Mysterious Fires: Spontaneous Human Combustion

MYSTERIOUS FIRES:
SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION.
A New Horizons Paper,
January 1993•
Copyright:
New H o r i z o n s Research
Foundation.
INTRODUCTION.
"Unearthly indeed i s the f a t e o f b u r s t i n g i n t o flames
without b e n e f i t o f i g n i t i o n from any known source."
( M y s t e r i e s o f the Unexplained, p u b l i s h e d by Reader's D i g e s t ) .
I n January 1985 , i n a New H o r i z o n s Monograph e n t i t l e d
Strange and Anomalous Phenomena, we wrote a chapter on
Spontaneous Human Combustion.
T h i s i s a v e r y strange,
a l b e i t v e r y r a r e , phenomenon, t h a t has f a s c i n a t e d us f o r
some y e a r s .
As w e l l as s t o r i e s o f people b u r s t i n g i n t o
flames f o r no apparent reason, i n the l i t e r a t u r e o f p a r a p s y c h o l
there e x i s t many other s t o r i e s o f strange f i r e s , some o f
them a s s o c i a t e d with p o l t e r g e i s t outbreaks, o t h e r s n o t .
Since 1985 many more accounts o f spontaneous f i r e s have
been p u b l i s h e d , and t h i s seems a good time to review the
whole s u b j e c t once a g a i n .
Over the y e a r s we have become f a m i l i a r w i t h the f a c t
t h a t in,some p o l t e r g e i s t s i t u a t i o n s f i r e s seem to o c c u r
spontaneously.
There are o t h e r r e p o r t e d cases where
people have r e p o r t e d t h a t a hand or an arm, o r some o t h e r
p a r t o f t h e i r body suddenly caught f i r e f o r no apparent reason.
And then there are the people who seem to have spontaneously
combusted and burned to death.
We would l i k e to address the q u e s t i o n as to whether these
k i n d s o f event are r e l a t e d ;
i s spontaneous human combustion
an extreme form o f p o l t e r g e i s t a c t i v i t y , or are there
o t h e r e x p l a n a t i o n s f o r t h i s v e r y strange and rare phenomenon?
FIRES IN POLTERGEIST SITUATIONS.
Small f i r e s , o c c u r r i n g spontaneously, are a well-known
f e a t u r e o f some p o l t e r g e i s t outbreaks.
F o r t u n a t e l y , they'
are not a l l t h a t common, but the l i t e r a t u r e c o n t a i n s many
examples o f such occurrences.
U s u a l l y the f i r e i s small,
and q u i c k l y found and put out, but some c o n f l a g r a t i o n s have
been s e r i o u s .
Since many p o l t e r g e i s t outbreaks occur
around c h i l d r e n i t has o f t e n been assumed t h a t the c h i l d
set the f i r e out o f m i s c h i e f , and many people have, over
the years, discounted the f i r e r a i s i n g a s p e c t s of
poltergeistry.
However, over r e c e n t years, i n a few
cases, more p o s i t i v e evidence has come to l i g h t , and the
phenomenon has gained more c r e d i b i l i t y .
A few months ago we r e c e i v e d a videotape o f the experiments
t h a t have been conducted over some twenty y e a r s by a group
o f people i n M i s s o u r i .
They c a l l e d themselves the S o c i e t y
f o r Research on Rapport and T e l e k i n e s e s - SORRAT - f o r short,
and they conducted extensive experiments on p s y c h o k i n e s i s .
T h e i r experiments were done i n what they c a l l e d a m i n i - l a b ,
a l a r g e , t o t a l l y sealed box.
Objects were p l a c e d i n t h i s
box, s i t t i n g on switches, which, when the o b j e c t moved,
t r i g g e r e d l i g h t s and cameras, which then f i l m e d what was
happening i n the m i n i - l a b .
As a g e n e r a l r u l e nobody was
p r e s e n t when the events took p l a c e .
A f u l l description
o f these experiments must be the subject o f another review.
However we should say here that the experiments were
conducted i n a most r i g o r o u s and s c i e n t i f i c manner, and
the people i n v o l v e d were always most c a r e f u l to a v o i d
any p o s s i b i l i t y o f f r a u d or e r r o r .
Many events o f a p o l t e r g e i s t - l i k e nature occurred and
were f i l m e d .
Of i n t e r e s t to us i n t h i s paper was the
f a c t t h a t on some o c c a s i o n s small f i r e s were f i l m e d s t a r t i n g
i n the m i n i - l a b .
I t i s true t h a t a small book of matches
was p a r t o f the experiment, and that t h i s book was seen,
on camera, on many o c c a s i o n s moving around the box.
No
matches were s t r u c k however.
The f i r e s occurred when
two t h i n paper r i n g s had moved around i n the box and l i n k e d
themselves together. A f t e r t h i s l i n k a g e had occurred the
paper a t the j u n c t i o n was seen to be smouldering, and i t
broke i n t o a small flame which consumed some :of the r i n g s ,
and then d i e d out.
I t was as i f the energy needed to
l i n k the r i n g s had been s u f f i c i e n t to produce a heat t h a t
s e t them on f i r e . T h i s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n g as the
a c t i o n was captured on camera, as i t happened.
One reads o c c a s i o n a l l y o f such f i r e s b e i n g s t a r t e d when
nobody i s around. A t y p i c a l s t o r y i s one we read r e c e n t l y "As c a r e t a k e r V i c t o r Webber opened up the Leasowes Sports
Centre i n Kent Road, Halesowen, on 22 March 1981,
he smelled
smoke and c a l l e d the f i r e b r i g a d e . They d i s c o v e r e d a b l a z i n g
mop i n a broom cupboard. There was n o t h i n g near i t to show
how i t had caught f i r e .
" I t had not been used f o r some time.
Heaven knows how i t s t a r t e d , i t looks l i k e one o f those cases
o f spontaneous combustion" he s a i d . F i r e b r i g a d e spokesman
s a i d "we took the mop outside and put out the flames, i t ' s
a mystery.
There were no e l e c t r i c s o r a n y t h i n g around i t ,
which could have set i t o f f " .
A s c e p t i c would say t h a t the s t o r y could have been invented,
or t h a t the c a r e t a k e r had an u l t e r i o r motive and had s e t
the mop on f i r e h i m s e l f , but the s t o r y has a r i n g o f t r u t h ,
and since i t appeared i n the:>..local newspaper one would expect
the f i r e b r i g a d e members to have set the r e c o r d s t r a i g h t
i f the account was i n c o r r e c t .
More f r e q u e n t l y , however, these spontaneous f i r e s occur,
as we have s a i d , i n s i t u a t i o n s where a person i s p r e s e n t
i s m a n i f e s t i n g p o l t e r g e i s t phenomena.
who
I n 1982,
a 10-year o l d boy, B e n e d i t t o Supina, the son o f a
c a r p e n t e r l i v i n g i n Formia, near Rome, I t a l y , was a p p a r e n t l y
a b l e to s e t o b j e c t s ablaze by simply g a z i n g a t them.
He
was d e s c r i b e d as a f a i r l y shy and studious boy, embarassed
a t a l l the a t t e n t i o n that was generated.
I t began when a
comic he was r e a d i n g i n a d e n t i s t ' s s i t t i n g room caught f i r e .
On another o c c a s i o n h i s bedclothes caught f i r e and he was
p a i n f u l l y burned.
He does not smoke, and the i n c i d e n t m y s t i f i
and f r i g h t e n e d both him and h i s f a m i l y .
A p l a s t i c object,
h e l d by an u n c l e , b u r s t i n t o flames as Benedetto s t a r e d a t
it.
Everywhere he w e n t , f u r n i t u r e , f i t t i n g s and o b j e c t s
smouldered
(Note: the smouldering i s i n t e r e s t i n g , i t reminds
us o f the paper r i n g s i n the SORRAT video, they smouldered
f o r some time before a flame appeared).
Pages o f books
became scorched when Benedetto touched them.
A l o n g with
the f i & r y phenomena came p e c u l i a r e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c e f f e c t s ,
o f a k i n d which have a l s o been observed i n p o l t e r g e i s t cases e l e c t r i c a l o b j e c t s i n the house would f u n c t i o n e r r a t i c a l l y ,
and the power supply a c t u a l l y f a i l e d s e v e r a l times. When
he v i s i t e d h i s f a t h e r ' s workshop machinery would stop, or not
start.
Witnesses have s a i d they have seen h i s hands glow
on o c c a s i o n .
A p i c t u r e o f him h o l d i n g a burned sheet i s
i n the Appendix.
:
N a t u r a l l y h i s d i s t r a u g h t parents took him to a number of
d o c t o r s , and he came to the a t t e n t i o n o f top s c i e n t i s t s .
The Dean o f P h y s i c a l Medicine a t Rome U n i v e r s i t y , Dr.
G i o v a n n i B a l l e s i o , s a i d " I t i s wrong to c a l l him an ' E l e c t r i c
Boy' because he r e a l l y does not possess any more e l e c t r i c i t y
than anybody e l s e " .
P r o f . Mario Scuncio o f the T i v o l i
S o c i a l M e d i c a l Centre s a i d the boy was p e r f e c t l y normal.
Another c e l e b r a t e d doctor, Dr. Massimo I n a r d i thought the
boy was " c l e a r l y capable o f p r o j e c t i n g h i s a g g r e s s i v e powers
on o u t s i d e o b j e c t s i n an e x t r a o r d i n a r y manner".
The l o c a l
Archbishop pronounced the phenomena "not malign" and warned
a g a i n s t c o n s i d e r i n g them m i r a c l e s ! .
4
The above two cases are t y p i c a l o f the many such t h a t
are s c a t t e r e d through the l i t e r a t u r e on mysterious f i r e s .
Many times the i n c i d e n t s are sporadic, and are not
f u l l y i n v e s t i g a t e d - too o f t e n the v i c t i m s seem to p r e f e r
to f o r g e t the whole experience.
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At the same time that Benedetto Supina was
experiencing
h i s f i r e - s e t t i n g phenomena a young S c o t t i s h nanny, Carole
Compton was on t r i a l i n another p a r t o f I t a l y on charges
t h a t she had attempted to murder her charge, 3 year o l d
Agnese Cecchine, by s e t t i n g f i r e to her cot.
The case
was r e m i n i s c e n t o f the dark days o f w i t c h p e r s e c u t i o n s ,
as the c h i l d ' s grandmother accused the nanny o f b e i n g a
w i t c h and s e t t i n g f i r e s using the ' E v i l Eye'.
Carole
was defended by a S c o t t i s h lawyer who was on h o l i d a y nearby
when the charges were l a i d .
I t was a l l e g e d the nanny
had set f i r e to the c h i l d ' s cot, but the c h i l d was not
burned because she was s l e e p i n g on the o t h e r side o f the
cot.
Carole claimed t h a t she was not i n the room when the
f i r e happened, she was having b r e a k f a s t with the f a m i l y .
On a p r e v i o u s n i g h t a s i m i l a r f i r e had occurred i n the
g r a n d f a t h e r ' s bedroom while the nanny was a l s o having
d i n n e r with the f a m i l y .
To us, an i n t e r e s t i n g f e a t u r e o f t h i s i s t h a t the f a m i l y
o b v i o u s l y d i d not b e l i e v e the f i r e s were set by normal
means, they must have been s a t i s f i e d t h a t Carole d i d not
a c t u a l l y put a match to the f i r e s , or the case would have
been a s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d case o f arson.
They had to r e s o r t
"to the a c c u s a t i o n o f w i t c h c r a f t i n order to put the blame
on her.
A u t h o r i t i e s d i d not take the w i t c h c r a f t a l l e g a t i o n s
s e r i o u s l y , but asked f o r a p s y c h i a t r i c examination, which
a p p a r e n t l y e s t a b l i s h e d that the g i r l was not m e n t a l l y
disturbed.
I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note however, t h a t she
had gone to I t a l y to be with her f i a n c e , who had broken o f f
the engagement jus't p r e v i o u s l y to the f i r e s o c c u r r i n g .
A l s o on the day before there were accounts o f a bowl jumping
o f f a t a b l e , and a g l a s s f a l l i n g f o r no reason.
I t seems
to us a t y p i c a l p o l t e r g e i s t r e a c t i o n to s t r e s s .
During
the t r i a l expert witnesses who had been examining Benedetto
Supina were c a l l e d i n C a r o l e ' s defence, and the l a s t we
heard was t h a t a f t e r an extensive and l e n g t h y t r i a l , accompanied
by much p u b l i c i t y , the charges were dropped.
The above accounts are o f r e c e n t episodes o f f i r e - r a i s i n g
i n p o l t e r g e i s t type s i t u a t i o n s .
Many such s t o r i e s abound
i n many o f the e a r l i e r well-known p o l t e r g e i s t cases.
We w i l l mention a few, j u s t to remind our r e a d e r s .
In the famous Amherst case the p o l t e r g e i s t ' e n t i t y '
had been t h r e a t e n i n g to burn the house down, and indeed
l i g h t e d matches had been appearing i n the a i r , f a l l i n g
down from the c e i l i n g .
A young woman, E s t h e r Cox, was
the apparent focus o f the p o l t e r g e i s t phenomena which was
happening.
Walter H u b b e l l , w r i t e s i n 1988, i n h i s book
"The Great Amherst Mystery" t h a t on a n i g h t f o l l o w i n g a
f a l l o f l i g h t e d matches, E s t h e r was i n bed, and i n the
bedroom were Dr. C a r i t t e , Mr. & Mrs. D a n i e l Teed, and
Jennie and W i l l i a m Cox.
The f a m i l y could now converse with
the 'power' by a s k i n g q u e s t i o n s which were responded to
by knocks, i n the u s u a l f a s h i o n i n such circumstances.
D a n i e l asked i f the house would r e a l l y be set on f i r e , and
the r e p l y was "Yes".
And a f i r e was s t a r t e d i n the
f o l l o w i n g manner.
The i n v i s i b l e ghost t h a t had spoken
to E s t h e r took a dress b e l o n g i n g to h e r t h a t was hanging
on a n a i l i n the w a l l near the door, and a f t e r r o l l i n g i t
up, and p l a c i n g i t under the bed, before t h e i r eyes, b u t
so q u i c k l y t h a t they could n o t prevent the a c t i o n , s e t i t
on f i r e .
There was a r e p o r t i n the New York Times o f August 1929
which s t a t e d that a negro g i r l , o f L i b e r t a , Antigua, B.W.I,
b u r s t i n t o flames while walking a l o n g a s t r e e t .
A t home,
h e r c l o t h e s , i t i s s a i d , o f t e n b u r s t i n t o flames and burned,
as d i d the b e d c l o t h e s when she was between them.
She h e r s e l f
was a p p a r e n t l y unharmed.
(Wote: bedsheets have been
mentioned on more than one o c c a s i o n as burning; we read
an i n t e r e s t i n g one r e c e n t l y where a young woman who had
been i n v o l v e d i n a c a r crash was taken to the UCLA M e d i c a l
Centre i n L o s Angeles where she was operated on f o r h e r
injuries.
The o p e r a t i o n was f i n i s h e d , and she was about
to be wheeled out o f the o p e r a t i n g room on a gurney, when
the sheets c o v e r i n g h e r caught f i r e .
The medical s t a f f
t r i e d to p u t out the f i r e , but were f o r c e d out o f the room
by smoke.
The b l a z e had almost burned i t s e l f out when the
f i r e f i g h t e r s a r r i v e d a few moments l a t e r .
The f i r e wasn't
hot enough to s e t o f f the s p r i n k l e r s i n the c e i l i n g .
No
smoke was found i n h e r lungs, and i t was determined t h a t
both burns and crash i n j u r i e s had c o n t r i b u t e d to h e r death.
The w r i t e r o f the r e p o r t speculated that perhaps a spark
from a c a u t e r i z e r , which i s used sometimes to stop b l e e d i n g
d u r i n g surgery, could have been r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the b l a z e .
The medical s t a f f d i d not say whether a c a u t e r i z e r had
been used, but i t c e r t a i n l y seems strange t h a t a spark from
such an instrument could cause an undetected f i r e i n a bedsheet
some time a f t e r i t s use.
The p a t i e n t had been sewn up
and bandaged b e f o r e the f i r e s t a r t e d , and nobody had
d e t e c t e d any h i n t o f f i r e u n t i l the sheets b u r s t i n t o
such a flame t h a t the would-be r e s c u e r s were d r i v e n out
o f the room and unable to save t h e i r p a t i e n t .
A very
strange s t o r y ! ) .
To r e t u r n to some o f the o l d e r cases.'— A f a m i l y named
Hoyt, c o n s i s t i n g o f Mr. Hoyt, h i s w i f e , f o u r c h i l d r e n o f
t h e i r own, and two n i e c e s , were l i v i n g i n 1887 i n a
house i n V i c t o r i a S t r e e t , Woodstock, New Brunswick.
The r e p o r t of the phenomena reads as f o l l o w s " A l l w i t h i n
a few hours f o r t y separate f i r e s broke out, which d i d not
extend to t h e i r s u r r o u n d i n g s , because they were immediately
put out, o r because o f some unknown l i m i t a t i o n .
The
p r e s s r e p o r t says, f o r what i t i s worth "The f i r e s can be
t r a c e d to no known human agency, and even the most
s c e p t i c a l are staggered. Now a c u r t a i n , h i g h up and out o f
reach, would b u r s t i n t o flames, then a bed q u i l t i n
anorther room; a basket o f c l o t h e s on a s t o o l , a c h i l d ' s
d r e s s hanging on a hook".
The New York Sun o f February 2 1932 gave a v e r y s i m i l a r
d e s c r i p t i o n o f events i n the home o f Mr. C.H. W i l l i a m s o n ,
o f Bladenboro, North C a r o l i n a .
" F i r e s , which a p p a r e n t l y
s p r i n g from nowhere, consuming the household e f f e c t s o f
Mr. C.H. Williamson, have p l a c e d t h i s community i n a s t a t e
o f excitement, and continue to burn.
Saturday a window
shade and c u r t a i n burned i n the Williamson home. Since
then f i r e has b u r s t out i n f i v e rooms.
