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Spontaneous human combustion remains as perhaps the grisliest of mysteries in the world. SHC involves the complete consumption and conversion of an individual to a pile of fine ash. The post mortem evidence suggests that the victim died in a house fire. Phenomenal aspects of this cause of death include the facts that surrounding flammable materials and furniture are left unaffected, the victim's clothing are often intact, and temperatures are extremely high. Items surrounding the body are often selectively burned, regardless of flammability or proximity. SHC victim profile: Victims are mostly solitary, reclusive, elderly and female. Nearly all victims are overweight to severely obese. Post-mortem external characteristics: Almost total combustion of the flesh and skeleton, leaving only extremities undamaged. Victims are almost always consumed in a state of shock-induced, paralytic condition. The final result of SHC is the reduction of an otherwise normal, healthy human body to a pile of fine black ash, the consistency of which is finer than that of a cremated corpse. The "candle effect": Physicists point to the "candle effect" as a possible explanation. It has been argued that the victims suffer a 2nd to 3rd degree burn on a small area of their body, shock sets in, the victim falls unconscious. While unconscious, the victim's body fat slowly burns, not unlike a grease or oil lamp. Possible paranormal causes: Fire Spooks: Arsonist poltergeists came to public attention after the Indian town of Lucknow requested official government disaster relief based on paranormal-induced 'spirit fires'. Electric People: Cases of individuals capable of generating explosive bursts of electrical energy by manipulating internal organs appear throughout the world and suggest a still unknown human physical property. This skill is found especially amongst the Chinese and Pacific Asian cultures. This skill was documented during the infamous Blair "Ring of Fire" expedition to Indonesia. The most famous case of SHC remains the discovery of the body of Beatric Oczki of Bolingbrook, Ilinois (US). Mrs. Oczki had been watching television on the night of November, 24, 1979. When she was found the next morning, the TV was still on, and a newspaper 3 feet from the body was undamaged. The ceiling paint above her body however had peeled in the heat above her, also, a beer can had exploded and a videotape atop her VCR had melted. The fire consumed all available oxygen in the apartment resulting in the death of Mrs. Oczki's two dogs. The pilot lights in her kitchen had been extinguished. |
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