Spontaneous Human Combustion, Is It A Paranormal Event Or A Real Medical Issue?

Meet The Only Survivor:

A truly bizarre occurrence, but can it be explained. I have always been of the mind set that this is a ridiculous myth. An urban legend that has taken root through the years.Until, I began looking at the history.

Perhaps one of the most bizarre things that can occur to a human is spontaneous human combustion. Victims can be doing anything, when they suddenly burst into flame. What adds to the mystery is that more often than not, the objects surrounding the victim remain unscathed, but the remains of the victims indicate that a very high temperature was involved in burning the victim.

Experts have tried to explain this phenomenon but failed, and they have also not been able to find any connection among the victims.

Incidents of spontaneous human combustion usually seem to occur behind closed doors and without any observers.

Unexplained, until this phenomenon had a survivor:

Jack Angel of Atlanta, Georgia is believed to be the only victim of the phenomenon who lived to tell the tale. Once a perfectly healthy salesman who earned $70,000 a year, Angel is today disabled and confined to his home – all because of a bizarre incident that happened when he was in Savannah on a business trip.

While taking a nap in his mobile trailer, Angel was jolted awake by a searing pain as his body erupted in flames.

When physician David Fern arrived at the scene to help the badly burned man, he found that Angel had a hole in his chest, fused vertebrae, and an arm so badly charred it could not be saved.

According to Fern, since no objects in the trailer were even singed, the only explanation for Angel’s injuries is spontaneous combustion – an unexplained molecular reaction that literally causes people to burn up.

link: library.thinkquest.org...

Hmmmm...... Now there is a survivor with a witness. A doctor who treated this badly burned man. Which, for me, makes this a credible event.

But the cause still remains unknown.

A few theories have been set forth, such as a chemical reaction that takes place in the gut or a build up of static electricity; but what is the determinant missing that links these cases?

As of today, a connection has not been found. If that is the case then what keeps you or I from being the next victim of Human Spontaneous Combustion?

Please share your thoughts?

Thanks for your time,
Pax


[edit on 14-4-2010 by paxnatus]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/48803d14d5bd.gif[/atsimg]

Wow, you and I think alike. I was thinking just the other day about this SHC case near where I grew up:

On December 5, 1966, the ashes of Dr. J. Irving Bentley, 92, of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, were discovered by a meter reader. Dr. Bentley's body apparently ignited while he was in the bathroom and burned a 2-1/2-by-3-foot hole through the flooring, with only a portion of one leg remaining intact. Nearby paint was unscorched.

Source (has a lot of info and other cases time line): www.crystalinks.com...

I hope this thread generates a lot or responses. People just don't beleive this stuff happens. I do. (not to mention everytime as a kid when we would drive by the house, everyone would start talking about it)

Before I forget, I did see some police training video on this topic. There were 2-3 murders in which the victims appeared to have suffered the SHC fate but it was determine later the perps set the vicitms on fire after wrapping them up in carpets and buring them-the heat stay around the body longer due to the carpets etc. I will try to find that-just as info for the counter-points etc.

S&F

Well, I have seen the official fire department explainations (yeah, the phenomenon is known and accepted by fire departments as real) which say that it is a wick effect. Something causes a fire on the person such as a lit cigarette dropping when the person falls asleep and the fats in the body keep the fire restrained to the body itself.

That being said, I was never comfortable with that explaination. There is indeed something unknown at work here. I have always been of the mindset that this was a metabolic issue. Something with the endocrine system goes haywire and the body temperature regulators shut off. The cells increase fuel consumption, generating more and more heat, until the combustible parts of the human body start to ignite. Perhaps then, the wick effect takes over, but the human is already long dead.

Each human produces 116 watts of energy on average per hour just to function in standby mode (autonomic functions and temperature regulation). A regulatory failure could potentially boost that quite a bit.

reply to post by anon72


Thanks Anon. I am truly perplexed by this phenomenon. Fascinating, to grow up near a home where this could of actually happened.