F i v e window shades,
bed c o v e r i n g s , t a b l e c l o t h s , and o t h e r e f f e c t s have suddenly
b u r s t i n t o flames, under the noses o f the watchers.
Williamson'
daughter stood i n the middle o f the f l o o r , with no f i r e
near.
Suddenly her d r e s s i g n i t e d .
That was too much,
and household goods were removed from the house.
A s i m i l a r and i n t e r e s t i n g case o c c u r r e d a t Thorah, near
Toronto, i n December o f 1891.
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Dawson,
and t h e i r adopted daughter, an ©rphan E n g l i s h g i r l o f
f o u r t e e n , l i v i n g i n a farmhouse i n t h i s r u r a l community
were plagued by spontaneous f i r e s ^ S b o u t a week. A c c o r d i n g
to the St. L o u i s Globe-Democrat on December 19th, the
g i r l went i n t o some s o r t o f 'trance' and exclaimed "Look
at that".
She was p o i n t i n g to the c e i l i n g , which was
afire.
Next day many f i r e s broke out, another s t a r t i n g
as soon as the l a s t was e x t i n g u i s h e d .
While Mrs. Dawson
and Jenny were s i t t i n g f a c i n g a wall the wallpaper b l a z e d ,
J e n n i e ' s dress blazed, and Mrs. Dawson's hands were
burned i n p u t t i n g i t out.
On one o c c a s i o n a k i t t e n flamed.
The Toronto Globe o f November 9 gave an account by a
r e p o r t e r who had v i s i t e d the farm.
He d e s c r i b e d the
w a l l p a p e r as having charred patches, which looked as i f a l i g h t e d
lamp had been h e l d t h e r e .
Jennie had been r e t u r n e d
to the orphanage, as she was presumed the cause o f the
fires.
The r e p o r t e r asked questions about the c h i l d ' s
knowledge o f chemistry, o b v i o u s l y t h i n k i n g t h a t perhaps
the f i r e s were caused by the a p p l i c a t i o n o f chemical
substances, but t h i s r e a l l y seems v e r y u n l i k e l y .
There
may w e l l be chemicals t h a t w i l l i g n i t e w a l l s and c e i l i n g s
spontaneously a f t e r having been exposed to the a i r f o r
a c e r t a i n time, but i t seems u n l i k e l y t h a t an orphan g i r l
i n r u r a l Ontario would a c t u a l l y have both the knowledge
o f them, and access to s u p p l i e s , i n order to p u l l a t r i c k
like this.
F o u r years l a t e r p r e s s r e p o r t s g i v e a f a s c i n a t i n g p i c t u r e
o f the puzzlement and i n c o n s i s t e n c y o f o f f i c i a l s when faced
w i t h the problem of the f i r e s i n Adam C o l w e l l ' s frame
house, 84, Guernsey S t r e e t , Greenpoint, Brooklyn,
New
York. A c c o r d i n g to the New York H e r a l d o f January 6 1895»
C o l w e l l s a i d t h a t on the a f t e r n o o n o f January 4 1895i
an empty p a r l o r Stove was overturned, and f o u r p i c t u r e s
f e l l from the w a l l s .
He was out but h i s wife and stepdaughter,
Rhcda, aged s i x t e e n were at home. J u s t a f t e r C o l w e l l
r e t u r n e d they found a bed on f i r e .
A policeman, named
Daly, was c a l l e d to put i t out, and stayed i n the house.
He saw wallpaper i g n i t e near the shoulder of W i l l i e ,
C o l w e l l ' s son.
D e t e c t i v e Sergeant Dunn a r r i v e d .
there
were more f i r e s , and e v e n t u a l l y the house burned down,
and the C o l w e l l s l o s t e v e r y t h i n g they had.
C a p t a i n Rhoades
o f the p o l i c e department s a i d "
the more I l o o k i n t o i t
the deeper the mystery.
So f a r I can a t t r i b u t e i t to no
cause other than a s u p e r n a t u r a l agency. Why, the f i r e s
broke out under the v e r y noses o f the men I sent to i n v e s t i g a t e " .
Sergeant Dunn d e c l a r e d "There were t h i n g s t h a t happened
b e f o r e my eyes that I d i d not b e l i e v e were p o s s i b l e " .
The f i r e m a r s h a l l s t a t e d " I t might be though p o s s i b l e t h a t
the c h i l d Rhoda s t a r t e d two o f the f i r e s , but she cannot
be g u i l t y o f the others, as she was b e i n g questioned when
some o f them began.
I do not want to be quoted as a
b e l i e v e r i n the s u p e r n a t u r a l , but I have no e x p l a n a t i o n to
o f f e r as to the cause o f the f i r e s , or the throwing around o f
the f u r n i t u r e " .
(Note - that l a s t remark makes i t c l e a r
t h a t p o l t e r g e i s t type phenomena a l s o seem to have been
w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d and w i t n e s s e d ) .
I n c i d e n t a l l y , i t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note t h a t i n some ofthese cases wallpaper, bed l i n e n , and house f u r n i s h i n g s
are the o b j e c t s set a b l a z e .
One would imagine t h a t i t
i s v e r y d i f f i c u l t to f u r t i v e l y s e t w a l l p a p e r or bed l i n e n
a l i g h t , f o r i n s t a n c e , they would not e a s i l y catch f i r e .
Many o t h e r o b j e c t s i n a home are much more e a s i l y flammable.
F o r the r e c o r d there i s another Canadian case that may
be a l r e a d y f a m i l i a r : ' to our readers where p o l t e r g e i s t r y
and f i r e s were f e a t u r e s o f the phenomena. We r e f e r to
the Dagg case.
Again an orphan c h i l d from England, sent
to Canada i n the l a t e 1800's o s t e n s i b l y f o r adoption, but
r e a l l y , i n many cases, as a source o f cheap labour, was
the centre o f the happenings.
The c h i l d was adopted by
Mr. & Mrs. Dagg i n 1889.
They l i v e d a t Clarendon i n the
p r o v i n c e o f Quebec. The c h i l d became the centre o f a v i o l e n t
p o l t e r g e i s t outbreak which a t t r a c t e d the a t t e n t i o n o f the
l o c a l p r e s s , and a Mr. Woodcock f a i t h f u l l y c h r o n i c l e d the
events. F i f t e e n witnesses, a l l d e s c r i b e d by Woodcock as
r e s p o n s i b l e people l i v i n g i n the d i s t r i c t , t e s t i f i e d to
t h e i r experiences o f the phenomena.
I n t h i s case, among
a l l the other events, f i r e s broke out spontaneously throughout
the house on many occasions, as many as e i g h t o c c u r r i n g i n
one day, s i x b e i n g i n the house and two outside..
The
window c u r t a i n s were burned while on the windows, and t h i s
happened i n broad d a y l i g h t , w h i l s t the f a m i l y and neighbours
were i n the house.
There are some i n t e r e s t i n g f e a t u r e s o f some o f these f i r e s .
I n many cases, as we have d e s c r i b e d , the f i r e s tend to
happen i n unusual o b j e c t s , such as w a l l p a p e r and c u r t a i n s ,
or bed l i n e n .
I n the m a j o r i t y o f cases these f i r e s were
e a s i l y put out, although o c c a s i o n a l l y , as i n the C o l w e l l ' s
case the home was e v e n t u a l l y burned down.
But i n o t h e r
cases the f i r e s seem to be c u r i o u s l y c o n f i n e d . F o r i n s t a n c e ,
a g a i n i n I889 (a good year f o r t h i s type o f phenomenon i t
seemsO, on October 2nd, a s e r i e s o f r e s t r i c t e d f i r e s o c c u r r e d
i n the home o f Samuel M i l l e r , i n F i n d l e y , Ohio.
It is
r e p o r t e d t h a t on d i f f e r e n t o c c a s i o n s two beds b u r s t i n t o
flames, each b u r n i n g down to a heap o f ashes, but i n each
case n o t h i n g e l s e was set a l i g h t , nor was the f l o o r i n g
underneath the beds scorched.
On another day a chest
c o n t a i n i n g c l o t h i n g flamed and was consumed without s e t t i n g
a n y t h i n g e l s e on f i r e .
SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION.
The burning o f o b j e c t s , f u r n i s h i n g s , and p r o p e r t y i s one
t h i n g . What about the a c t u a l bur^ning of human b e i n g s ?
Spontaneous human combustion i s a well-documented, though
r e l a t i v e l y r a r e , phenomenon i n which a human body i g n i t e s
and burns without any known contact with an e x t e r n a l source
o f heat.
In some cases, the damage i s s l i g h t .
In others,
the v i c t i m i s reduced to ashes, and i n most o f these -oases
nearby o b j e c t s escape r e l a t i v e l y unscathed, f o r i n s t a n c e
the c h a i r or bed on which the v i c t i m was s i t t i n g or l y i n g ;
sometimes the c l o t h e s on the charred body may be undamaged,
o r o n l y s l i g h t l y singed. Often too a s i n g l e f o o t or the
t i p s o f f i n g e r s may remain i n t a c t , although the r e s t o f the
body i s consumed.
Cases o f spontaneous human combustion began to appear i n
m e d i c a l r e p o r t s as f a r back as the 17th century, and by the
twentieth century there were many accounts - more than two
hundred, i n f a c t - many o f them very d e t a i l e d .
I n e a r l i e r times i t was g e n e r a l l y b e l i e v e d t h a t the v i c t i m s
o f t h i s f i e r y f a t e were a l c o h o l i c ,
e l d e r l y and c o r p u l e n t
women, who were u s u a l l y l i v i n g alone, and were b u r n t i n d o o r s
on w i n t e r n i g h t s , t h e i r remains having been found near an open
fire.
There were no witnesses, and they!were u s u a l l y regarded
as the authors of t h e i r own f a t e . But there were e x c e p t i o n s
to t h i s , and i n f a c t i t has been shown r e c e n t l y t h a t there
i s a f a i r l y equal r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f both sexes, and the
age of the v i c t i m can v a r y between i n f a n c y to the v e r y
elderly.
A l s o many o f the v i c t i m s have been both abstemious
and t h i n .
Some have been burnt while near a f i r e , but o t h e r s
have i g n i t e d while they were d r i v i n g , or even walking o u t s i d e
i n surroundings where there i s no e x t e r n a l source o f f i r e .
Thus the o l d e x p l a n a t i o n no l o n g e r h o l d s .
An e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h i s phenomenon has not y e t been formulated.
Contemporary s c i e n t i f i c and expert medical o p i n i o n r e j e c t s
the theory o f spontaneous human combustion, but has no
e x p l a n a t i o n to o f f e r f o r the f a c t s .
There i s no sound
p h y s i o l o g i c a l model t h a t can e x p l a i n how a human body can
p o s s i b l e s e l f - i g n i t e , o r how i t can burn f i e r c e l y enough
to reduce to ashes.
T h i s type o f consumption i s o n l y p o s s i b l e
a t the extreme temperature o f 3,000 degrees F a h r e n h e i t , the
k i n d o f temperature produced i n a modern p r e s s u r i z e d
crematorium. And i n t h i s k i n d of heat, how i s i t p o s s i b l e
t h a t c l o t h i n g , bed l i n e n , o r even one limb can escape
damage, l e t alone i n c i n e r a t i o n ?
Before we attempt to d e a l with the cases where the person
has been t o t a l l y consumed by the combustion process, i t
might be h e l p f u l to r e f e r to a number o f cases i n which
the v i c t i m has escaped with h i s or her l i f e .
There are a number o f such cases on r e c o r d , and we w i l l
l i s t a few, a t random.
I n 1983. P r o f e s s o r James Hamilton,
of N a s h v i l l e , Tennessee f e l t a sudden s t i n g i n g s e n s a t i o n
i n h i s l e f t l e g . He r e l a t e d t h a t he "saw a l i g h t flame
at the extent o f i t s base of a t e n cent p i e c e or c o i n , w i t h
a s u r f a c e approaching to c o n v e x i t y , somewhat f l a t t e n e d a t
the top, and having a complexion which n e a r e s t resembles
that of q u i c k s i l v e r " .
Dr. Hamilton, t h i n k i n g q u i c k l y ,
deproved the flame o f oxygen by cupping h i s hands over i t ,
and by g r e a t good fortune the flame went out.
However,
h i s doctor, when t r e a t i n g the s i t e , viewed the burn as being
i n t e r n a l r a t h e r than e x t e r n a l , and' s u p p o r t i n g t h i s b e l i e f
was the f a c t t h a t although the f a b r i c o f h i s s i l k and wollen
drawers next to the s i t e of the burn had a small h o l e burned
through, the o u t e r pantaloons escaped w i t h merely a s l i g h t l y
t i n g e d , y e l l o w hued d i s c o l o r a t i o n on the i n n e r l a y e r .
The flame had burned from the i n s i d e .
P a u l Weekly o f Sioux C i t y twice i n one n i g h t had to contend
w i t h a s i m i l a r experience. He awoke d u r i n g the n i g h t i n
a h o t e l room with an i t c h y f o o t . He threw back the covers to see what was the matter, and saw a b l u e g l a r e l e a p i n g
from h i s toes, which were on f i r e .
He wrapped the b e d c l o t h e s
round the toes e x t i n g u i s h i n g the flames, and went back to
s l e e p . I t i s r e p o r t e d that l a t e r i n the n i g h t he a g a i n
woke with an i t c h y f o o t and had to repeat the performance
with the bedsheets.
Again t h i s case bears a resemblance to
others i n t h a t there i s a p p a r e n t l y no s e n s a t i o n o f b u r n i n g
as such, and a l s o blue or s i l v e r flames, as opposed to red
ones,are seen.
In the above two cases one i s l e d to wonder i f some chemical
source might be r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the b u r n i n g .
We are
reminded o f two cases r e p o r t e d i n the 1800's t h a t seemed
to have i n v o l v e d the use of sulphur.
The f i r s t case was r e p o r t e d i n August o f I856, a t the home
of Mr. Moulton o f Bedford, i n England.
Mr. Moulton went
on a b u s i n e s s t r i p to I r e l a n d l e a v i n g behind a t home, h i s
wife and the housemaid, Anne Fennimore.
I n order to fumigate
the house, the maid burned some sulphur i n an earthenware
j a r t h a t was standing on the f l o o r .
The burning sulphur
overflowed and set the f l o o r a l i g h t .
T h i s f i r e was put
out, not h a v i n g extended from t h a t one room.
About an
hour l a t e r a mattress was found burning i n another room,
and t h i s was f o l l o w e d by a s e r i e s o f i s o l a t e d f i r e s .
Moulton
was sent f o r , and r e t u r n e d on August 16 ( f o u r days l a t e r ) .
The next day there s t a r t e d a s u c c e s s i o n o f about f o r t y f i r e s
m c u r t a i n s , c l o s e t s , and i n bureau drawers.
is
Neighbours and policemen came i n , and i t / s a i d , were soon
f e a r f u l f o r their safety.
Objects around them flamed, and
also t h e i r handkerchiefs.
No one was harmed, but i t appears
there was an o f f i c i a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n , which took the unusual
form o f a coroner's i n q u e s t .
Witnesses t o l d of such
occurrences as p i c k i n g up a p i l l o w , and having i t b u r s t
i n t o flames as i t was put down.
Moulton had i n s u r e d
n e i t h e r the house nor i t s contents, and n o t h i n g s u g g e s t i n g
arson was found.
Two p h y s i c i a n s gave the o p i n i o n t h a t
flammable sulphurous fumes had spread through the house.
The j u r y r e f u s e d to accept t h i s " e x p l a n a t i o n " because c h a i r s
and sofas had i g n i t e d a f t e r they had been set out i n the
yard.
The v e r d i c t was t h a t the o r i g i n a l f i r e from the
b u r n i n g sulphur was a c c i d e n t a l , but t h a t there was no evidence
to e s t a b l i s h the cause o f the l a t e r ones.
M. Richond Des Brus. i n a paper p u b l i s h e d i n the Annales
de l a S o c i e t e d ' A g r i c u l t u r e du Puy,published i n 1827,
describes
another case i n which sulphur had been p r e s e n t .
We quote
from a t r a n s l a t i o n o f t h a t a r t i c l e :
" M. Dessimont, a
2k-year
o l d man o f medium h e i g h t and b u i l d with t h i c k b l a c k h a i r ,
sanguine, i n good h e a l t h , and a t e e - t o t a l l e r went to church
i n Le Puy on the evening o f 19 A p r i l 1827.
He d i d not stay
there very long, as he f e l t too hot, so he r e t i r e d to h i s
b r o t h e r ' s house near the Pannessec c i t y gates.
Around h a l f
p a s t n i n e , as h i s b r o t h e r was b u r n i n g a lump o f sulphur over
a candle, a few drops o f the l i q u i f i e d b u r n i n g s u l p h u r d r i p p e d
onto h i s f i n g e r s , and, when he shook h i s hands i n p a i n , some f e l l
on h i s coat and set i t a l i g h t .
When he y e l l e d f o r h e l p ,
M. Dessim*ont, who was busying h i m s e l f a few f e e t away, ran
to him, and managed to put out the flame by squeezing the
burning coat i n h i s hands- H i s b r o t h e r had burnt two f i n g e r s ,
and a hole i n h i s coat.
M. .•.Dessimont, however, had h a r d l y
r e a l i s e d t h a t h i s b r o t h e r was out o f danger, when he f e l t
severe p a i n i n h i s hands; he c r i e d out, and Mdme. Ginhoux,
running up to him, saw t h a t h i s hands were covered with flamesj
they were b u r n i n g l i k e candles, she t o l d me, with a b l u i s h flame.
T h e i r f i r s t thought was t h a t the flame was being produced
by the sulphur, and they t r i e d i n v a i n to put i t out with
c o l d water. A p o u l t i c e made from f l o u r and o i l was h a s t i l y
made, but the f i r e got worse. Dessimont went down to a c u t l e r ' s
shop i n the same b u i l d i n g and soaked h i s hands i n the s l u s h
under the g r i n d s t o n e ;
i t was not a g r e a t r e l i e f .
Finally,
a f t e r h a l f an hour o f i n t o l e r a b l e p a i n , he asked someone to
open the door f o r him, and he ran to my o f f i c e .
