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Charles Dickens may have found a convenient way of disposing of one of his characters. In his novel Bleak House, the character Krook, spontaneously combusts. But even back in the nineteenth century the world-view of spontaneous human combustion was beginning to change. Scientific discoveries were regarded as the highest forms of human endeavor and spontaneous human combustion was soon to be rejected as legend and superstition.

Yet, in the 21st century many questions still remain and some say, defied explanation. The fact was that there were over 200 cases of people who had burnt to a crisp over the past 300 years, something that seems difficult to discount. Strange cases of people reduced to a pile of ashes with a skull, torso …show more content…
Some say, dozens of people spontaneously combust each year but the events are not widely reported. If spontaneous human combustion is real then why and how does it happen? Can people cook from the inside, almost as if they are inside a microwave? Is there something inside of each of us, something in our internal chemistry that can shift and set anyone of us afire at any time? Or is there a scientific explanation for spontaneous human combustion? How does science explain someone being incinerated while the chair they are sitting on, is left totally intact?

One of the main theories about spontaneous human combustion was born around the fact that many of the victims were alcoholics. Drinking too much alcohol was thought to cause human flesh to become highly inflammable. One of the first cases of spontaneous human combustion was of an Italian knight in the late 1400s who liked his wine, women and song. People said one night after partaking, he began vomiting flames and soon afterwards burst into flames …show more content…
Coroners at the scene described a sweet, smoky smell. There have been witnesses of spontaneous human combustion. As eerie accounts of witnesses who were nearby or in adjacent room’s claim, never hearing any sounds or cries of pain. The victims were in all cases, was alone for a long period of time, with all spontaneous human combustion incidences happening indoors.

Not all reported cases have been fatal either. Often the victim will complain of a small discomfort, then the discomfort grows larger, leaving behind painful marks over the body. In 1944 Peter Jones survived his experience and reported he felt no sensation of heat or pain and saw no flames, only smoke.

Survivors of spontaneous human combustion have not brought us any closer to understanding the phenomena. Reports seem sketchy with victims usually as perplexed as investigators as to how they suddenly became ablaze. So the mystery remains, with science left to unravel it all.

Many witnesses have testified about horrific scenes of a grotesque nature. Aghast witnesses relay detail of victims often exploded into flame. Flames appear to erupt from the skin of the victim, with no visible source of ignition. Other times, smoke is seen emanating from the victim’s body without explanation or external