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Spontaneous Human Combustion SHC This has to be one of the most unusual phenomena I would say of all time. Since we do not know what causes it all we can do is theorize why it happens. In a way this topic scares me more then anything in the paranormal field almost. Why? Because it can happy to anyone at any given time. My theory about this varies but I am sure I am within the scientific reasoning of why it happens. First off I think its rare and occurs probably one out of 50 million since there are occasional cases. Next off I think the burning starts from inside not outside rather then a burning its more like a meltdown where its so hot that your skin just melts along with the bone. I believe before you combust symptoms are a high fever, sweaty outbreaks, maybe a burning sensation or tingling throughout the body as well as your eyes and mouth very dry. What triggers it could be an allergic reaction to certain medications where the brain or body rejects it causing the blood to boil or its possible that some of us in our genes cannot control out body temperature. I also believe that nothing else will catch on fire probably because this is a organic fire sort of like bug repellent only works against bugs. When we get hypothermia the body slows down sometimes the body dies and the brain stays alive but what would happen if the temperature of your body overheats? We have certain cells to control our body temperature I believe the sells cause a chain reaction. A nuclear warhead is the same way you split the atom and it reacts like a chain of events. What if this occurs in the body causing a reaction a swift one as to where you combust obviously the fire stops when the reaction either runs out or the cells burn up. This may be the reason why body parts are left in a SHC occurrence. It could happy to YOU be alert. Copyright By AngelOfThyNight-Rick
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A Brief History
After this brief flap blew over, general interest in the subject ran cold until 1951, when the Mary Reeser case captured the public imagination. Mrs. Reeser was found in her apartment on the morning of July 2, 1951, reduced to a pile of ashes, a skull, and a completely undamaged left foot. This event has become the foundation for many a book on the subject of SHC since, the most notable being Michael Harrison's Fire From Heaven, printed in 1976. Fire From Heaven has become the standard reference work on Spontaneous Human Combustion, and I will be adding its findings and theories to this article over the next few months.
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THE CANDLE EFFECT Theory This theory was first put forward about 100 years ago and has continued to gain support. The theory assumes that the combustion is not spontaneous and that there is always an ignition source. Any cases where no source of ignition are present are assumed to be misreported or hoax. Instead the theory tires to explain the increased combustibility of the body. Dupuytren states that alcohol is not directly involved in the increased combustibility of the victims. Instead alcohol serves to stupefy and incapacitate the victims prior to them being set alight. Dupuytren's scenario goes something like this: The victim usually drinks a lot of alcohol before
going to sleep in front of a fire or other naked ignition source. During
the course of the night the victim comes into contact with an ignition
source which sets a portion of the victims clothing alight. We must now
consider what happens to bodies that have been set alight (in the presence
of a separate fuel source to allow the fire to continue burning).
Superintendent Tozer8 of the Manchester Fire Brigade commented on what
happens to a burning body; Given this information it is possible to see how a body will burn when it is set alight. At first the fire is fuelled by the original ignition source. This burns the skin and melts the subcutaneous fat. This then soaks into the victims clothing which then acts as a wick. The fat will burn and so the body will fuel its own combustion. The body will continue to burn until there are no more fatty tissues left. This theory offers some explanations for some of the more puzzling aspects of SHC. The large number of alcoholics among SHC victims is explained by the fact that people who were not drunk at the time are a lot less likely to set fire to themselves in the first place. People who were not drunk are a lot more able to rescue themselves or call for help if they have set themselves alight. People who are in an alcohol induced sleep are of course unable to do this. Women and overweight people have a greater amount of subcutaneous fat. (Alcoholics also tend to be overweight) The excess fat is usually found on the torso and thighs. The more fat that is present then the more fuel is available for the body to burn independently. The areas that are usually the most badly damaged in cases of SHC are exactly those areas that have the largest concentration of fatty tissues (ie the torso and thighs) Parts of the body which are not covered by clothing will