During t h i s
12
f l i g h t , both he and Mdme. Ginhoux who was with him, saw
q u i t e c l e a r l y a flame that was b r i g h t enough to l i g h t the wa*y.
At the f r a n t i c r i n g i n g o f the b e l l , I h u r r i e d downstairs.
The door was h a r d l y open when M. Dessimont, wild-eyed, s c a r l e t faced, and w i t h a look o f d e s p a i r , rushed p a s t me s h r i e k i n g
"Quickly, s i r , put something on my hands, I'm on f i r e , I'm
burning, Look, I'm burning!" and he showed me h i s hands;
they
were v e r y r e d and swollen, and a s o r t o f steam o r smoke
was coming o f f them.
He could h a r d l y stay s t i l l f o r two minutes to t e l l me the
cause o f h i s a c c i d e n t ; he was moving a l l the time, c u r s i n g
my slowness i n t a k i n g care o f him.
As b a t h i n g i n c o l d
l i q u i d i s the b e s t remedy i n such cases, I t o l d him to go to
the f o u n t a i n opposite the house and to keep h i s hands immersed
u n t i l he f e l t b e t t e r , and to g e t some c o l d baths ready
f o r the n i g h t ; then he f l e d towards the f o u n t a i n . When he
s a i d "lm burning, I'm on f i r e " I d i d n o t take him l i t e r a l l y ;
I took i t as a m e t a p h o r i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n o f the p a i n he was
f e e l i n g , and d i d not f o l l o w him as I s u r e l y would have done
i f I had understood him b e t t e r .
I t was o n l y the f o l l o w i n g
day that I g o t the d e t a i l s o f h i s adventure, to my g r e a t
amazement.
M. Dessimont a s s u r e d me t h a t he had o n l y f e l t
r e l i e f as l o n g as he kept h i s hands i n the f o u n t a i n , when the
flames went out, and t h a t he had been a b l e to run f o r a c e r t a i n
time without b e i n g a b l e to see the flames, b u t a f t e r about
150 steps they reappeared.
m
*
—
.
mi
jg
m
At home he had two buckets prepared f o r him, and p u t one
hand i n each.
In a very short time the water got h o t and
had to be changed.
Although the p a i n was severe a l l n i g h t ,
the water gave some r e l i e f .
Every time he took h i s hands
out o f the water, he t o l d me, he saw a s o r t o f o i l f l o w i n g
over h i s f i n g e r s , and the b l u i s h flame would reappear
immediately, but he could o n l y see i t c l e a r l y when he examined
h i s hands under the t a b l e to screen them from the c a n d l e l i g h t .
M. V a r e t t e , a young student o f 15, who s l e p t i n the same
room, saw the flames s e v e r a l times d u r i n g the course o f the
n i g h t , and h i s words had a r i n g o f t r u t h to them. Towards dawn
M. Dessimont could see n o t h i n g more than a few sparks, which
he wrongly b e l i e v e d he could p u t out by rubbing h i s hands
together.
The p a i n was severe f o r p a r t o f the day, b u t i t was a
d i f f e r e n t s o r t o f p a i n . I t was l e s s b i t i n g , l e s s s e a r i n g
than a t f i r s t .
H i s hands were covered a l l over, w i t h
enormous b l i s t e r s , f u l l o f a r e d d i s h pus.
In several
p l a c e s the epidermis had completely gone, and the corium
looked g r e y i s h and eaten away."
Dr. Des Brus continues h i s account with a d e s c r i p t i o n o f
the treatment he i n i t i a t e d f o r the burns, and he concludes
t h i s p a r t o f h i s account with the remark t h a t when M.
Dessimont l e f t a f t e r the treatment he was wearing the same
c l o t h i n g as he had worn on the day o f the a c c i d e n t , and
t h i s had n o t been burnt i n any way.
M. Dessimont recovered
from h i s o r d e a l and was r e s t o r e d to p e r f e c t h e a l t h .
Dr. Des Brus says " F a i r l y wide s c a r s could be seen on
h i s f i n g e r s and wrists?
one o f them a f f e c t e d the a r t i c u l a t i o n
o f the l i t t l e f i n g e r o f the l e f t hand. S e v e r a l n a i l s were
gone o r were ready to drop o f f ; one o f them had been burnt
to the q u i c k and w i l l probably n o t grow back".
Dr. Des Brus s t a t e s t h a t he had v i s i t e d the home immediately
a f t e r the a c c i d e n t happened and questioned the w i t n e s s e s
c a r e f u l l y , and was convinced t h a t he was h e a r i n g an a c c u r a t e
account o f the events t h a t t r a n s p i r e d .
These two accounts o f combustion where sulphur has been
p r e s e n t are extremely i n t e r e s t i n g , but one i s l e f t wondering
i f the sulphur was a f a c t o r why M. Dessimont's b r o t h e r , who
was the f i r s t to be burnt, a p p a r e n t l y f a i r l y s e v e r e l y , d i d
not continue to burn i n the same way? Perhaps some people
are p h y s i o l o g i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t .
Dr. Des Brus, i n h i s
paper p u t forward a theory that some people produce some
form o f e l e c t r i c i t y i n t h e i r b o d i e s . He f i r s t d i s c u s s e s ,
and d i s c o u n t s , the t h e o r i e s t h a t had been p r e v i o u s l y
d i s c u s s e d t h a t some v i c t i m s produce a gas i n the body,
which under c e r t a i n circumstances can i g n i t e , and then
goes on to remark t h a t although i n some cases, such as the
ones d i s c u s s e d above, the v i c t i m had been i n c o n t a c t w i t h
a b u r n i n g substance, i n many o t h e r cases no such c o n t a c t
had e x i s t e d .
He remarks that many other eminent d o c t o r s
o f the day b e l i e v e i n the e l e c t r i c a l theory, and f e e l s
that t h i s i s a p o s s i b i l i t y .
He mentions many i n s t a n c e s o f what we now r e c o g n i s e as
s t a t i c e l e c t r i c i t y to support t h i s theory.
There are o t h e r cases i n the l i t e r a t u r e where an u n f o r t u n a t e
v i c t i m has a p p a r e n t l y suddenly caught a l i g h t .
Dr. Des Brus
reminds h i s readers o f the s t o r y of a p r i e s t , B e r t h o l i ,
who while r e a d i n g h i s b r e v i a r y , a f t e r a l o n g walk, f e l t a
sudden p a i n i n h i s arm, as i f he had been s t r u c k w i t h a s t i c k ,
and saw t h a t h i s arm had caught f i r e .
He a l s o t e l l s
the s t o r y o f a b l a c k s m i t h , on h i s way home from work, with
h i s j a c k e t on a s t i c k over h i s shoulder, as i t was v e r y hot,
who suddenly f e l t a severe p a i n i n the index f i n g e r o f
h i s r i g h t hand, which s t a r t e d to t i n g l e and g i v e o f f f i r e
and smoke. He t r i e d to put out the flame by p i n c h i n g i t
w i t h h i s thumb and the t i p of h i s middle f i n g e r , but they
caught l i g h t a l s o , and when he put h i s hand i n h i s pocket
to crush the flame h i s c l o t h i n g caught f i r e .
He a l s o
attempted to put out the flames i n a bucket o f c o l d water,
to no e f f e c t .
Des Brus concludes from these cases t h a t
some people seem to have a p r e d i s p o t i o n to burning, which
defies a l l r a t i o n a l explanation.
Des Brus made a v e r y
d e t a i l e d and e x t e n s i v e study o f the s u b j e c t i n h i s day
and age, and we have to agree with h i s f i n a l c o n c l u s i o n ,
t h a t 'nature s t i l l has thousands o f s e c r e t s , and t h a t medicine,
a l t h o u g h p r o g r e s s i n g by l e a p s and bounds, has not y e t
reached the degree o f p e r f e c t i o n i t one day w i l l a c h i e v e " .
More than one hundred and f i f t y years l a t e r t h a t remark
i s s t i l l trueI
Although we have d e s c r i b e d these o l d e r cases i n some d e t a i l ,
i t should not be assumed that the phenomenon belongs o n l y to
the p a s t .
Cases, although r a r e , continue to happen i n the
p r e s e n t day, and the cause o f these mysterious b u r n i n g s
i s s t i l l unknown.
F o r i n s t a n c e , i n June I98O i n Toronto, a t h i r t y - o n e y e a r o l d
woman went to bed about 2.30
a.m.
She awoke a t h e r normal
time about f o u r hours l a t e r to f i n d that d u r i n g the n i g h t
h e r t h i g h s and abdomen had developed t h i r d degree burns.
S i x months o f a g o n i z i n g s k i n g r a f t s were needed to r e p a i r
the damage, but n o t h i n g e l s e i n the room had burnt, h e r
n i g h t c l o t h e s and bed l i n e n were untouched, and she had
not f e l t p a i n enough to wake h e r . Presumably the f a c t t h a t
she n o r m a l l y had o n l y f o u r hours sleep, and t h e r e f o r e s l e p t f o r
a s h o r t e r time than most people, saved her from b e i n g t o t a l l y
consumed.
What i s e s p e c i a l l y i n t e r e s t i n g about t h i s
i n c i d e n t i s t h a t the young woman d i d not f e e l the p a i n of
h e r burning, although the s k i n g r a f t i n g t h a t f o l l o w e d
was d e s c r i b e d as a g o n i z i n g . She d i d not have a s p e c i a l l y
low p a i n t h r e s h o l d o b v i o u s l y , so why d i d she not f e e l the
burns, a s the people d i d i n the other cases we have d e s c r i b e d ?
We read o f o t h e r s t o r i e s i n the modern p r e s s . We have
read of a young l a d y whose body - NOT her d r e s s - s t a r t e d to
burn while she was on the dance f l o o r ;
and another
s t o r y we read t o l d o f a young woman i n New J e r s e y who
was c r a d l i n g her c h i l d i n her arms on the back seat o f a
c a r d r i v e n by her husband when some s o r t o f ' e x p l o s i o n '
o c c u r r e d i n her body, and one s i d e o f her neck was b a d l y
burned. However her h a i r was unsinged, and the baby
unharmed. Her p h y s i c i a n , .for want o f a b e t t e r e x p l a n a t i o n ,
blamed i t on her s e a t b e l t J
Perhaps, before we go on to the next s e c t i o n of t h i s paper,
we should mention the ' b a l l l i g h t n i n g ' theory.
Ball
l i g h t n i n g has o n l y been r e c o g n i s e d as a n a t u r a l phenomenon
r e c e n t l y ; i n p r e v i o u s decades s t o r i e s o f small b a l l s o f
l i g h t , or energy, t h a t could suddenly appear i n a room and
move m y s t e r i o u s l y around, and then disappear, with a l o u d
bang, were regarded as f i c t i t i o u s or imaginary.
However,
i t i s now known t h a t t h i s phenomenon does occur, although
i t i s not completely understood.
However b a l l l i g h t n i n g
i s not r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the type o f phenomenon we are
d e s c r i b i n g here. People have experienced b e i n g burned
by b a l l l i g h t n i n g , and there i s a good account on r e c o r d
o f a housewife i n England, who was standing i n her k i t c h e n ,
and a b a l l o f l i g h t n i n g came i n through the window, passed
through the s k i r t o f her dress, and went out through the
open door, l e a v i n g a l a r g e burnt hole i n her dress and she h e r s e l f
was unharmed.
T h i s i s a t o t a l l y d i f f e r e n t type o f phenomenon
from spontaneous human combustion.
DEATHS FROM SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION.
The cases d e s c r i b e d so f a r have not r e s u l t e d i n the deaths
o f the people who have experienced these mysterious burns.
However, throughout h i s t o r y we read accounts o f people who
have been m y s t e r i o u s l y consumed by f i r e and have d i e d as a
result.
Cases have been recorded as f a r back as 1673, and
although they are r a r e there are s e v e r a l hundred recorded
cases.
The phenomenon was so w e l l known d u r i n g the 18th and 19th
c e n t u r i e s t h a t i t f e a t u r e d i n many o f the l i t e r a r y works o f the
day.
C h a r l e s Dickens disposed o f a c h a r a c t e r named Krook,
an e v i l c h a r a c t e r , symbolic o f a l l the s o c i a l e v i l s and
i n e q u i t i e s then rampant i n England (was Krook the o r i g i n o f the
c u r r e n t use o f the s l a n g "crook" f o r a c r i m i n a l , we wonder?)
Krook, as we say, was disposed o f by means o f spontaneous
human combustion.
The n o v e l was
Bleak House.
In F r e d e r i c k
Marryat's n o v e l 'Jacob F a i t h f u l the hero's mother i s a v i c t i m o f
the same f i e r y f a t e aboard a barge on the Thames. The account
reads as f o l l o w s "The lamp f i x e d a g a i n s t the a f t e r bulkhead w i t h a g l a s s
b e f o r e i t , was s t i l l a l i g h t , and T could see p l a i n l y to every
c o r n e r o f the c a b i n .
Nothing was b u r n i n g - not even the
c u r t a i n s to my mother's bed appeared to be singed .... there
appeared to be a b l a c k mass i n the middle o f the bed.
I put
my hand f e a r f u l l y upon i t - i t was a s o r t o f unctous p i t c h y
cinder.
I screamed with h o r r o r ... I staggered from the c a b i n and
f e l l down on the deck i n a state amounting almost to i n s a n i t y ...
She p e r i s h e d from what i s c a l l e d spontaneous combustion
The above account Marryat based c l o s e l y upon a case r e p o r t e d
i n 1832 i n London, and i t has a l l the h a l l m a r k s o f an a u t h e n t i c
case.
I n the room the l i g h t was s t i l l burning, n o t h i n g e l s e
was burning, the bed c u r t a i n s were unsinged, y e t the body was
reduced to a b l a c k mass. The d e s c r i p t i o n o f the'unctous p i t c h y
c i n d e r ' a c c o r d s w e l l with many o t h e r d e s c r i p t i o n s o f the s t a t e
of the r e s i d u e a f t e r such an i n c i d e n t .
C e r t a i n f e a t u r e s seem common to most o f these cases o f
spontaneous human combustion.
1.
The area o f d e s t r u c t i o n i s v e r y l i m i t e d , i n some
cases to a v e r y small a r e a .
The r e s t o f the room,
and perhaps even the c l o t h i n g the v i c t i m i s wearing
i s untouched.
In some cases, even, a limb, o r
p a r t o f a.limb i s l e f t unscorched, while the r e s t
of the body i s a heap o f ash, o r p i t c h y r e s i d u e .
2.
The temperature r e q u i t e d to produce such u t t e r
d e s t r u c t i o n i s so h i g h (approx. 3000°F) that i t
cannot be envisaged how such a temperature could be
produced under the circumstances o f the event.
3.
There i s p r a c t i c a l l y no r e p o r t o f smoke or smell,
n o t h i n g to cause alarm.
Yet when the remains are
found we hear t e l l o f o i l y sooty remains, "unclfous
p i t c h y c i n d e r " and so on.
k.
I t seems p o s s i b l e that many o f the v i c t i m s o f
t h i s strange phenomenon do not experience p a i n .
In many cases they have been found i n such circumstances
t h a t i t seems t h a t i f they had f e l t p a i n they would have
been able to save themselves.
We mentioned above, f o r i n s t a n c e , i n t h i s matter o f f e e l i n g
p a i n , the young woman who woke up to f i n d t h i r d degree
burns on h e r t h i g h s and abdomen, and who had f e l t no p a i n
w h i l e these burns were happening.
There i s a s i m i l a r case
on r e c o r d o f a salesman who escaped t o t a l i n c i n e r a t i o n
i n a s i m i l a r f a s h i o n . Jack Angel, i n 197^, was a t r a v e l l i n g
salesman, s e l l i n g c l o t h i n g . He was s a i d to be h e a l t h y ,
happy, and h a p p i l y married. H i s motorhome had been converted
to a t r a v e l l i n g showroom and he o f t e n s l e p t i n i t w h i l e
on the road.
On the 12th November 1974 he parked h i s
motorhome and prepared to r e t i r e f o r the n i g h t . He pushed
a s i d e the r a c k s o f c l o t h i n g , p u t sheets on the sofa cushions, donned
h i s pyjamas, and r e t i r e d .
Four days l a t e r , a t noon, he
awoke. H i s r i g h t hand was burned b l a c k on both s i d e s from
the w r i s t s to the f i n g e r s ?
b u t worse s t i l l he had a hole
i n h i s chest where he had been burned, and i n a d d i t i o n he
had burns on h i s l e g s , h i s g r o i n , h i s a n k l e s , and h i s back.
N e i t h e r h i s c l o t h i n g n o r the sheets were touched by the
fire.
When he reached h o s p i t a l he was t o l d by the d o c t o r s t h a t he
had n o t been burned e x t e r n a l l y b u t i n t e r n a l l y .
A later
search r e v e a l e d no s i g n s o f e l e c t r i c a l f a u l t s , no b l a c k n e s s
around e l e c t r i c a l sockets, none o f the hanging garments
were scorched o r marked, no evidence o f f i r e whatever i n
h i s motorhome.
But he had been s e v e r e l y burned. The
b u r n i n g was so severe o f h i s hand and arm t h a t e v e n t u a l l y
the hand and forearm were amputated.
I n t e r e s t i n g l y , as
we have s a i d , Jack Angel f e l t no p a i n d u r i n g the burning;
the burns had occurred d u r i n g s l e e p , and had n o t caused s u f f i c i e n t
p a i n to awaken him.
He f e l t the p a i n o f the subsequent
surgery, however. Again, as i n many s i m i l a r cases, the
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c odour o f burning f l e s h was absent.
There have been a few r e p o r t s o f i n f a n t s as v i c t i m s o f
spontaneous combustion, n o t a b l y f o u r month o l d Ricky P r u i t t o f
Rockford, I l l i n o i s , i n 1959? seven month o l d P a r v i n d e r Kauer a t
Birmingham i n 1973, and s i x month o l d L i s a T i p t o n o f S t a f f o r d i n
1974.