I do believe this is a metabolic issue, just not sure how or what exactly. IMO, this has not been studied enough. I mean granted the human body is a complex machine, but are we such an enigma, that this cannot be figured out?

I look forward to any info you find.

Thanks,
Pax

I would also like this thread to grow. Such a strange thing to happen, it's almost like they're being sucked in to hell or something.

How often does this happen?

reply to post by rogerstigers


I can say with absolute certainty that it is not a "metabolic" issue. Even if the internal temperature controls were turned off, for some reason (which is also unlikely, as there are so many layers to that control as well as compensatory mechanisms), the proteins responsible for heat generating processes in the cells would denature (and stop producing heat) at a temperature far below what would be required to ignite the human body.

reply to post by paxnatus

I found a colorized pic! and this info-which lead to other cases. Very good find. Amzaing story below pic. Enjoy...I guess

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d08d7a9df92d.jpg[/atsimg]

There are many famous cases of people who seem to have spontaneously caught fire (Spontaneous Human Combustion) but there is a lesser known case of a woman who suffered this fate in front of witnesses. At approximately 4 p.m. on Wednesday, September 15, 1982, Jeannie Saffin aged 61, burst into flames while sitting on a wooden Windsor chair in the kitchen of her home in Edmonton, London, England. Her father, eighty-two-year-old Jack Saffin, was seated at a nearby table and said he saw a flash of light out of the corner of his eye and turned to Jeannie to ask if she had seen it. He was astonished to find that she was enveloped in flames, mainly around her face and hands. Mr. Saffin said Jeannie did not cry out or move, but merely sat there with her hands in her lap. Her father pulled her over to the sink, badly burning his own hands, and started trying to douse the flames with water. Jeannie went in to a coma and died 8 days later. The policeman who conducted the investigation into possible murder reported to the coroner’s court that no cause for Jeannie’s combustion could be found. There was no charring or signs of burning anywhere in the room except on Jeannie’s body.

Source: cogitz.com...

reply to post by rogerstigers


Hello roger,

My feeling is the same , metabolism must play a role To be a little more specific, since the hypothalamus regulates our body temperature, could a malfunction in this area be the cause? In other words, could our internal body temperature be raised so quickly by something that triggers our thermostat, i.e.. the hypothalamus; and as a result cause Human Combustion?

Due to the aftermath of the victims, performing an autopsy rarely happens. What other ways would a scientists go about researching a cause?

Thank you for the knowledge you've already brought to this thread.

Pax

I ran some quick checks on the Jack Angel story and it seems that there is only 1 place with that story. I did searches look for any newspaper account of that story. Nothing could be found. Anyone know of any other information about the case. I did find a surgeon in the Atlanta area with the same name.

Theres everything you need to know on the subject here.
www.abovetopsecret.com... #1026

Originally posted by DCDAVECLARKE
Theres everything you need to know on the subject here.
www.abovetopsecret.com... #1026

Hello "Walrus",

What exactly is your point? How old are those threads? We are actually trying to determine the cause of SHC not whether or not we believe in the phenomenon.

So far everyone seems to be of the same mindset. We believe it to be real. Why don't you join us in finding a cause instead of telling us how bored you are.

Thanks Kindly,

Pax

P.S. At least we agree on something, "The Beatles."

[edit on 14-4-2010 by paxnatus]

Originally posted by paxnatus
reply to post by rogerstigers

 

Hello roger,

My feeling is the same , metabolism must play a role To be a little more specific, since the hypothalamus regulates our body temperature, could a malfunction in this area be the cause? In other words, could our internal body temperature be raised so quickly by something that triggers our thermostat, i.e.. the hypothalamus; and as a result cause Human Combustion?

See my previous post (a few up) on why loss of metabolic temperature regulation would not provide the heat necessary for such a reaction.

