I Saw Fire Burning At My Feet

Would you believe your eyes if you were to witness a man catch fire with no flame or spark source and then burning completely without causing damage to anything he comes into contact with? This scenario sounds utterly absurd but it has occurred in various contexts - homes, schools, offices and playgrounds and witnesses are more puzzled than horrified.

The question screaming to be answered is this: can man spontaneously burst into flames without being set alight by an external source? Scientists who studies this strange phenomenon have termed in the 'Spontaneous Human Combustion'. Spontaneous human combustion takes place when a person bursts into flames without an external heat source. This happens due to a chemical reaction within the human body. Although there is no concrete evidence to prove this phenomenon, many people believe that this occurrence is as real as the air that we breathe. However, most scientist are not convinced.

The first reported account of spontaneous human combustion came from France. In 1663, Thomas Bartholin, an anatomist, witnessed a woman in Paris who has for no apparent reason burst into flames and became charred in less than half an hour. Apparently, the woman was asleep when the burning took place. Many were dumbfounded by the fact that the straw mattress on which the woman lay was not damaged by the great fire which took place.

Besides spontaneous human combustion, there are no other convincing explanations behind these occurrences. Furthermore, many of the burnings took place in the presence of witnesses which rules out the possibility of murder. Scientists, in a bid to put down this theory, explain these occurrences using the 'wick effect'. This theory suggests that the body, when lit by a cigarette or putting out a heat source, acts like a candle. The only difference is that the body becomes the 'wick' of a candle.

Till today, the fact remains that no one has been able to ever conclusively prove the truth about spontaneous human combustion. Scientists today still disregard the theory and now, attribute it to the smoking habits of individuals. Many victims of the spontaneous human combustion were discovered to be smokers who have fallen asleep with a lit cigarette or cigar. And a great number of these people were believed to have consumed alcohol or have medical conditions that stopped them from attempting to put out the fire on their bodies.