I n R i c k y ' s case, although the c h i l d d i e d o f severe burns
n e i t h e r h i s bedding n o r h i s garments were scorched. I n the case
of P a r v i n d e r both the c h i l d and h i s baby c a r r i a g e a r e r e p o r t e d
to have suddenly b u r s t i n t o flames, whereas L i s a was found
burned i n an unexplained f i r e c o n f i n e d o n l y to the room i n
which she was.
18
I n e x p l i c a b l e indeed i s the case o f Waymon Wood o f G r e e n s v i l l e ,
C a r o l i n a , who was fiund i n the f r o n t seat o f h i s c l o s e d car,
burned to a c r i s p .
The w i n d s h i e l d of the car had bubbled
and sagged from the i n t e n s e heat, l i t t l e remained o f
the body, y e t the car, c o n t a i n i n g h a l f a tank f u l l o f gas,
was otherwise u n a f f e c t e d by the f i r e .
South-
On the 12th November 1978 Maria Gmiterek, aged 8, hammered
f r a n t i c a l l y on her neighbour's door. Mrs. E l i z a b e t h R a n d a l l ,
of Baker S t r e e t , Reading, s a i d "the l i t t l e g i r l came running i n ,
saying something was wrong w i t h her mummy. I ran back with
h e r and smelt smoke i n the house, and then Maria s a i d there
had been a f i r e .
She said h e r mother was i n the basement, and
when we got down, there she was l y i n g on the f l o o r " .
The
r e p o r t o f t h i s i n c i d e n t continues " P o l i c e and f i r e experts
are known to be p u z z l e d why Mrs. Gmiterek should have burned
to death while the r e s t o f the room was o n l y b a r e l y damaged".
In the f i r s t r e p o r t , the g i r l , Maria, was s a i d to have stumbled
upon the grim scene;
the "charred remains" o f h e r mother were
" l y i n g on the stone f l o o r of the basement .. but p o l i c e say there
was o n l y s l i g h t f i r e damage to the b u i l d i n g " .
(As we have
a l r e a d y n o t e d , i t can take a f i r e o f 2-3,000°F q u i t e a while
to i n c i n e r a t e a human body).
On the 5th August 1982 W i n f i e l d G a t t l i n (aged k5) and h i s
g i r l f r i e n d were s i t t i n g i n G a t t l i n ' s car i n Chicago, when
they n o t i c e d a woman c r o s s i n g the road i n f r o n t o f them.
When he next looked she was about a b l o c k away and she was
aflame, standing on the sidewalk. G a t t l i n got out o f h i s c a r
to help her, but the burning woman c o l l a p s e d . By the time
p o l i c e a r r i v e d the woman's body was "scorched and d i s i n t e g r a t i n g " .
D e t e c t i v e Dan F i t z g e r a l d of the B r i g h t o n Park V i o l e n t Crimes
U n i t s a i d "she was completely burned;
I mean scorched. I t
was o b v i o u s l y not j u s t a case o f her c l o t h i n g c a t c h i n g f i r e .
We r e a l l y don't know what happened here.
She could have been
c a r r y i n g something flammable, o r doused with something flammable'.'
But d e s p i t e t h e i r e f f o r t s , p o l i c e and f i r e department o f f i c i a l s
could f i n d no t r a c e o f " a c c e l e r a n t s " i n the v i c i n i t y o f the
remains.
The f i r e f i g h t e r s themselves f i r s t thought i t was a
"rubbish f i r e " and were "stunned" to d i s c o v e r the body o f a
woman burned beyond r e c o g n i t i o n .
The o n l y o t h e r evidence
was scraps o f a blouse, and her purse, s a i d to be untouched by
the b l a z e ,
The body was found with hands i n f r o n t , " i n a
boxer p o s i t i o n " s a i d the p o l i c e d e t e c t i v e .
mi
A famous case o f apparent spontaneous human combustion
was t h a t o f Dr. John I r v i n g B e n t l e y . - On December 5 1966
Don G o s n e l l , a meter reader f o r the North Penn Gas Company,
was due to read the meter a t 403, North Main S t r e e t , i n
Coudersport, Pennsylvania.
He opened the f r o n t door
and y e l l e d a g r e e t i n g to the tenant on the b u i l d i n g ' s f i r s t
f l o o r , Dr. J . I r v i n g B e n t l e y . There was no answer to h i s
c a l l , and t h i n k i n g t h i s unusual, he n e v e r t h e l e s s descended
to the basement to read the meter. There, on h i s way to
the gas meter he sensed a ' l i g h t - b l u e smoke o f unusual odor"
He d e s c r i b e d i t as b e i n g l i k e t h a t when a new h e a t i n g
system i s b e i n g s t a r t e d up- - "somewhat sweet".
In a
corner o f the d i r t - f l o o r e d basement was a p i l e o f ash,
approximately 14" i n diameter and peaking to 5" h i g h ;
n o c h a l a n t l y he k i c k e d and s c a t t e r e d the mound.
He r e t u r n e d u p s t a i r s to look i n on the s e m i - i n v a l i d doctor;
l i g h t - b l u e smoke i s s u e d from the apartment's l i v i n g - b e d r o o m .
G o s n e l l entered and peered i n t o the a d j o i n i n g bathroom.
"A hole about two-and-a-half f e e t wide and no l o n g e r than
f o u r f e e t had burned through the bathroom f l o o r " he found,
"exposing p i p e s l e a d i n g to the l a v a t o r y , and running a c r o s s
the c e i l i n g o f the basement".
Tangent to t h i s h o l e he saw
a "browned l e g from the knee down", l i k e t h a t o f a mannequin
"I d i d n ' t l o o k f u r t h e r " he r e c a l l e d . He rushed down the s t r e
to the gas company's o f f i c e and shouted "Dr. B e n t l e y burnt
up".
The corons^er d e s c r i b e s what he found " A l l I found was a knee
j o i n t , which was atop a p o s t i n the basement, the lower
l e g with i t s f o o t on the bathroom f l o o r , and t h e now
s c a t t e r e d ashes s i x f e e t below."
Another witness, C a r l
McCloud s a i d "I helped the undertaker p i c k up the remains
and we put i t i n a rubber bag and c a r r i e d i t to the c a r .
I would say there wasn't much o f him remaining".
The F i r e Department was c a l l e d , b u t the f i r s t fireman who
responded was t o l d not to go i n . There was no f i r e to f i g h t
There was j u s t smouldering, no sparks a t a l l .
Gosnell
h i m s e l f • s t a t e d t h a t he saw no fire[whatsoever, embers o n l y
around the h o l e .
Dr. B e n t l e y had s u f f e r e d a broken h i p s i x years p r e v i o u s l y ,
and h i s l e f t l e g was without f e e l i n g . He made h i s way about
with the a i d o f a "walker".
Because o f h i s state the d o c t o r
was r e g u l a r l y attended by f r i e n d s , and Mr. & Mrs. N i c h o l s o n
had v i s i t e d him l a s t , d e p a r t i n g a t 9 p.m. on the evening
p r e v i o u s to the tragedy.
We s h a l l d i s c u s s the i n q u e s t f i n d i n g s of some of these
cases l a t e r i n t h i s paper.
Another w e l l known case i n v o l v e d a Mrs. Mary Reeser, o f
St. Petersburg, F l o r i d a , who was found reduced to ashes i n
a p r a c t i c a l l y undamaged apartment on J u l y 1st
1951'
I t was r e p o r t e d as the f i r s t i n s t a n c e where every p o s s i b l e
t o o l of modern s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n was used to determine
the cause o f t h i s mysterious phenomenon. Yet d e s p i t e the
e f f o r t s o f the FBI, f i r e o f f i c i a l s , arson experts, and
p a t h o l o g i s t s , a year a f t e r the i n c i d e n t , D e t e c t i v e Cass
Burgess o f the St. P e t e r s b u r g P o l i c e commented as f o l l o w s :
"Our i n v e s t i g a t i o n had turned up nothing t h a t could
be s i n g l e d out as p r o v i n g , beyond a doubt, what a c t u a l l y
happened. The case i s s t i l l open.
We are s t i l l as f a r
from e s t a b l i s h i n g any l o g i c a l cause f o r the death as we
were when we f i r s t entered Mrs. Reeser's apartment."
The P o l i c e C h i f added t h i s comment:
As f a r as l o g i c a l e x p l a n a t i o n s go, t h i s i s one o f
those t h i n g s t h a t j u s t couldn't have happened, but i t d i d .
The case i s not c l o s e d , and may never be to the s a t i s f a c t i o n
of a l l concerned".
Dr. W i l t o n M. Krogman, a p h y s i c a l a n t h r o p o l o g i s t a t the
U n i v e r s i t y o f Pennsylvania's School o f Medicine, and a worldrenowned expert on the e f f e c t s o f f i r e on the human body,
f i n a l l y gave up "jurying to understand what had happened.
He s a i d "I regard i t as the most amazing t h i n g I have ever
seen.
As X review i t , the s h o r t h a i r s on my neck b r i s t l e
with vague f e a r .
Were I l i v i n g i n the Middle Ages, I'd
mutter something about B l a c k Magic".
The circumstances were as f o l l o w s .
Mrs. Mary Hardy
Reeser, a widow o f 67 years o l d , was l i v i n g i n St. P e t e r s b u r g ,
F l o r i d a , to be near her son, Dr. R i c h a r d Reeser.
On the
evening o f J u l y 1, 1951,
she had remained i n her son's home
w i t h one o f her g r a n d c h i l d r e n , while the r e s t o f the f a m i l y
went to the beach.
When they r e t u r n e d they found Mrs.
Reeser had a l r e a d y l e f t f o r her own apartment. The younger
Mrs. Reeser drove to her mother-in-law's to see i f
e v e r y t h i n g was a l r i g h t .
A c c o r d i n g to her testimony, there
was n o t h i n g i n Mrs. Mary Reeser's appearance, o r demeanour,
to cause any alarm. Dr. Reeser v i s i t e d h i s mother l a t e r t h a t
evening.
She was m i l d l y depressed that she had not heard from
two f r i e n d s who were supposed to r e n t an apartment f o r h e r i n
a n t i c i p a t i o n o f a . r e t u r n t r i p to Columbia, P e n n s y l v a n i a , f o r m e r l y
her hometown. H i s mother t o l d him t h a t she wished to r e t i r e
e a r l y and take two s l e e p i n g p i l l s , to ensure a good n i g h t ' s
rest.
Dr. Reeser l e f t about 8.30
p.m. and r e t u r n e d to h i s home.
The l a s t person to see Mrs. Reeser a l i v e was h e r l a n d l a d y ,
Mrs. Pansy M. Carpenter, who l i v e d i n another apartment i n
the f o u r - u n i t b u i l d i n g (the two u n i t s between them were
unoccupied). Mrs. Carpenter saw Mrs. Reeser b r i e f l y a t about
9 p.m.
She was wearing h e r nightgown, a housecoat, and b l a c k
s a t i n s l i p p e r s , and was lounging i n a comfortable c h a i r ,
smoking a c i g a r e t t e .
The bed covers had been turned back.
I t was a t y p i c a l summer n i g h t i n F l o r i d a , the sky was o v e r c a s t ,
with o c c a s i o n a l f l a s h e s o f heat l i g h t n i n g i n the d i s t a n c e .
When Mrs. Carpenter woke up Monday morning a t 5 a.m. she
n o t i c e d a s l i g h t odor o f smoke, but was not alarmed, s i n c e she
a t t r i b u t e d the smell to a water pump i n the garage t h a t
had been o v e r h e a t i n g l a t e l y .
She got up, turned o f f the pump,
and s e t t l e d back i n t o bed.
When she got up an hour l a t e r
to c o l l e c t h e r newspaper o u t s i d e , she no l o n g e r smelled any
smoke.
At 8 a.m. a telegram a r r i v e d f o r Mrs. Reeser. Mrs. C a r p e n t e r
signed the r e c e i p t and went to h e r tenant's apartment to b r i n g
her the telegram.
The doorknob, when she p l a c e d h e r hand
on i t , was hot. Alarmed, she stepped back and shouted f o r
help.
Two p a i n t e r s working a c r o s s the s t r e e t ran over.
One
o f them opened the door; as he entered, he f e l t a b l a s t o f hot
air.
T h i n k i n g o f r e s c u i n g Mrs. Reeser, he f r a n t i c a l l y
looked around but saw no signs o f her. The bed was empty.
There was some smoke, but the o n l y f i r e was a small flame on
a wooden beam over a p a r t i t i o n s e p a r a t i n g the l i v i n g room
and k i t c h e n e t t e .
The firemen' a r r i v e d , put out the small flame w i t h a hand
pump, and tore away p a r t o f the p a r t i t i o n .
When A s s i s t a n t
F i r e C h i e f S.O. G r i f f i t h began h i s .inspection o f the premises,
he c o u l d not b e l i e v e h i s eyes. I n the middle o f the f l o o r
there was a charred area r o u g h l y f o u r f e e t i n diameter, i n s i d e
which he found a number o f blackened c h a i r s p r i n g s , and the
22
**
m>
m
*'
mt
—
m
mt
lg
g h a s t l y remains o f a human body, c o n s i s t i n g o f a charred
l i v e r a t t a c h e d to a p i e c e o f the spine, a shrunken s k u l l , one f o o t
s t i l l wearing a b l a c k s a t i n s l i p p e r , and a small p i l e o f
ashes.
Coroner Edward T. S i l k a r r i v e d to examine the body
and survey the apartment.
Although deeply p u z z l e d he decided
that the death was a c c i d e n t a l and a u t h o r i z e d the removal
o f the remains to a l o c a l h o s p i t a l .
The ensuing i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n c l u d e d p o l i c e and f i r e o f f i c i a l s ,
as w e l l as a r s o n e x p e r t s . The f a c t s t h a t c o n f r o n t e d them
seemed i n e x p l i c a b l e c o n s i d e r i n g the g r e a t heat n e c e s s a r y
to account f o r Mrs. Reeser's i n c i n e r a t e d body. L i t t l e o f
the f u r n i t u r e , other than the c h a i r and the end t a b l e next
to i t , was b a d l y damaged, but the apartment had s u f f e r e d
some p e c u l i a r e f f e c t s :
"The c e i l i n g , d r a p e r i e s , and w a l l s , from a p o i n t
e x a c t l y f o u r f e e t above the f l o o r , were coated with smelly,
o i l y soot. Below the f o u r - f o o t mark there was none.
The w a l l p a i n t a d j a c e n t to the c h a i r was f a i n t l y brown,
but the carpet where the c h a i r had r e s t e d was not even burned
through.
A w a l l m i r r o r 10 f e e t away had cracked, p r o b a b l y
from heat. On a d r e s s i n g t a b l e , 12 f e e t away, two p i n k wax
candles had puddled, but t h e i r wicks l a y undamaged i n t h e i r
h o l d e r s . P l a s t i c w a l l o u t l e t s above the f o u r - f o o t mark
were melted, but the f u s e s were not blown, and the c u r r e n t
was on.
The baseboard e l e c t r i c a l o u t l e t s were undamaged.
An e l e c t r i c c l o c k plugged i n t o one o f the fused f i x t u r e s
had stopped a t p r e c i s e l y 4.20
... but the same c l o c k ran
p e r f e c t l y when plugged i n t o one o f the baseboard o u t l e t s .
Newspapers n e a r b y
•
m
m
iH
mt
m
on a t a b l e and
draperies
and
l i n e n s on the daybed c l o s e a t hand -- a l l flammable - were
not damaged. And though the p a i n t e r s and Mrs. Carpenter had
f e l t a wave o f heat when they opened the door, no one had
noted smoke o r b u r n i n g odor, and there were no embers or
flames i n the ashes."
Faced with such a mystery the St. P e t e r s b u r g a u t h o r i t i e s
c a l l e d i n the FBI. L a b o r a t o r y f i n d i n g s showed that Mrs.
Reeser's estimated weight o f 175 pounds had been reduced to
a t o t a l o f l e s s than 10 pounds, i n c l u d i n g the f o o t and shrunken
head. The f i n a l r e p o r t concluded t h a t no known chemical
agents o r o t h e r a c c e l e r a n t s had been i n v o l v e d i n s t a r t i n g the
f i r e , and ended by s t a t i n g t h a t the case was "unusual and improbable"
A top arson s p e c i a l i s t o f the N a t i o n a l Board o f U n d e r w r i t e r s
was a l s o stumped.
"I can o n l y say" he admitted "the v i c t i m
died from f i r e " . . . F i n a l l y , the aforementioned Dr. Krogman,
an a u t h o r i t y on d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f "burns, was asked to h e l p
c l a r i f y the mystery.
A f t e r checking the f i n d i n g s o f the
o t h e r a u t h o r i t i e s he began e l i m i n a t i n g p o s s i b i l i t i e s .
He
c o n s i d e r e d l i g h t n i n g as a cause, but an engineer who s p e c i a l i z e d
i n the e f f e c t s o f l i g h t n i n g b o l t s on the human body f l a t l y
d i s m i s s e d such a c o n j e c t u r e . Besides, l i g h t n i n g was not
r e p o r t e d i n the immediate neighbourhood d u r i n g the n i g h t o f
the a c c i d e n t . Another p o s s i b i l i t y was t h a t the s e d a t i v e s
taken by Mrs. Reeser had made her so drowsy t h a t she d i d not
n o t i c e a f i r e s e t to bernightgown o r c h a i r by the c i g a r e t t e
she was smoking. However, n e i t h e r the gown nor the c h a i r was
p a r t i c u l a r l y flammable, and b e s i d e s there was not enough m a t e r i a l
a v a i l a b l e i n these items to produce the i n t e n s e heat n e c e s s a r y
to reduce a human body to ashes. Dr. Krogman has burned
cadavers with g a s o l i n e , o i l , wood, and a l l k i n d s o f o t h e r
egents. He has experimented with bones encased i n f l e s h , o r
s t r i p p e d , both moist and dry.
H i s t e s t s have u t i l i s e d combustion
apparatus r a n g i n g from outdoor p y r e s to the most modern
p r e s s u r i z e d crematorium equipment. He has demonstrated
c o n c l u s i v e l y t h a t i t takes enormous heat to consume a body
and t h a t o n l y a t over 3,000°F would bone become v o l a t i l e
enough to l o s e i t s shape and l e a v e o n l y ashes.