not burn. The melted fats need a wick for them to burn effectively. However, areas not covered with clothing will suffer scalds from the hot oils and fats. There is evidence for this taking place, as exposed parts of the skin in SHC victims often has a reddish and blistered appearance, as would be expected in a scald. A fat fuelled fire is supported by other bits of evidence. Burning fat would produce large amounts of smoke, which would account for the large amounts of soot found in the rooms of SHC victims. The melted fat would also account for the yellow liquid found around some SHC victims. Some of the melted fat would run off the victims and pool on the floor where it would remain unburnt (due to lack of a wick) Spontaneous Human Combustion; its role in literature and science Bergman, N Weelky World News (Nov 18 1986)
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Most Famous SHC Case On July 2nd 1951 remains were found of a 67 year old widower named Mary Reeser. Her burnt smouldering remains were found by her Neighbor and some house painters. She had been sitting in an easy chair when the incident happened. Her left foot still wearing a slipper remained intact and only the corner of the room and the chair she was sitting in had been burnt. Firemen, police and pathologists examined Mrs. Reeser's remains and also found her liver which was fused to a lump of vertebrae and her skull which had been shrunk to the size of a baseball by the unusually intense heat. The the walls of the apartment were covered with a greasy substance, plastic switches had melted along with two candles which the wicks had been left unburnt. There was only a small circular burn area which encompassed the remains of Mrs. Reeser and her chair. For such a cremation experts say that a temperature of 2500 degrees is necessary. A cigarette accidently dropped whilst asleep would never of caused such heat. The true cause of the burning death of Mrs. Reeser is still unknown. She is the most famous case of Spontaneous Human Combustion.
SIMILARITIES The following facts are common to all SHC cases
A Few Common Theories Where does the flame that lights these people on fire come from? Skeptics theorize that people ignite with a cigarette or electrical shock, and their fat then burns slowly like a candle. Others insist that the ignition comes from within the victim, not an external source. Some say spirits, poltergeists, or demons are to blame. One intriguing theory comes from Livingston Gearhart who suggests that geomagnetic activity is responsible for SHC. Mr. Gearhart plotted geomagnetic energy against verified SHC deaths. Very high levels of geomagnetic energy were present in the days before every case of spontaneous human combustion investigated. Perhaps more than one of these diverse theories is correct. Different causes may be responsible for SHC at different times. Different causes may also be combining in various ways to cause SHC. The variety of occurrences of spontaneous human combustion supports the possibility that multiple hypothesis may be valid. Few More Theories about Spontaneous Human CombustionAlchoholism - many Spontaneous Human Combustion victims have been alcoholics. But experiments in the 19th century demonstrated that flesh impregnated with alcohol will not burn with the intense heat associated with Spontaneous Human Combustion.
Some events of Spontaneous Human Combustion are witnessed but some are not. All reported cases have occurred indoors. The victims were always alone for a long period of time. Witnesses who were nearby (in adjacent rooms) report never hearing any sounds, such as cries of pain or calls for assistance. In the witnessed combustions - people are actually seen by witnesses to explode into flame; most commonly. Here the witnesses agree that there was no possible source of ignition and/or that the flames were seen to erupt directly from the victim's skin. Unfortunately, most of the known cases of this type are poorly documented and basically unconfirmed. Sometimes there are no flames seen by the witness. Uusually these type are fatal and only a few body parts remain. Non-fatal cases - Unfortunately, the victims of these events generally have no better idea of what happened to them than do the investigators; but the advantage to this grouping is that a survivor can confirm if an event had a simple explanation or not. Thus, there are far fewer cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion with survivors that can be explained away by skeptics without a second look. Sometimes victims develop burns on their bodies that have no known external cause. These strange wounds commonly start as small discomforts that slowly grow into large, painful marks. Sometimes the victim will exhibit a mysterious smoke from the body. In these odd and rare occurrences smoke is seen to emanate from a person, with no associated fire or source of smoke other than the person's body. What Remains After a Spontaneous Human Combustion Event
A spark of static electricity off a person's own hand can start a fire Submitted By NightUfo@webtv.net
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