Due to the aftermath of the victims, performing an autopsy rarely happens. What other ways would a scientists go about researching a cause?

Autopsies are routinely performed on charred remains, even when they are entirely reduced to ashes. Such remains will still allow for analysis of bone fragments, teeth, trace chemicals, and often hair.

This was put up by me on a few weeks ago ,
I was only trying to help any lurker who's interested in all the comments of the broader subject off said treads! a Beatle fan!
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by DCDAVECLARKE
This was put up by me on a few weeks ago ,
I was only trying to help any lurker who's interested in all the comments of the broader subject off said treads! a Beatle fan!
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Please Dave accept my most humble apologies. When I clicked on the link it took me to a search of Human Spontaneous Combustion of all the threads that had been archived several years ago not your thread. It was an error with my computer and a knee jerk response. Again, my mistake.

I appreciate you linking the 2 together and giving us more valuable information on this under researched topic.

Yes, A HUGE BEATLES FAN!! Glad to meet another.

Sincerely,

Pax

Originally posted by stereologist
I ran some quick checks on the Jack Angel story and it seems that there is only 1 place with that story. I did searches look for any newspaper account of that story. Nothing could be found. Anyone know of any other information about the case. I did find a surgeon in the Atlanta area with the same name.

I was able to find a little more on Jack Angel. Check out these links when you have time.

books.google.com...


en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by paxnatus


Yeah I blogged on this -- SponCom is real!

naturalresonancerevolution.blogspot.com...

The common determinant is strong repressed emotions.

Emotions are electrochemical energy -- this is well known in nonwestern traditional medicine.

So kundalini comes from stored up emotional energy -- and if it's repressed and unbalanced then it can cause internal damage -- literally fire.

Yes it's true! It's real!

If you look at each of the cases of sponcom -- it's often that the person had a close relative recently die or that they are afraid they're going to die and they are really lonely, etc.

S & F. Didn't respond earlier because I'd posted in a similar thread a few weeks ago and mistakenly believed this to be that (the same) thread

Remember first reading about SHC in a late 60s book by '.... someone Harrison', named 'Fires from Heaven' from memory
(loaned that book out many times, to the extent I picked-up an extra copy)

Obviously many cases have come to light since the late 60s --- but still no definitive explanation, apparently

Two cases from the booke previously mentioned stand in memory: one being the college-professor who was walking across campus (or at least across an open space) when flames began to spurt from his legs. According to the author, the professor acted quickly to cut off the supply of oxygen by clamping his hands or whatever over the flames, thus evading a blistering death. Can't remember his personal details however, i.e., whether or not he was grieving the death of someone close

The other case involved a man who was sitting in his vehicle when he reportedly spontaneously combusted. From memory there were the usual hallmarks of inexplicably melted/charred surroundings within very close proximty to the incinerated remains -- a plastic, religious statuette on the dashboard, for example: melted but not consumed yet within inches of the blackened remains


The bodies are consumed, reportedly, by temperatures equal to if not surpassing those achieved by crematoriums. Yet combustible items and furniture in close proximity are very often not consumed by the same temperatures. Has this been explained yet ?

(good to see a member of the fire-fighting services present in this thread. I'd read that police and fire-fighters are aware of the phenomenon )

Originally posted by drew hempel
reply to post by paxnatus

 

So kundalini comes from stored up emotional energy -- and if it's repressed and unbalanced then it can cause internal damage -- literally fire.

I agree.
this is the holy fire.
the "soul burn".

(it will someday be described in scientific terms) ... someday.
but simultaneously elucidating why it has been termed "holy" for so long.
-

reply to post by prevenge


Yeah actually I posted a thread on this with the links to the docs, etc. on sponcom

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Thanks for the links to more Jack Angel info. Seems that he was not a victim of SHC at all. He sued in court stating that he was burned by hot water from his mobile home. The SHC claim was made up after the law suit in which he negotiated for expenses.