"These are
very g r e a t h e a t s " he s a i d " t h a t would sear, char, scorch,
or otherwise mar o r a f f e c t a n y t h i n g and e v e r y t h i n g w i t h i n a
c o n s i d e r a b l e r a d i u s . . . " "They say t r u t h i s s t r a n g e r than f i c t i o n
and t h i s case proves i t " .
The remaining s l i p p e r e d f o o t was a mystery i n i t s e l f .
I t was e s t a b l i s h e d that Mrs. Reeser was i n the h a b i t o f
s t r e t c h i n g out her l e f t l e g because o f some p h y s i c a l d i s c o m f o r t
i n t h a t limb. The f o o t was l e f t unburned, a p p a r e n t l y , because i t
was o u t s i d e the mysterious f o u r - f o o t r a d i u s o f i n c i n e r a t i o n .
Another s p e c u l a t i o n , t h a t the f i r e might have been caused by
some f a i l u r e i n the e l e c t r i c a l system, was a l s o r u l e d out by
the e x p e r t s ; the fuse would have blown. F i n a l l y , murder and
s u i c i d e were c o n s i d e r e d . Murder was e l i m i n a t e d because t h e r e
were no known suspects, the apartment had not been d i s t u r b e d ,
and there was no h y p o t h e s i s to account f o r how such a murder
could have been accomplished.
S u i c i d e , too, was r u l e d out;
Mrs. Reeser was w e l l p r o v i d e d f o r , and not depressed, and again,
how could she have set such a f i r e ?
The e x p e r t s , a f t e r one o f the most thorough i n v e s t i g a t i o n s
of such a case, admitted complete d e f e a t .
They f i n d themselves
completely unable to e x p l a i n how Mrs. Reeser met her death.
As we mentioned e a r l i e r there have been some two hundred cases
of spontaneous human combustion recorded over the c e n t u r i e s ,
some o f them more d e t a i l e d and c o n v i n c i n g than o t h e r s .
In
some cases the i n v e s t i g a t o r s have made most m e t i c u l o u s
i n q u i r i e s i n t o the circumstances o f the death, and i n o t h e r s
the r e p o r t s are sparse and g i v e v e r y l i t t l e d e t a i l .
We would l i k e
to mention a few,
just f o r i l l u s t r a t i o n :
On the 2nd March 1773,
Mary Clues, aged 50, was found
reduced to white ash,, except f o r a l e g and t h i g h , between
the bed and the f i r e p l a c e , n o t h i n g e l s e i n the room h a v i n g
been damaged.
In 1780,
i n I r e l a n d , an almshouse keeper, named O'Neil,
was awakened by a lodger, who showed him the body o f a Mrs. Pea
who had roomed on the f l o o r above, and who had f a l l e n
i n t o the room below, the body b e i n g d e s c r i b e d as " f l a m i n g
and red as copper".
A hole burned through the c e i l i n g , and
shaped l i k e a woman's body showed where she had f a l l e n through.
In 1788
A young E n g l i s h chambermaid was s a i d to have been
sweeping the k i t c h e n f l o o r when her back b u r s t i n t o flame,
u n n o t i c e d by her, u n t i l her master came i n and shouted a t
h e r . I t was s a i d he was unable to put ou£ the f i r e .
(Note: I t might not be regarded as unusual t h a t a maid,
engaged i n her d a i l y d u t i e s , might perhaps be set on f i r e
i f h e r c l o t h i n g swept near an open f i r e - but she was
a p p a r e n t l y unaware o f what seems a v e r y f i e r c e flame u n t i l
her master n o t i c e d i t .
Where was the pain?)
I n 1802, i n Massachusetts, we read o f an e l d e r l y woman who
evaporated and disappeared from some i n t e r n a l and unknown
cause, i n the d u r a t i o n o f about one hour and a h a l f
on the f l o o r there was a s o r t o f greasy soot and ashes, w i t h
remains o f a human body, and an unusual s m e l l i n the room.
A l l the c l o t h e s , i n t h i s case were consumed.
I n I836, i n I t a l y , Countess C o r n e l i a Z a n g a r i , aged 62,
was
found on the f l o o r o f h e r room, reduced to a heap o f ashes,
except f o r her arms, and l e g s , and p a r t o f her head.
The
f l o o r and f u r n i t u r e were undamaged, but there was f i n e soot
throughout the room, and a d i s a g r e e a b l e odour.
On the 27th December 1885,
the remains o f a Mrs. P a t r i c k
Rooney, o f Ottawa, I l l i n o i s , were found on the ground
beneath a 3 x 4 f o o t hole i n the k i t c h e n f l o o r .
A l l that
was l e f t o f the combustion were a burned p i e c e o f s k u l l ,
two charred v e r t e b r a e , a few f o o t bones, and a p i l e o f
ashes. Again, there was soot throughout the house, but
no o t h e r damage.
In 1908,
i n England Mary Hart, an i n v a l i d , was found b u r n i n g
in a chair.
Hezjfsister smothered the flames, c a r r i e d h e r
up to h e r bed, and then ran f o r h e l p . When they r e t u r n e d
they found Mary reduced to ashes, except f o r her head
and s e v e r a l f i n g e r s .
The bed sheets were undamaged, though
there was soot on the w a l l s .
In 19331 "the author, Temple Thurston, r e c u p e r a t i n g from
was found n e a r l y consumed i n h i s c h a i r .
On the 30th
her husband
was q u i c k l y
not i n j u r e d
influenza,
J u l y 1938 a young woman, p a d d l i n g i n a boat with
and c h i l d r e n , suddenly b u r s t i n t o flame, and
reduced to a p i l e of ashes.
Her f a m i l y were
and the boat was undamaged.
Again, i n England, i n September 1938, we read o f a young woman,
who was i n the middle of a dance f l o o r , when blue flames
b u r s t from h e r body. The flames could not be e x t i n g u i s h e d ,
and " i n minutes she was ashes, unrecognizable as a human b e i n g " .
The accounts continue - I n 1956, Mrs. C e c i l Rogers, o f
P l e a s a n t v i l l e , Ohio, was "burned to a c i n d e r " .
The bed
was somewhat charred on top, but nearby f u r n i t u r e was merely
scorched.
That same year, i n Benecia, C a l i f o r n i a , H a r o l d
H a l l , aged 59» was found on the k i t c h e n f l o o r , h i s chest,
arms, and face charred. He was s t i l l a l i v e , but could not
e x p l a i n what had happened, and he d i e d s h o r t l y a f t e r .
Often the accounts d e s c r i b e the flames emanating from these
u n f o r t u n a t e v i c t i m s as being blue, as opposed to the red
or orange c o l o u r we might expect.
In December 1956, Young
Sik Kim o f H o n o l u l u was found wrapped i n blue flames, too
hot to approach.
When the firemen a r r i v e d the v i c t i m and
h i s c h a i r were ashes;
however h i s f e e t were s t i l l undamaged,
and there was no other damage i n the room.
Similarly,
i n San F r a n c i s c o i n 1959» Jack L a r b e r was g i v e n a g l a s s o f
m i l k by an o r d e r l y , who returned i n f i v e minutes to f i n d
h i s p a t i e n t wrapped i n blue flames.
A more r e c e n t case has been d e s c r i b e d by Jenny Randies.and
P e t e r Hough i n t h e i r book Spontaneous Human Combustion (Robert
Hale, London, 1992).
I quote "When fireman Tony McMunn was c a l l e d to a b l a z e i n C h o r l e y
i n March I98O, nothing i n h i s t r a i n i n g o r 23 years o f
experience prepared him f o r the s i g h t i n a p e n s i o n e r ' s
bedroom. A l l t h a t remained o f i t s occupant were her r e l a t i v e l y
unscathed l e g s from the knees down;
the r e s t was c a l c i n e d ash.
There was no f i r e damage to the surrounding area; o n l y
smoke damage to the upper w a l l s and c e i l i n g .
McMunn r e c a l l s :
"I was taken aback. I had never seen a n y t h i n g l i k e i t b e f o r e ;
n e i t h e r had the ambulance men nor the police'.'
McMunn
noted a l s o "Even the bones were gone, y e t nearby o b j e c t s ,
such as a brushed n y l o n f o o t s t o o l , and c l o t h e s , were j u s t
stained."
A case t h a t made many h e a d l i n e s i n the newspapers and
which became the s u b j e c t o f an i n t e n s i v e i n v e s t i g a t i o n i s
t h a t o f J a c q u e l i n e F i t z s i m o n , a young cookery student, o n l y
17 y e a r s o l d , from Widnes i n C h e s h i r e .
A c c o r d i n g to r e p o r t s
made a t the time J a c q u e l i n e had attended a morning cookery
c l a s s a t H a l t o n C o l l e g e o f F u r t h e r E d u c a t i o n , Widnes, on
January 28th 1985She was coming downstairs a f t e r an
exam, c h a t t i n g to f r i e n d s , when she suddenly became a "human
torch".
The flames were beaten out and she was rushed to
Whiston H o s p i t a l , near L i v e r p o o l , where she d i e d on F e b r u a r y
12th, a f t e r f i f t e e n days i n i n t e n s i v e care.
The D a i l y
Express o f 25th February r e p o r t e d "The heartbroken p a r e n t s
of a 17-year o l d g i r l who suddenly b u r s t i n t o flames s a i d
"Our daughter's death i s a complete mystery.
No one seems
to know what happened".
I t was added t h a t J a c q u e l i n e
was b e l i e v e d to be a v i c t i m o f spontaneous human combustion.
I n v e s t i g a t i n g s c i e n t i s t s were quoted as s a y i n g " I t i s a
r e a l p o s s i b i l i t y a t the moment. We cannot f i n d any o t h e r
reason, but the i n v e s t i g a t i o n i s s t i l l going on .... r e p o r t s
are b e i n g prepared by the p o l i c e , f i r e c h i e f s , and the
Government H e a l t h and S a f e t y E x e c u t i v e " .
The D a i l y E x p r e s s p i e c e was j u s t one o f a number o f
newspaper and t e l e v i s i o n f e a t u r e s i n the wake'of the o r i g i n a l
( q u i c k l y adjourned) i n q u e s t on 22nd February.
At t h i s ,
Cheshire F i r e P r e v e n t i o n O f f i c e r , B e r t G i l l e s had s a i d : "I
have i n t e r v i e w e d seven eye-witnesses.
So f a r there i s no
c l e a r e x p l a n a t i o n o f the f i r e
Spontaneous combustion
i s a theory most o f us have t r e a t e d h i g h l y s c e p t i c a l l y , but
i t should be examined".
The next f o u r months, d u r i n g which
the i n q u e s t was h e l d i n s t a s i s , o f f e r e d the a u t h o r i t i e s the
ehajnce'i.to .•conduct e x t e n s i v e e n q u i r i e s .
Here was a unique o p p o r t u n i t y to get to g r i p s w i t h t h i s
g r i m l y f a s c i n a t i n g phenomenon, which paranormal r e s e a r c h e r s
could n o t a f f o r d to miss.
With the support o f the A s s o c i a t i o n
f o r the S c i e n t i f i c Study o f Anomalous Phenomena, T.wo people,
P e t e r A. Hough and Jenny Randies agreed to f o l l o w the case
i n depth.
INQUESTS INTO CASES OF SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION
In most cases o f death by burning, the circumstances are
s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d and obvious.
But the cases o f apparent
spontaneous human combustion are r i d d l e d with m y s t e r i e s .
In t h i s s e c t i o n we w i l l review some of the evidence t h a t
has been put forward a t v a r i o u s i n q u e s t s i n t o these mysterious
deaths.
Most people who d i e as a r e s u l t o f f i r e s do
so, e i t h e r by i n h a l i n g the fumes o f the f i r e , or by
carbon monoxide p o i s o n i n g , due to the f a c t t h a t the f i r e
has consumed the oxygen present, or by a c t u a l l y c a t c h i n g
a l i g h t and burning.
I n these l a t t e r cases i t i s u s u a l f o r
the c l o t h i n g to catch a l i g h t , and burn the unfortunate
wearer.
Unless the c l o t h i n g i s o f a v e r y flammable nature,
or the v i c t i m i s very h e l p l e s s (due to age or i l l n e s s ) , such
a f i r e i s u s u a l l y q u i c k l y and e a s i l y e x t i n g u i s h e d , and
while the v i c t i m may s u f f e r severe and p a i n f u l burns, i t
i s u s u a l f o r them to r e c o v e r from such an experience.
Of course, i f the v i c t i m has been doused with an a c c e l e r a n t ,
or v e r y flammable l i q u i d , the f i r e i s much more i n t e n s e ,
and the v i c t i m w i l l l i k e l y d i e .
In cases where the v i c t i m
e x p i r e s as a r e s u l t o f the fumes, i t i s usual to f i n d
the surroundings completely burnt, but the body, although
charred and singed, i s u s u a l l y i n t a c t and r e c o g n i z a b l e .
We w i l l d e t a i l f i r s t the i n q u e s t on J a c q u e l i n e F i t z s i m o n s .
T h i s i n q u e s t was h e l d on June 28th, some f i v e months a f t e r
the young woman had b u r s t i n t o flames. By then our
i n v e s t i g a t o r s had a l r e a d y d i s c o v e r e d t h a t the newspaper
r e p o r t had e r r e d i n one r e s p e c t , a t l e a s t .
J a c q u e l i n e had,
i t seems, not been s e r i o u s l y burnt, and i n f a c t had been
s i t t i n g up i n bed, t a l k i n g to f r i e n d s and r e l a t i v e s a few
days a f t e r the f i r e .
The impression t h a t had been g i v e n
t h a t she had been l y i n g s e r i o u s l y b u r n t and i l l f o r f i f t e e n
days i n the i n t e n s i v e care u n i t was erroneous.
The f i r s t
witness, the p a t h o l o g i s t , Dr. Cradwell, confirmed t h i s ,
s t a t i n g t h a t J a c q u e l i n e had s u f f e r e d s u p e r f i c i a l burns on
her b u t t o c k s and back from bra to p a n t i e l i n e .
There
had been damage to the lungs, however, and she had inflamed
b r o n c h i a , and a degree o f septicaemia.
Death, i n the
p a t h o l o g i s t ' s view was due to "shock-lung".
One might
wonder why, i f her lungs were so b a d l y a f f e c t e d , she was
able to s i t up and t a l k to her f r i e n d s and r e l a t i v e s a few
days a f t e r the f i r e , or how she could have d i e d i f the
burns were so minor.
Our i n v e s t i g a t o r s state t h a t although
three lawyers, r e p r e s e n t i n g the f a m i l y o f the deceased,
the c o l l e g e , and the a u t h o r i t i e s , were present, n e i t h e r
they, nor the members o f the jury, asked the p a t h o l o g i s t
a s i n g l e question, and he l e f t immediately a f t e r g i v i n g
h i s testimony.
In spite o f i t s being a f a i r l y lengthy report i t i s
worth q u o t i n g the i n v e s t i g a t o r s ' account o f the i n q u e s t
in f u l l .
I t serves as an i l l u s t r a t i o n f o r s e v e r a l p o i n t s
we s h a l l make l a t e r .
I t demonstrates t h a t there was indeed
an e x t e n s i v e i n q u i r y i n t o the circumstanes, and i t a l s o
i l l u s t r a t e s many o f the d i f f i c u l t i e s t h a t can occur i n
determining the causes o f such mysterious deaths.
Our i n v e s t i g a t o r s r e p o r t :
"We then l e a r n t t h a t nine teenaged students and t h e i r
l e c t u r e r , Mr. Robert Carson, had been i n the cookery c l a s s
i n room C l 6 on the t h i r d f l o o r o f the b u i l d i n g .
The t e s t
had begun a t 9 a.m. and i n v o l v e d making creme caramel, sponge
pudding, and bread r o l l s .
By 9.40 a.m. a f t e r the caramel
was made, the cookers were no l o n g e r r e q u i r e d and should
have been turned o f f .
J a c q u e l i n e , working on the same
cooker as h e r f r i e n d Wendy Hughes, f i n i s h e d f i r s t .
At
10.40 a.m. these two, t o g e t h e r with t h e i r f r i e n d , Paula
McGeever, asked p e r m i s s i o n to leave e a r l y f o r a scheduled
break.
Mr. Carson denied them t h i s , and the c l a s s was
d i s m i s s e d a t 10,55 a.m.
Weriy Hughes and Paula McGeever gave evidence f i r s t .
Both
agreed t h a t the three o f them l e f t the room f i r s t , i n h i g h
s p i r i t s , none o f them smoking. The cooker r i n g s were l e f t
on a f t e r the caramel was ready, because the room was c o l d .
L e c t u r e r Robert Carson l a t e r vehemently denied t h i s , a l t h o u g h
o t h e r s t a f f p o i n t e d out t h a t the room had no c e n t r a l h e a t i n g
because i t was heated by the ovens.
Wendy and Paula s a i d t h a t the three o f them had spent most
o f the unoccupied f i f t e e n minutes l e a n i n g a g a i n s t the worktops
and cookers, and t h a t J a c q u e l i n e must have been about
e i g h t inches from the n e a r e s t l i g h t e d j e t .
(Note, o b v i o u s l y
these were gas cookers, n o t e l e c t r i c ) .
However, when they
l e f t the room none o f them smelt o r saw smouldering on t h e i r
f r i e n d ' s back, and Carson, who watched them l e a v e , n o t i c e d
nothing e i t h e r .
The g i r l s wore
standard i s s u e white
smocks upon which b u r n i n g should have been obvious.
Arms l i n k e d , they walked to the top o f the s t a i r s , where
Wendy u n l i n k e d and began moving down towards 'B' F l o o r
and the canteen.
Both agreed t h a t , near the bottom o f
t h i s f i r s t f l i g h t o f s t a i r s , J a c q u e l i n e c a l l e d out "My
back's hot. Am I on f i r e ? "
Smouldering p i e c e s o f c l o t h
were suddenly r i s i n g i n t o the a i r , and i n a few seconds
t h e i r f r i e n d was covered i n flames. The g i r l s , t o g e t h e r
with s t a f f and o t h e r students, beat out the flames on
her back. An ambulance a r r i v e d and took her to Whiston
Hospital.
