Spontaneous human combustion is rare, but real

S.O.T.T: '"Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life," author Terry Pratchett once wrote. Spontaneous human combustion is one of the more vexing medical mysteries in existence. A person is found burned to ashes, with no apparent ignition source nearby. Usually objects nearby are unharmed, and sometimes parts of the body -- usually the legs -- are left relatively intact"...read more>>>..

A Word On "Spontaneous Human Combustion"

Courtesy of Crystallinks (see link)

Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is the alleged burning of a person's body without a readily apparent, identifiable external source of ignition. The combustion may result in simple burns and blisters to the skin, smoking, or a complete incineration of the body. The latter is the form most often 'recognized' as SHC. There is much speculation and controversy over SHC. It is not a proven natural occurrence, but many theories have attempted to explain SHC's existence and how it may occur. The two most common explanations offered to account for apparent SHC are the non-spontaneous "wick effect" fire, and the rare discharge called static flash fires. Although mathematically it can be shown that the human body contains enough energy stored in the form of fat and other tissues to consume it completely, in normal circumstances bodies will not sustain a flame on their own....read more>>>...

Woman Allegedly Consumed By Spontaneous Human Combustion ...?

An incredible case of death caused by spontaneous combustion shocked Slovakia. On March 10 of this year an older woman from Bratislava burned without any evidence of external source of fire or evidence of involvement of another person. According to TV Markíza police investigators and mystery hunters have been agonizing over the case for the past month. In the Bratislava apartment on Krížna Street firefighters and paramedics found the charred body of an older woman without any fire damage around it. It is not clear what was the source of the fire. Around the world there have been known cases of spontaneous human combustion, therefore there has been talk of this being the cause of death....read more>>>...