigarette.”
Many experts pooh-pooh the idea of spontaneous human combustion.
Dr Steven Novella, a brain scientist at Yale University, says most cases of the fiery phenomenon can be logically explained.
“The alleged cases of SHC range form the peculiar to the laughable. Bodies don’t just burst into flames,” he wrote in a scathing post to his blog Neurologica.
“Many cases involve obvious external sources of fire, matches and cigarettes being the most common culprits. At other times candles, fireplaces, pipes or lanterns are involved.”
Human combustion - the evidence?
A number of documented case studies on Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC) suggest the “wick effect” could be behind it all.
- Leeds case (1963): An experiment in Leeds after a suspected spontaneous combustion looked into the wick effect. By wrapping human fat in cloth and igniting it, researchers created a contained fire which burned for an hour.
- BBC experiment (1998): The BBC wrapped a dead pig in a blanket and burned it in a furnished room. The body burned for hours at a high temperature but didn’t damage the rest of the room.
- Gevenva case (2006): A man’s body, burned between the chest and knees, was found in a room which was otherwise undamaged. It is suspected that he had a heart attack while smoking and then burned thanks to the wick effect.
- Galway case (2010): A man’s cremated body was found in his home, with all external flames ruled out in causing the fire. The coroner put it down to a case of spontaneous human combustion.
He added that the strange way the body burns can explain many of the strange scenes left behind by supposedly combusted bodies.
“SHC believers often cite as evidence the fact that a body has been completely reduced to ash, except for the ends of the arms and legs and sometimes the head.
“But there is a good explanation for this phenomenon. It is called the wick effect. The clothing of victims can act as a wick, while their body fat serves as a source of fuel (like an inside-out candle).
“The burning of the clothes is maintained by liquefied fat wicked from the body of the victim, causing a slow burn that can nearly consume the victim and resulting in the greasy brown substance often coating nearby walls.
“This has actually been experimentally confirmed using the bodies of pigs.”
Dr Ford asserts he isn’t phased by those who doubt his theories.
The scientist says there is enough evidence behind SHC to show it is real, and that sceptics will come around eventually.
“In science, we tend to dismiss any new idea of which we have no personal understanding. A great many new theories have been ridiculed, when they later turned out to be correct.
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“However, SHC has been reported by so many reputable scientists that we cannot dismiss it as fantasy – it has even been officially recorded as a coroner’s verdict.
“It may seem bizarre, but it is certainly real.”
Do you think spontaneous combustion is real? Let us know in the comments!
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News Pictures Spontaneous human combustion is REAL and burns you ‘like an incendiary bomb’, top scientist claims
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
TEENS
Hayden Panettiere
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Age: 18
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 8st
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kim cattrall
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Age: 52
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SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
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