She remained conscious and r a t i o n a l throughout.
A c c o r d i n g to these f i r s t two witnesses the flame from the
gas r i n g had s e t her c l o t h i n g smouldering, which had l a t e r
caught f i r e .
But how d i d her smock smoulder f o r a t l e a s t
f i v e minutes without b e i n g detected?
Three male students i n the c l a s s next gave evidence, and added
f u r t h e r confusion.
Jamie Hayes i n s i s t e d t h a t the g i r l s
had been hanging around the door f o r a t l e a s t two minutes
p r i o r to l e a v i n g , adding to the supposed smouldering time.
Graham L i t t l e r (one o f these students) was shown a signed
statement which he had made to a f i r e o f f i c e r on January 29th
(the day a f t e r the f i r e ) , i n which he s a i d t h a t Paula
McGeever t o l d him that she and J a c q u e l i n e had been i n the
t o i l e t s on "C" f l o o r before going down the s t a i r s . J a c q u e l i n e
had come out s a y i n g "I'm sure I am on f i r e .
Can you
smell burning?"
P r e v i o u s l y , both g i r l s had denied f l a t l y
going i n t o the t o i l e t s .
L i t t l e r , although a g r e e i n g he
had w r i t t e n the statement, now r e t r a c t e d i t , and looked d e c i d e d l y
uncomfortable about the whole t h i n g .
T h i s was never
resolved.
Now, one o f the lawyers a d v i s e d us, there was a second
theory.
Had the g i r l s been i n the t o i l e t s p l a y i n g
"flamethrowers" by l i g h t i n g h a i r spray j e t s w i t h matches?
T h i s insane idea was s e r i o u s l y mooted to e x p l a i n how J a c q u e l i n e had
i g n i t e d so r a p i d l y , although no spray cans were o f f e r e d
as evidence.
Presumably, we thought, the f o r e n s i c t e s t s
would c l e a r t h i s matter up, but we were much too o p t i m i s t i c .
Three more students from the c l a s s remained to g i v e
evidence. Maria Green claimed t h a t she had gone l o o k i n g f o r
J a c q u e l i n e a f t e r word got back to C16 o f the i n c i d e n t .
F o r some reason she went i n t o the t o i l e t s , where the door
was a j a r , and found i t f u l l o f smoke, with a smell o f b u r n i n g
paper.
In her statement made the day a f t e r the f i r e ,
she s a i d a g i r l from the h a i r d r e s s i n g c l a s s had t o l d her :
"Your mate's j u s t come out of the t o i l e t on f i r e " .
That
was the reason she had made s t r a i g h t f o r the t o i l e t s .
Vanessa Dean confirmed a l l t h i s , and a l s o s a i d she had seen
the smoke i n the t o i l e t .
She added t h a t J a c q u e l i n e had been
s t a n d i n g by the door, w e l l away from the cooker, f o r a t
l e a s t f i v e minutes b e f o r e l e a v i n g the cooking c l a s s .
Perhaps the f i n a l student, Karen Quirk, would r e s o l v e matters!
Despite being i n s t r u c t e d to attend, Karen had n o t turned up.
Now an amazing e x h i b i t o f expediency was d i s p l a y e d by the
c o r o n e r , Gordon Glasgow. He p o i n t e d out to both j u r y and
lawyers t h a t i f any o f them wished to ask Karen any q u e s t i o n s ,
then the inquest would have to be adjourned.
As both Maria and
Vanessa had i m p l i e d t h a t Karen knew something about the
s t o r y o f J a c q u e l i n e running from the t o i l e t s , Imagine our
amazement when both lawyers and j u r y r e p l i e d t h a t none o f them
had any wish to cross-examine the g i r l ! .
(Two months a f t e r
the i n q u e s t we c a l l e d Karen Quirk.
She spoke r e l u c t a n t l y and
briefly.
L i k e many o f the witnesses a t the i n q u e s t she
was uneasy and r e f u s e d to make comment on Spontaneous human
combustion, although she admitted to being questioned about i t
by f i r e o f f i c e r s . N e i t h e r would she be drawn about o t h e r
a s p e c t s o f the case.
On the day o f the i n q u e s t she claimed
she got l o s t , and that no-one had asked h e r s i n c e why she had
not a t t e n d e d ) .
To r e t u r n to the inquest: we next heard from two mature
students, John Poy and N e i l Gargan, HNC students i n E l e c t r i c a l
E n g i n e e r i n g , who had no connection with anyone i n v o l v e d .
I t was from them the SHG theory a t l a s t found support.
Foy
works f o r a chemical manufacturer, and Gargan f o r the Mersey
Docks and Harbour Board;
they were seconded to the c o l l e g e
p a r t time.
Both were walking up the s t a i r s when they paased
the three g i r l s t a l k i n g animatedly.
They i n s i s t e d there was
no smoke and no smell o f b u r n i n g .
L i t e r a l l y a few seconds
l a t e r they heard c r i e s and turned to f i n d J a c q u e l i n e ablaze
" l i k e a stunt man on TV" s a i d John Foy.
The speed with which
such a h o r r i b l e f i r e evolved stunned them both.
The two
men helped put out the flames.
Foy s a i d she seemed f i n e ,
d e s p i t e melted a c r y l i c a l l over h e r back;
she o n l y complained
of a burnt f i n g e r .
Karena Leazer and f e l l o w h a i r - d r e s s i n g student Rachael Heckle,
had something e l s e to add to the mystery. While p a s s i n g them on
tne s t a i r s Karena s a i d she saw "a strange glowing l i g h t " above
J a c q u e l i n e ' s r i g h t shoulder. I t seemed to appear i n m i d - a i r
and f a l l down h e r back.
J a c q u e l i n e a l l e g e d l y c a l l e d out " I t ' s
gone down my back - g e t i t out".
T h i r t y seconds l a t e r they
heard screams and saw J a c q u e l i n e b u r n i n g f i e r c e l y .
Rachael
confirmed t h i s , although she thought o r i g i n a l l y Karen had
spoken o f a c i g a r e t t e seen f a l l i n g down the v i c t i m ' s back.
Karena denied t h i s .
E v e n t u a l l y both g i r l s confirmed i t had
been j u s t a strange glowing l i g h t .
3/
mt
*"
mt
Three s t a f f members then t o l d how they a r r i v e d on the scene
a f t e r h e a r i n g the screams and helped put out the f i r e . I t
was n o t easy, but d e s p i t e f a i r l y n a s t y l o o k i n g burns,
J a c q u e l i n e seemed remarkably f r e e from p a i n .
—
m
mt
m
mt
*•»
•
m
m
Mil
^
No evidence was presented by anyone t h a t any o f the three
g i r l s was smoking, but could a l i g h t e d c i g a r e t t e have been
dropped from above?
Rachael Heckle now astounded everyone
by i n s i s t i n g that the g i r l passed on the s t a i r s was n o t
Jacqueline Fitzsimonj
Amazingly, she was n o t cross-examined
about t h i s e x t r a o r d i n a r y claim.
Then cookery l e c t u r e r Robert Carson came to the stand.
He was adamant the r i n g s ' on the cookerstyere turned o f f an
hour b e f o r e the end o f the l e s s o n , and J a c q u e l i n e had not
been l e a n i n g a g a i n s t them anyway.
He s t a t e d that the g i r l
and h e r f r i e n d s had waited by the door to be d i s m i s s e d a t
p r e c i s e l y 10.50 a.m. and that i n over twenty y e a r s o f c a t e r i n g
"I have never seen a c a t e r i n g j a c k e t on f i r e .
I am sure t h a t
i f i t had been a l i g h t , I would have n o t i c e d o r smelt something".
P e t e r Hatton, S e n i o r A d m i n i s t r a t o r i n charge o f h e a l t h and
s a f e t y a t the c o l l e g e , was c a l l e d to g i v e evidence about the
s p e c i a l c a t e r i n g c l o t h e s . He claimed n o t to know whether
the c l o t h e s were inflammableJ
By now i t was c l e a r that
the coroner was g u i d i n g the j u r y towards the f a r - f e t c h e d
c o n c l u s i o n t h a t J a c q u e l i n e had caught f i r e by l e a n i n g a g a i n s t
the cooker.
D e t e c t i v e Sergeant G e o f f r e y Abel o f the Cheshire P o l i c e
g a v e a s t o n i s h i n g e v i d e n c e w h i c h was s u b j e c t e d t o l i t t l e o r no
examination. Why were the p o l i c e n o t informed u n t i l January 30th,
two days a f t e r the f i r e ? Why were the CID asked to i n v e s t i g a t e ?
Det. Sgt. Abel and Det. Constable P l a n t v i s i t e d the c o l l e g e
a t 6 p.m. t h a t n i g h t and found i t r i f e w i t h rumours about the
tragedy.
They took a d e t a i l e d statement from J a c q u e l i n e
a t Whiston H o s p i t a l .
She was s i t t i n g up i n bed, l o o k i n g , i n
the circumstances, q u i t e happy.
A f t e r seeing h e r t h a t
n i g h t , the p o l i c e o f f i c e r commented "To be p e r f e c t l y honest,
what has subsequently t r a n s p i r e d i s amazing".
J a c q u e l i n e was i n t e r v i e w e d i n the presence o f h e r f a t h e r .
S e v e r a l times she s a i d " I t must have been the cooker. I
must have stood too near the cooker',' although she could n o t
remember having done so. However, she admitted the back r i n g s
had been l e f t on. She s t a t e d t h a t a f t e r l e a v i n g C l 6 she had gone
s t r a i g h t downstairs with Wendy and P a u l a . They were n o t
smoking, had been nowhere near the t o i l e t s ;
and had passed
no-one smoking.
She had f e l t n o t h i n g and smelt n o t h i n g u n t i l half-way
down the s t a i r s , when her back s t a r t e d to get hot.
Within
seconds there were flames and she put one hand on her head,
f e a r i n g her h a i r l a c q u e r would catch l i g h t .
With the o t h e r
she t r i e d to take o f f her smock, but the b u r n i n g m a t e r i a l
kept d i s i n t e g r a t i n g i n her hands.
Det. Sgt. Abel p o i n t e d out t h a t i n the two days before h i s
v i s i t J a c q u e l i n e had t a l k e d to s e v e r a l f r i e n d s , she knew a l l
the s t o r i e s g o i n g round the c o l l e g e and had a l r e a d y made up her
mind what had o c c u r r e d .
A s e r v i c e manager from the Gas Board, L e s l i e Mayo, s t a t e d t h a t
gas flames could become i n v i s i b l e i n strong s u n l i g h t , but would
cause d i s c o m f o r t to anyone l e a n i n g near them.
The weather
on January 28th does not i n d i c a t e s t r o n g s u n l i g h t - i n f a c t
i t rained a f t e r lunch.
P h i l i p Jones, a chartered chemist working f o r the Home O f f i c e ,
v i s i t e d the c o l l e g e with a uniformed p o l i c e o f f i c e r , on the
21st,
and conducted t e s t s i n t o the c o m b u s t i b i l i t y o f the white
smock. The i g n i t i o n p o i n t , he d i s c o v e r e d , was near the
bottom o f the j a c k e t .
The coroner r e f e r r e d to the p o s i b i l i t y
of a l i g h t e d c i g a r e t t e causing the f i r e .
Jones s a i d t h a t
c o n t r a r y to p o p u l a r b e l i e f , i t i s v e r y d i f f i c u l t indeed f o r
a c i g a r e t t e to cause t h i s s o r t o f f i r e .
He had h e l d the
j a c k e t near the cooker flame i n a simulated a i r - f l o w , s i m i l a r
to t h a t found on a s t a i r w e l l , u n t i l i t smouldered.
He was
asked how l o n g he thought t h i s smouldering would continue
before J a c q u e l i n e would n o t i c e a n y t h i n g . T h i r t y seconds,
w
he
the
suggested, was
game away.
the maximum b e f o r e s m e l l o r h e a t w o u l d g i v e
F i v e minutes was
f a r too l o n g .
One o f the lawyers then asked Jones how near to the flames
the j a c k e t had been h e l d to cause smouldering. M i l l i m e t e r e s ,
he r e p l i e d .
D i d the c h a r t e r e d chemist r e a l i s e the d i s t a n c e
between the gas j e t and anyone l e a n i n g a g a i n s t the cooker was
e i g h t inches? And how many times d u r i n g the t e s t s had the
smouldering j a c k e t b u r s t i n t o flames?
"None" came the
embarrassed r e p l y , "not even when a i r f l o w had been s i m u l a t e d " .
The b e s t i t had ever done was smoulder a b i t .
The the coroner asked Jones what he thought o f Spontaneous
Combustion.
He r e p l i e d with ajrambling l e c t u r e how compost
heaps and haystacks can b u r s t i n t o flames, adding t h a t he had
never known i t to happen " i n these circumstances".
Jones had s t a r t e d o f f with the theory t h a t J a c q u e l i n e had
caught a l i g h t from the cooker. Under cross-examination
h i s c e r t a i n t y crumbled, and he agreed t h a t none o f h i s
evidence supported t h i s c o n c l u s i o n , c a l l i n g i t merely "a
p o s s i b l e e x p l a n a t i o n " , and a d m i t t i n g that "my idea i s by no
means c e r t a i n " and no more than " f e a s i b l e " .
We were a l r e a d y p u z z l e d why, a t a f i r e death enquiry, there
was not a s i n g l e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f the Cheshire F i r e Brigade!
Jones was aware t h a t the C h i e f F i r e P r e v e n t i o n O f f i c e r
had c a r r i e d out independent t e s t s .
Amazingly the s c i e n t i s t
claimed not to know this» and would not be drawn i n t o comment.
To our f u r t h e r astonishment the lawyer d i d not p r e s s him.
The F i r e Brigade had s o l i c i t e d an i n v e s t i g a t i o n by Manchester's
S h i r l e y I n s t i t u t e , a p r e s t i g i o u s s c i e n t i f i c establishment.
The j o i n t S h i r l e y I n s t i t u t e / C h e s h i r e F i r e B r i g a d e r e p o r t
was t h i r t y pages long, and t h e i r t e s t s had been much more
e x t e n s i v e than.those of Jones.
The garment burned l e s s
v i o l e n t l y than p r e v i o u s evidence had suggested;
they c o u l d
not g e t i t a l i g h t from simply smouldering.
However, i f
i t had caught l i g h t , flames would be apparent w i t h i n t w e n t y - f i v e
seconds.
A l l o f t h i s evidence, i n t h e i r view, showed t h a t
the g i r l ' s c l o t h e s could not have i g n i t e d from the cooker.
P h i l i p Jones would make no f u r t h e r comment, and we were l e f t
wondering why t h i s very important document was not p r e s e n t e d
as evidence a t the inquest; e s p e c i a l l y as i t s e x i s t e n c e
had o n l y become apparent almost by a c c i d e n t .
Following
f u r t h e r e n q u i r i e s i t was r e p o r t e d t h a t the document had been
sent to the coroner f o r use a t the i n q u e s t but t h a t "Coroner
Glasgow had decided not to use the document as evidence".
Next, p o l i c e constable Jenion, who a c t e d f o r the coroner,
and had accompanied Jones to the c o l l e g e , took the stand.
He simply agreed with the Home O f f i c e c o n c l u s i o n , and s t a t e d t h a t
J a c q u e l i n e ' s f a m i l y had been very upset about a l l the nonsense
about spontaneous human combustion.
"I have found no
evidence o f spontaneous human combustion" he assured the i n q u e s t ,
without e x p l a i n i n g what the evidence would be, or how he would
go about f i n d i n g i t .
He thought t h a t the l a t e n t smouldering
theory was c o r r e c t , but admitted he had never seen a
smouldering p i e c e of c l o t h b u r s t i n t o flames, adding "but
i t ' s common knowledge, i s n ' t i t ? "
The coroner had opened proceedings "by a d v i s i n g the j u r y
to ignore a l l the t a l k i n the media about spontaneous human
combustion. Now,
s i x and a h a l f hours l a t e r , he concluded
with a summary b i a s e d i n favour o f the Home O f f i c e c o n c l u s i o n s ,
and seemed to i n s t r u c t the j u r y to conclude t h a t the death
was a r e s u l t o f l e a n i n g a g a i n s t the gas cooker.
The j u r y could have returned an open v e r d i c t , which, to us,
was the o n l y f a i r c o n c l u s i o n . Yet, a f t e r o n l y ten minutes,
they r e t u r n e d with a v e r d i c t o f misadventure, an endorsement
o f . t h e d i s c r e d i t e d cooker theory, and an o u t r i g h t r e j e c t i o n
o f spontaneous human combustion
"
Our i n v e s t i g a t o r s conclude t h e i r r e p o r t with the f o l l o w i n g
remarks "In w r i t i n g about t h i s case we found o u r s e l v e s i n something
o f a no-man's l a n d between the a u t h o r i t i e s , seemingly c a r r y i n g out
a cover-up, and the media and c e r t a i n s e l f - s t y l e d experts on the
phenomenon, eager to i n c o r p o r a t e the F i t z s i m o n tragedy i n t o
the SHC mythos. We are not experts.
You w i l l have to
make up your own mind".
We have chosen to r e p o r t t h i s inquest f u l l y , as i t i l l u s t r a t e s
i n many ways the g r e a t d i f f i c u l t i e s i n v o l v e d i n coming
to reasonable c o n c l u s i o n s
about these mysterious f i r e s .
I n many ways the case o f J a c q u e l i n e F i t z s i m o n s was not a
t y p i c a l spontaneous human combustion phenomenon, and
perhaps should not have been considered as such from the
very beginning.
She was not reduced t o t a l l y to ash, as
i n many other such i n s t a n c e s , and her death seemed to have
been r e l a t e d to the p o s s i b l e lung damage, r a t h e r than from
the a c t u a l burning.
A l s o , her c l o t h i n g was c l e a r l y where
the f i r e o r i g i n a t e d , as oposed to her a c t u a l body, which seems
to be the case i n other such cases.
N e v e r t h e l e s s , s i n c e the case was w i d e l y r e p o r t e d as having
been due to spontaneous human combustion u n t i l the i n q u e s t
was h e l d , a t l e a s t , i t merited d e t a i l e d examination.
