human combustion
...uch that burns readily in a human body. To cremate a human body, it requires enormous amounts of heat over a long period of time. Most of the early theories put forward in the 1800's were linked with alcohol consumption. It was thought that has most of the victims had been drinking heavily before they died that the accumulation of such a substance in the body tissues would dramatically increase the combustibility of the body. It was also thought that the body metabolised alcohol to produce hydrogen and other inflammable gases which were then stored in the body tissues. A spark, produced by the body's own electricity would then ignite the body. Thomas Mitchell wrote that he would not be surprised to see alcoholics, "Blown into the air in consequence of the explosion of combustible gases formed in their systems." As knowledge of body metabolism increased this theory was dismissed. Many of the SHC stories have originated with police investigators who have been puzzled by partly ignited corpses near un-burnt rugs or furniture. "What else could it be?" they ask. Many of the supposedly spontaneously combusted corpses are of elderly people who may have been murdered or who may have ignited themselves accidentally. Yet, self-ignition due to dropping a lit cigarette or ignition due to another person is ruled out by the investigators as unlikely. Even when candles or fireplaces present a plausible explanation for the cause of a fire, investigators sometimes favour an explanation which requires belief in an event which has never been witnessed in all of human history and whose likelihood is extremely implausible. The flames begin within the victim's own body and are horribly complete in their work, reducing their human fuel to a pile of ashes in minutes -- sometimes seconds. The whole event is so quick and selective that objects near the victim show only minor heat damage, if any at all; sometimes, even the victim's clothes are left untouched. These inner flames have been occurring for as long as mankind has existed; but most coroners, pathologists, scientists, and fire officials ignore such evidence, blithely choosing much neater and less controversial explanations ...