It
d i d indeed i n the beginning seem t h a t J a c q u e l i n e ' s death
would become i n c o r p o r a t e d i n the SHC mythos, and i f the
r e p o r t o f the i n q u e s t i s not w i d e l y p u b l i c i s e d , i t may indeed
l i v e on i n some o f the l e s s e r known j o u r n a l s as a p r o p e r l y
a s c e r t a i n e d and proved case.
Having s a i d that, however, one has to look a t the r e p o r t
o f the i n q u e s t c a r e f u l l y , and decide i f the coroner and
h i s j u r y r e a l l y d i d come to the proper and r i g h t d e c i s i o n
as to how the f i r e had come about.
Do we r e a l l y know,
f o r e sure, what was the cause o f the f i r e ?
I t seems c l e a r from the r e p o r t by i n v e s t i g a t o r s P e t e r
Hough and Jenny Randies t h a t the coroner h i m s e l f had been
b i a s e d from the beginning and had decided t h a t the theory
t h a t J a c q u e l i n e had caught l i g h t from l e a n i n g a g a i n s t
the cooker was the o n l y e x p l a n a t i o n f o r h e r death.
It
i s a l s o c l e a r t h a t i n some way the coroner had imposed t h i s
view on h i s j u r y , they were absent f o r o n l y t e n minutes
before r e t u r n i n g with t h e i r v e r d i c t - h a r d l y time to go
to the j u r y room, take an immediate vote, and r e t u r n .
They c l e a r l y d i d n o t d i s c u s s any o f the evidence among
themselves.
While studying the notes o f t h i s inquest, a few thoughts
occurred, which might be worth mentioning.
In the f i r s t i n s t a n c e , one i s r e i n f o r c e d r e g a r d i n g the
u n r e l i a b i l i t y o f press reports.
Before the i n q u e s t was
h e l d the h e a d l i n e s i n the newspapers were p r o c l a i m i n g
l o u d l y t h a t J a c q u e l i n e had d i e d as a r e s u l t o f t h i s mysterious
phenomenon known as spontaneous human combustion. The
same newspapers a f t e r the i n q u e s t d i s t a n c e d themselves
n e a t l y by saying "rumours t h a t cookery student, J a c q u e l i n e
F i t z s i m o n s d i e d o f spontaneous human combustion were n o t
true
"
I t i s c l e a r l y d i f f i c u l t , even a t an inquest, when witnesses
are under oath, to a r r i v e a t the f a c t s , even, i n t h i s c a s e ,
a few simple f a c t s .
There was d i s c r e p a n c y i n witnesses statements as to when
the gas r i n g was a c t u a l l y turned o f f .
Tim l e c t u r e r was
adamant t h a t i t had been turned o f f an hour b e f o r e the
c l a s s f i n i s h e d , o t h e r students s a i d t h a t i t was u s u a l to
leave the rings' on i n o r d e r to keep the room warm.
Jacqueline
h e r s e l f when i n t e r v i e w e d s a i d the back r i n g had been l e f t
on.
(But she had been t a l k i n g to h e r f r i e n d s and had
a l r e a d y come to the c o n c l u s i o n t h a t t h i s was the cause o f
her f i r e ) .
The d i s c r e p a n c y r e g a r d i n g the smock i s v e r y bothersome.
Nowhere i n our r e p o r t i s i t a c t u a l l y s t a t e d what m a t e r i a l
the smock was made o f . The s a f e t y o f f i c e r a t the school
s t a t e d t h a t the m a t e r i a l was not flammable, and the t e s t s
36
performed by the experts showed t h a t the r e g u l a r smocks
would smoulder and not b u r s t i n t o flame.
But one o f
the mature students, Foy, who works f o r a chemical
manufacturer d e s c r i b e s her c l o t h i n g as having caught
f i r e i n a moment, she was"ablaze l i k e a stunt man on TV,"
and had melted a c r y l i c a l l over her back.
Jacqueline
h e r s e l f s t a t e d t h a t w i t h i n seconds o f her f e e l i n g hot
her smock was i n flames, and when she t r i e d to get i t
o f f the burning m a t e r i a l kept d i s i n t e g r a t i n g i n her hands.
Had we been on the j u r y we would have l i k e d more q u e s t i o n s
asked about t h a t smock. Many young women a t school, e s p e c i a l l y
around J a c q u e l i n e ' s age, n a t u r a l l y l i k e to look t h e i r b e s t .
Was she i n f a c t wearing the r e g u l a t i o n 'safe' smock, or had
she brought to school a smarter, l i g h t e r , n y l o n smock,
which was flammable?
I f so, t h i s would not have been
set a l i g h t by a gas r i n g , o r r a t h e r , i t would have f l a r e d
up immediately on contact with the gas r i n g , and she would
not have had o p p o r t u n i t y to get as f a r as the s t a i r w e l l
before b e i n g enveloped i n flames.
But such a smock would
perhaps have f l a r e d up i f a l i g h t e d c i g a r e t t e had been
f l i c k e d a t i t from above, i n the manner t h a t Karen Leazer
suggested, and i n accordance with the f a c t t h a t she a l l e g e d
J a c q e u l i n e c a l l e d out " " I t ' s gone down my back, get i t out".
T h i s might a l s o accord with another f a c t t h a t seems to be
a puzzle.
I t seems that, i n f a c t , her body was not too
badly burned, i n s p i t e o f the extent o f the flames, and
she a c t u a l l y d i e d from damage and septicaemia i n her l u n g s .
Burning a c r y l i c would cause much more damage to her lungs
than would o r d i n a r y cotton o r l i n e n m a t e r i a l when on f i r e .
I t i s w e l l known, f o r i n s t a n c e , t h a t i n b u r n i n g a i r p l a n e s ,
people are overcome almost i n s t a n t a n e o u s l y by the fumes from
burning a c r y l i c m a t e r i a l s ,
J a c q u e l i n e was i n an open
s t a i r w e l l , where some o f the smoke would escape, but she
n e v e r t h e l e s s s u s t a i n e d s u f f i c i e n t l u n g damage to k i l l heh
f
The q u e s t i o n as to whether J a c q u e l i n e and her f r i e n d
had been smoking, or whether they had i n f a c t been p l a y i n g
with the h a i r spray, was not s a t i s f a c t o r i l y r e s o l v e d i n
our o p i n i o n .
Obviously the g i r l s would t r y to cover-up
i f they had been engaged i n such i l l e g a l a c t i v i t i e s .
In our considered view t h i s was not a case o f spontaneous
human combustion, but, as we have s a i d , we f e l t i t merited
d e t a i l e d r e p o r t i n g i n order t h a t the d i f f i c u l t i e s might
be r e a l i s e d when t r y i n g to i n v e s t i g a t e such cases.
E a r l i e r i n t h i s paper we r e p o r t e d the case o f Jack Angel,
a t r a v e l l i n g salesman, who had been s a i d to have
gone to bed i n h i s motorhome on the 12th November 1974,
and to have woken f o u r days l a t e r , with a badly burned
hand, a hole i n h i s chest where he had been burned, and
other burns on h i s l e g s , g r o i n , ankles, and back. H i s
c l o t h i n g and sheets were untouched by f i r e .
On admission
to h o s p i t a l the d o c t o r s t o l d him that he had been burned
i n t e r n a l l y , not e x t e r n a l l y , and he accepted t h e i r e x p l a n a t i o n .
T h i s case has been quoted e x t e n s i v e l y i n the l i t e r a t u r e on
spontaneous human combustion and has been regarded as a
c l a s s i c example.
However, t h i n g s are not always what
they seem.
Again we have to recognize the f a c t t h a t the media do
not constitute r e l i a b l e sources when d e a l i n g with s e n s a t i o n a l
stories.
The December 1981 e d i t i o n o f Omni, the p o p u l a r
science magazine, which many people would regard as i n f a l l i b l e
i n i t s r e p o r t s , s t a t e d , i n r e p o r t i n g the case of Jack
Angel, "Angel's Savannah p h y s i c i a n s p e c i f i c a l l y a t t r i b u t e d
the burns to "spontaneous combustion"... d e s c r i b e d as a
b i z a r r e m o l e c u l a r r e a c t i o n , t h a t causes people to burn
up i n s i d e " .
The p h y s i c i a n , Dr. David Fern, who had
r e p o r t e d l y been summoned to the scene o f Angel's a c c i d e n t ,
supposedly maintained there was no o t h e r reasonable
e x p l a n a t i o n , s i n c e nearby o b j e c t s i n the mobile t r a i l e r
showed no t r a c e s o f f i r e damage."
A c t u a l l y , Dr. Fern had n e i t h e r gone to the scene, nor
rushed to any such judgement.
While d e c l i n i n g to make
a d e t e r m i n a t i o n as to the exact cause the p h y s i c i a n s t a t e d
"Mr. Angel presented h i m s e l f to the h o s p i t a l with a severe
burn i n j u r y o f the hand and minor i n j u r y o f the chest w a l l .
Dr. F e r n l a t e r s t a t e d t h a t 'the d e s c r i p t i o n o f the burn and
the f i n d i n g s i n surgery are v e r y t y p i c a l o f an e l e c t r i c - t y p e
injury.
T h i s generates a high-powered heat source because
o f the r e s i s t a n c e o f the s k i n and the u n d e r l y i n g t i s s u e " .
However, thorough i n v e s t i g a t i o n e l i m i n a t e d such e x t e r n a l
sources as power l i n e s and l i g h t n i n g storms.
Angel h i r e d
lawyers, who i n turn, h i r e d an e n g i n e e r i n g l a b o r a t o r y to
i n s p e c t the motorhome's i n t e r i o r .
" E l e c t r i c a l t e s t instruments
evaluated the v e h i c l e ' s Onan g e n e r a t o r and AC w i r i n g and
uncovered no problems.
F u r t h e r i n s p e c t i o n f a i l e d to l o c a t e
d i s c o l o r a t i o n or other p h y s i c a l evidence which might have
been l e f t by the heat t h a t burned Angel's body" they
reported.
v
Hoever, they f i n a l l y turned to the o n l y remaining suspected
source o f heat i n the v e h i c l e ;
i t s hot water plumbing system.
The r a d i a t o r cap was t i g h t l y i n p l a c e , and there were no
ruptured p i p e s o r o t h e r c e r t a i n i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t h o t water
could have been the cause.
There was n e v e r t h e l e s s , one
clue:
the h o t water pump had a s l i p p e d d r i v e b e l t .
This
l e d the engineers to t h e o r i z e t h a t , l a c k i n g h o t water f o r
a shower, Angel had gone o u t s i d e , removed the h e a t e r ' s metal
cover, and opened i t s s a f e t y v a l v e .
As a consequence, a c c o r d i n g
to the e n i n g e e r s ' theory Angel was thus s u b j e c t e d to a b l a s t
of p r e s s u r i z e d s c a l d i n g h o t water.
There were i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t Angel was i n a stupor a f t e r
the a c c i d e n t , i n f a c t Angel t o l d an i n v e s t i g a t o r "I was
s t a g g e r i n g l i k e a drunk".
I n f a c t , h i s f i r s t impulse was
to v i s i t a b a r and order hard l i q u o r , r a t h e r than seek
medical a s s i s t a n c e .
I f he had been e a r l i e r i n a stupor
could t h i s have c o n t r i b u t e d to the a c c i d e n t ?
Credence i s g i v e n to t h i s theory by the f a c t t h a t Angel
subsequently sued the manufacturer o f the motorhome f o r the
d e f e c t t h a t l e a d to t h i s a c c i d e n t .
Further corroboration
f o r t h i s theory i s g i v e n by the f a c t that one Ed. Jonikens,
who v i s i t e d Angel i n h o s p i t a l , and then drove h i s v e h i c l e
home, who thought Angel's i n j u r i e s appeared to be due to
s c a l d i n g , and when he reached the motorhome he found the
p a n e l on the water h e a t e r to be "extremely hot".
The
engineers who examined the motor home found n o t o n l y t h a t
the water pump's d r i v e b e l t was o f f , b u t t h a t the water
h e a t e r ' s s a f e t y - r e l i e f v a l v e was i n the open p o s i t i o n .
This
was confirmed by a l a t e r study commissioned by the motorhome,,
c o r p o r a t i o n ' s insurance company.
Jack Angel escaped with h i s l i f e .
But many o f the o t h e r
a l l e g e d v i c t i m s o f spontaneous human combustion d i d n o t so
s u r v i v e . As we have a l r e a d y noted, many such were reduced
to heaps o f ashes.
T h e i r f a t e was c e r t a i n l y d i f f e r e n t
from t h a t o f both Jack Angel and J a c q u e l i n e F i t z s i m o n s .
Some w r i t e r s have expressed doubts about the f a t e o f Mary
Reeser, mentioned e a r l i e r i n t h i s paper.
I t i s c e r t a i n l y true
t h a t the l a s t time she was seen a l i v e was when she was s i t t i n g
i n a c h a i r , dressed i n flammable c l o t h i n g , and smoking a
c i g a r e t t e , having j u s t taken a couple o f s l e e p i n g p i l l s .
Some i n v e s t i g a t o r s have s a i d t h a t t h i s i s s u f f i c i e n t reason
to conclude t h a t she was n o t the v i c t i m o f spontaneous
human combustion.
Despite the c r i t i c i s m s we have made o f the J a c q u e l i n e
F i t z s i m o n s inquest, that conducted i n t o the f a t e o f Mary
Reeser seems to have been both exhaustive and m e t i c u l o u s .
When the firemen a r r i v e d , d e s p i t e the f a c t t h a t Mrs. Reeser
had been reduced to a p i l e o f ash, there was o n l y a small
flame present, which was e a s i l y put out. As we r e p o r t e d
e a r l i e r , one f o o t , s t i l l wearing a b l a c k s a t i n s l i p p e r ,
was s t i l l i n t a c t , and most o f the f u r n i t u r e was u n a f f e c t e d .
Newspapers, d r a p e r i e s , b e d . l i n e n s i n the room were n o t
damaged. T h i s was a death t h a t the a u t h o r i t i e s found
themselves unable to solve, and the v e r d i c t remained open.
One l i t t l e nagging q u e s t i o n remained with us.
Mrs. Reeser,
an a p p a r e n t l y h e a l t h y 6?-yr. o l d woman, had been reported;'as
s t a y i n g with, o r l o o k i n g a f t e r one o f h e r g r a n d c h i l d r e n ,
while the f a m i l y went to the beach,
When the f a m i l y
returned from the beach she had gone home - unusual i f she
was o f f i c i a l l y b a b y s i t t i n g the g r a n d c h i l d , but n o t o f course
i f she were merely v i s i t i n g .
However, the p a r e n t s o f
the c h i l d r e n were s u f f i c i e n t l y concerned that f i r s t the
daughter-in-law drove to h e r mother-in-law's house 'to
see i f e v e r y t h i n g was a l r i g h t " .
L a t e r h e r son a l s o drove
to h i s mother's home to v i s i t her.
These a c t i o n s seem
to i n d i c a t e an unusual amount o f concern over a woman o f t h a t
age, a p p a r e n t l y i n good h e a l t h , and able to g e t around.
She was t a k i n g s l e e p i n g p i l l s , that was r e p o r t e d .
The
reason f o r these two subsequent v i s i t s by the younger Reesers
was n o t d i s c u s s e d , as f a r as we are aware.
One wonder sometimes, i n the cases where people have met such
an u n t i m e l y death, why i t seems they have made no e f f o r t to
escape.
Mrs. Reeser,
o f c o u r s e , may have b e e n t o o d r o w s y
from the e f f e c t s o f the s l e e p i n g p i l l s to attempt to escape.
But we a r e p u z z l e d by the f a t e o f Mary N o r r i s , aged 32, o f Woodstock
Avenue, I s l e w o r t h , i n England.
The f i r e that k i l l e d h e r
was s a i d to have been small enough to have been p u t out i n
minutes;
neighbours had seen no smoke o r flames, and y e t
she p e r i s h e d .
I t was the second time that she had been
i n v o l v e d i n a f i r e , h e r bedroom had been gutted a few weeks
previously.
In a s i m i l a r f a s h i o n , Andrea Deeley, aged 20,
was found dead, s t i l l s i t t i n g on the settee i n h e r home i n
Hunter's Road, Handsworth, Birmingham.
The settee had
a p p a r e n t l y caught l i g h t , but the g i r l had made no attempt
to escape the flames.
But, o f course, the p o s s i b i l i t y
remains i n these two l a s t cases that they were overcome by
fumes before they were a b l e to move to save themselves.
I t would not be reasonable to suppose that these were
genuine cases o f spontaneous human combustion. •
CRITERIA FOR THEORIES OF SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION
As i s e v i d e n t from our accounts, and from the reader's
g e n e r a l knowledge, many mysterious f i r e s occur i n v o l v i n g
e i t h e r danger to human l i f e , o r a c t u a l death, t h a t are n o t
e a s i l y e x p l a i n e d , and the circumstances are n o t always made
c l e a r , even i f e x t e n s i v e and m e t i c u l o u s i n q u e s t s have been
conducted.
Simply because the o r i g i n o f a f i r e i s n o t
e a s i l y a s c e r t a i n a b l e i t does n o t f o l l o w that the person
d i e d o f spontaneous human combustion.
P o l i c e constable J e n i o n ,
a t the i n q u e s t on J a c q u e l i n e F i t z s i m o n s , s t a t e d that he
had found no evidence o f spontaneous combustion, without
e x p l a i n i n g what such evidence might c o n s i s t of, o r how he
would go about f i n d i n g i t .
We would l i k e to recap, f o r our reader's b e n e f i t , the
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f what might be regarded as a genuine
o f spontaneous human combustion.
case
SHC (spontaneous human combustion) does n o t burn l i k e a
normal f i r e .
T y p i c a l cases share a number o f c o n s i s t e n t
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s (though not a l l o f them a t once.
(1)
The v i c t i m s o f t e n seem to f e e l no p a i n , o r a t
l e a s t do n o t c r y out. F o r i n s t a n c e , d u r i n g a s e r i e s o f
unexplained f i r e s on a farm a t Binbrook, L i n c o l n s h i r e , i n
1905> a maid was observed to c a r r y on h e r sweeping, unconscious
o f the flames t h a t engulfed h e r shoulders.
She was
rescued i n time, f o r t u n a t e l y .
(2)
The heat must be i n t e n s e . S e v e r a l experts
have confirmed t h a t crematoria r e q u i r e j a temperature o f
about 900 degrees C, i n t e n s i f i e d by a f o r c e d draught, and
s u s t a i n e d f o r s e v e r a l hours to reduce a dead body to ashes.
Then a p u l v e r i s e r i s used to crunch up the lumpy b i t s . I n
cases o f SHC b o d i e s have been reduced to p i l e s o f white, o r
sooty ash, i n a s h o r t p e r i o d o f time, sometimes, as we have
i n d i c a t e d , l e a v i n g a limb untouched, and without s e r i o u s l y
a f f e c t i n g the surroundings.
(3)
SHC n o t o n l y reaches the r e q u i r e d temperatures
r a p i d l y , b u t pursues i t s course q u i c k l y and q u i e t l y .
I n Mrs.
Reeser's case, f o r i n s t a n c e , a n e i g h b o u r i n g apartment was
occupied by Mrs. Carpenter, who heard nothing, and o n l y smelt
a s l i g h t odor o f smoke, while the b u r n i n g was a p p a r e n t l y
happening.
(4)
SHC seems to burn from the i n s i d e outwards,
b e g i n n i n g i n the chest, abdomen, or i n the deep muscles.
In many r e p o r t e d cases the v i c t i m ' s body i s burned, and the
c l o t h i n g l e f t unscorched.
(We would hoever, p o i n t out
that the case o f Jack Angel has been o f t e n quoted as evidence
of t h i s p o i n t , and i t i s now w i d e l y accepted t h a t he died
of s c a l d i n g ) .
(5)
Along with the above, SHC can be w e i r d l y
selective.
In 1908,
Wilhelmina Dewar burned to death i n
her unscorched bed i n B l y t h . Likewise, i n 19^3,
i n Sussex,
Madge Knight l a y i n bed unaware she was burning; l a t e r she
awoke screaming, h e r back burned so badly she d i e d l a t e r .
( T h i s case i s undoubtedly r e m i n i s c e n t of J a c q u e l i n e F i t z s i m o n s ) .
(6)
The i n t e n s e heat o f SHC can be focussed o r
localised.
Often e a s i l y combustible m a t e r i a l s nearby are
untouched or merely scorched.
When Dr. I r v i n g B e n t l y d i e d
i n Pennsylvania i n 1966,
he seemed to have been taken by
a p i l l a r o f f i r e i n t e n s e enough to burn through the f l o o r
where he was standing, y e t the bath nearby was b a r e l y scorched.
B e n t l e y ' s l e f t l e g , burned o f f below the knee, l a y by the
hole.
Mrs. Reeser was another such example. On 19th
Feb.
1988
Dr. Mackenzie Booth, a l e c t u r e r a t Aberdeen U n i v e r s i t y ,
was c a l l e d to a l o f t o f a s t a b l e i n town. There he found
the c h a r r e d body o f a 65-year o l d man;
most of the abdominal
f l e s h was burned away, l e a v i n g the c a l c i n e d ends o f bones.
The body had burned through the f l o o r b o a r d s , and was r e s t i n g
on a charred beam; and d i r e c t l y above the body the r o o f i n g s l a t s
had burned away, c a u s i n g r o o f i n g s l a t e s to f a l l on the corpse's
head. The body was surrounded by untouched wood, and b a l e s
of hay.
Dr. Booth noted t h a t the f e a t u r e s o f the man's f a c e
were p r e s e r v e d , and concluded "from the comfortably recumbent
a t t i t u d e o f the body, i t was e v i d e n t there had been no death
struggle".
(7)
Although i n many SHC cases the body i s consumed
l e a v i n g a hand o r f o o t (the l a t t e r sometimes wearing an ,
unscorched s l i p p e r ) there are a l s o cases where the extremeties
are the f i r s t to be consumed.
(8)
F i n a l l y , a f r e q u e n t l y r e p o r t e d d e t a i l i s an
unplesant greasy brownish t a r t h a t coats most o f the smooth
s u r f a c e s a t the SHC scene. I t seems to be a byproduct o f b u r n i n g
flesh.
We would add, a l s o , that i n those cases where a person
has been seen to be c a t c h i n g f i r e , and have been rescued,
namely some where the f i r e has s t a r t e d i n the extremeties,
the flame has been d e s c r i b e d as being blue, r a t h e r than r e d
or orange.
CONCLUSIONS.
So what are we to make o f a l l these accounts?
The f i r s t c o n c l u s i o n t h a t we have come to i s t h a t there
i s always a g r e a t d e a l o f confusion, and perhaps cover-up
when somebody has met t h e i r death i n a mysterious f i r e .
Despite the extensive and m e t i c u l o u s inquests i n t o the deaths
of Mrs. Reeser and J a c q u e l i n e F i t z s i m o n s there s t i l l seem
to be some unanswered q u e s t i o n s .
Secondly, one should never underestimate the media.
Such
s t o r i e s make s p e c t a c u l a r news and s e l l newspapers and
magazines.
Newspaper and TV r e p o r t e r s cannot be r e l i e d
on f o r unbiased r e p o r t s i n s e n s a t i o n a l cases, they can
be q u i t e unscrupulous i n t h e i r r e p o r t i n g , and w i l l q u i t e
h a p p i l y omit to r e p o r t f a c t s t h a t c o n t r a d i c t t h e i r own
theories.
C o r r e c t i o n s o f m i s l e a d i n g r e p o r t s , i f ever
made, a r e r e l e g a t e d to back pages, and small paragraphs.
F o r i n s t a n c e , the true s t o r y o f Jack Angel's misadventure
has been w e l l known to i n v e s t i g a t o r s f o r some years, b u t
i t i s s t i l l r e p o r t e d both i n the media, and i n j o u r n a l s
and magazines, as a proper case o f SHC whenever the s u b j e c t
comes up f o r d i s c u s s i o n . The myth becomes perpetuated.
Having s a i d that, however, there i s n o t the s l i g h t e s t doubt,
i n our minds, t h a t r a r e , and we would repeat, extremely r a r e ,
cases o f what appear to be spontaneous human combustion do
indeed occur. The reader might l i k e to decide among the
cases we have quoted which b e s t f i t the c r i t e r i a ^
We have begun to wonder i f i n f a c t these cases should fceally be
looked a t as i f they were caused by some o r d i n a r y kind o f
fire?
Could they i n fact, be caused by some k i n d o f
r e a c t i o n that was d e s c r i b e d by Dr. F e r n when t e s t i f y i n g
i n the Jack Angel i n q u e s t .
He t a l k e d o f a ' b i z a r r e molecular
r e a c t i o n .... t h a t causes people to burn up i n s i d e " .
I f i t were, i n f a c t , some k i n d o f chemical, o r molecular,
r e a c t i o n t h a t goes on i n s i d e the body, then perhaps that
could account f o r some o f the unusual f a c t s we have mentioned.
Such a r e a c t i o n might account f o r the f a c t t h a t the p r o c e s s
seems to s t a r t w i t h i n the body i t s e l f , r a t h e r than i n the
clothing.
I t would account f o r the surroundings b e i n g
r e l a t i v e l y untouched, and f o r the f a c t that, i n some cases,
p a r t o f the body i s unconsumed. I t could account f o r
the extent o f the damage to the body i t s e l f ; a chemical
r e a c t i o n o f that k i n d o f nature might perhaps cause the
complete d e s t r u c t i o n t h a t has been d e s c r i b e d .
I t might
even account f o r the f a c t t h a t some o f the v i c t i m s seem
to f e e l no p a i n , even when t h e i r f l e s h i s a p p a r e n t l y b l a z i n g .
Many t h e o r i e s have been put forward over the y e a r s i n
an e f f o r t to account f o r t h i s mysterious phenomenon.
I n the e a r l y days, and i n some l i t e r a t u r e , i n v e s t i g a t o r s have
speculated that the v i c t i m s had been k i l l e d by gases
i n t h e i r bodies which had caught f i r e .
They were o f t e n
d e s c r i b e d as e l d e r l y , and sometimes handicapped, people who
had imbibed too much l i q u o r , which had then somehow
caught f i r e i n s i d e them.
These t h e o r i e s had to be
d i s c o u n t e d when i t became c l e a r that these c r i t e r i a by
no means f i t a l l the r e p o r t e d cases.
Some e a r l i e r cases were a t t r i b u t e d to s u p e r n a t u r a l causes;
Grace P e t t , o f Ipswich, who burned to death i n 1744,
was
w i d e l y b e l i e v e d to be a witch, and i t was s a i d she had
cast one s p e l l too many, and i t rebounded with f i e r y
consequences.
Most o f the d i s c u s s i o n s o f SHC i n text-books on f o r e n s i c
t o x i c o l o g y concern i t s use as a cover f o r murder, based
on a famous French case from 1725,
i n which an accused man
s u c c e s s f u l l y persuaded a c o u r t i n Rheims t h a t h i s wife had
spontaneously combusted i n h e r armchair.
Some medical
textbooks acknowledge a few cases where the almost complete
d e s t r u c t i o n o f the body and the l o c a l i s a t i o n o f the f i r e
are b a f f l i n g , and g r u d g i n g l y suppose t h a t the human body,
can, under circumstances unknown, develop an u n u s u a l l y
combustible conctitu-tion.
Another theory t h a t has been put forward i s the "wick" theory.
P r o f e s s o r David Gee, o f Leeds U n i v e r s i t y , has argued t h a t
burning c l o t h e s b o i l o f f the body water, then absorb the
melted f a t , becoming i n e f f e c t a wick around the body, which
continues to burn u n t i l the f i r e has consumed a l l i t s f u e l
( f a t t y tissue, clothes, or alcohol-saturated f l e s h ) .
Serious experiments, however - i n c l u d i n g those performed
by Baron J u s t u s von L i e b i g , a f a t h e r o f modern chemistry,
i n the mid-l800s - o n l y demonstrate the l i m i t a t i o n s of t h i s
theory. I g n i t i o n o f l i v i n g t i s s u e by sparks or smouldering
c l o t h i s e.jfc^rmely d i f f i c u l t , due to the body's being 12% water
with an a c t i v e blood supply to r e d i s t r i b u t e the heat.
If
c l o t h i n g smouldered l o n g enough to " b o i l o f f " the nine or ten
g a l l o n s o f water i n the a v e r a g e - s i z e d body before i t could
d e s s i c a t e the f l e s h , there would be none l e f t to a c t as a wick.
By the same token, the o l d n o t i o n of someone boozing themself
i n t o a human f i r e f i g h t e r i s a l s o untenable;
a d r i n k e r would
d i e o f a l c o h o l p o i s o n i n g l o n g before h i s t i s s u e s were
s a t u r a t e d enough to make them combustible.
A c o r o l l a r y o f the 'wick' theory i s one which s p e c u l a t e s
t h a t the body must have been i n a draught between a door
or window, and the chimney.
Under normal circumstances
any smouldering f i r e (e.g. i n c l o t h e s o r an armchair) would
not be i n t e n s e enough to i n f l i c t more than s e r i o u s s u r f a c e
burns.
The draught theory p o s t u l a t e s t h a t the extra
oxygen contained i n a c u r r e n t o f a i r between d-pr or window
and chimney would a l l o w the f i r e to reach g r e a t e r ^ temperatures
than i t would unaided, j u s t as f a n - f o r c e d oxygen i s
r e q u i r e d by i n c i n e r a t i n g machines i n crematoria. But
i t seems d o u b t f u l that draught-fed f i r e s could reach the
temperatures r e q u i r e d to fuse bone, or reduce i t to ash, as
i n Mrs. Reeser's case. (See P l a t e I I ) .
In f a c t one case
was a c t u a l l y r e p o r t e d by an i n v e s t i g a t o r , Mr. Heymer, as
a c t u a l l y o c c u r r i n g i n a room sealed with d r a u g h t - e x c l u d e r s .
Heymer's experience with the SHC case he had become
i n v o l v e d i n i n Gwent, and i t s subsequent i n v e s t i g a t i o n
made him s c a t h i n g about the way h i s f o r e n s i c a d v i s e r s r e l i e d
on the wick and draught t h e o r i e s .
In an a r t i c l e i n
the New S c i e n t i s t , o f 15 May 1986, he wrote "Let them t r y
to i n c i n c e r a t e to ashes a c l o t h e d corpse i n an a i r l e s s room
without damaging the f u r n i s h i n g s " .
He b r a v e l y proposed
an ingerious theory o f h i s own, based upon the same
e l e c t r o c h e m i c a l processes t h a t power the U.S. s p a c e - f l i g h t s .
E l e c t r i c i t y passed through water can s p l i t i t i n t o hydrogen
and oxygen. Heymer wondered i f an unknown b i o c h e m i c a l
a c t i o n i n the human c e l l s , powered by a b u i l d - u p o f
e l e c t r o s t a t i c charge, caused the/ water i n these c e l l s to
s p l i t i n t o i t s c o n s t i t u e n t gasses.
"The b u r n i n g hydrogen
would use up a l l the oxygen, l e a v i n g none to support_the
combustion o f other m a t e r i a l s " , he wrote. A b i o c h e m i c a l
f i r e o f t h i s nature could a c c e l e r a t e r a p i d l y from c e l l to
c e l l , l i k e a b u s h f i r e , from the deep t i s s u e s outward, and be
e x t i n g u i s h e d j u s t as q u i c k l y when i t l o s e s i t s momentum.
No - s c i e n t i s t , as f a r as we are aware, has as y e t commented
on the f e a s i b i l i t y o f Heymer's theory.
The F o r t e a n w r i t e r , Ivan Sanderson, wondered whether
l o n e l i n e s s might a f f e c t the metabolism, causing an accumulatio
o f inflammable n i t r o g l y c e r i n e - l f k e phosphagens i n muscle
tissue.
From the annals o f medical c u r i o s i t i e s , we a l s o
know o f cases o f inflammable p e r s p i r a t i o n , e l e c t r i c people
who emit sparks and glows, and o f accumulations o f methane
and 'phospheretted hydrogen gases'.
What i f the heatg e n e r a t i n g p r o c e s s e s i n the l i v e r and brown f a t l a y e r s went
out o f c o n t r o l ? Could that be a f a c t o r i n HSC?
A c c o r d i n g to y o g i c teachings some k i n d o f biofeedback c o n t r o l
over the body's heat g e n e r a t i o n i s p o s s i b l e .
I n the T i b e t a n
r i t e o f Tumo, f o r example, the adept has to s i t naked
i n the c o l d a i r , and by m e d i t a t i n g upon f i r e , i n c r e a s e s h i s
body heat so t h a t he can s u r v i v e .
There are s t o r i e s o f
monks b e i n g able to dry out dozens of sheets soaked i n
f r e e z i n g water t h i s way.
Normally, the body's autonomic
nervous c o n t r o l system i s beyond conscious i n t e r v e n t i o n ,
but perhaps i n SHC a k i n d o f negative i n t e r f e r e n c e i s
operating.
Again, i n E a s t e r n and e s o t e r i c t r a d i t i o n s , the use o f p s y c h i c
powers can a l s o generate heat as a byproduct, e i t h e r i n the
body or i n a m a g i c a l o b j e c t . I n some p o l t e r g e i s t cases, f o r
example, o b j e c t s f l u n g through the a i r , o r on m a t e r i a l i s i n g ,
are found to be hot.
We a l s o cannot d i s c o u n t the f a c t
t h a t spontaneous f i r e s o f t e n occur around people who are
e x p e r i e n c i n g t h i s type o f phenomenon. We r e f e r r e d to some
o f these a t the b e g i n n i n g o f t h i s paper.
I t seems to us
a theory w e l l worth c o n s i d e r i n g . I f t h i s idea has any
substance i t may p r o v i d e a l i n k between SHC and u n d i s c i p l i n e d
psychic a c t i v i t y .
In a few modern cases of unexplained f i r e s , t e s t s to d e t e c t
p o s s i b l e microwave r a d i a t i o n have proved n e g a t i v e , n e v e r t h e l e s
as a method o f g e n e r a t i n g heat a t a d i s t a n c e , which can a l s o
cook from the i n s i d e out, t h i s should not be r u l e d out
e n t i r e l y i n cases o f SHC.
S i m i l a r l y , some i n v e s t i g a t o r s
have wondered about the e f f e c t s of ELF r a d i a t i o n from power
lines.
These ideas, however, do not account f o r SHC cases
that o c c u r r e d b e f o r e the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f power b r o a d c a s t i n g
and d i s t r i b u t i o n .
L i g h t n i n g i s a n a t u r a l source o f
microwaves, and can create weird b a l l s o f plasma energy
which p l a y p o l t e r g e i s t - l i k e t r i c k s ;
t h i s was w r i t e r Maxwell
Cade's candidate f o r t r i g g e r i n g SHC.
The b i o c h e m i c a l mass o f the human body s t i l l has
s e n s i t i v i t i e s both unexplored and undiscovered.
One
r e s e a r c h e r , L i v i n g s t o n Gearhart, i n 1875, found a c o r r e l a t i o n
between HSC events and changes i n the peaks o f the e a r t h ' s
geomagnetic f i e l d , as though the f l u c t u a t i o n s o f the f i e l d
had t r i g g e r e d the combustions.
A f i n a l theory r e l a t e s the event to something l i k e n u c l e a r
d i s i n t e g r a t i o n , b r i d g i n g the m y s t i c a l and the p h y s i c a l .
I t supposes t h a t there i s a l i f e - f o r c e which h o l d s t o g e t h e r
the c o n s t i t u e n t s o f the body.
I f t h i s m a l f u n c t i o n s , the
body s t r u c t u r e begins to d i s i n t e g r a t e , g i v i n g o f f heat i n
an u n c o n t r o l l e d e q u i v a l e n t o f the way i n which n u c l e a r
f i s s i o n i s used i n a power s t a t i o n .
As f a r as we know,
no one has y e t taken a Geiger counter to the scene o f
an SHC to check f o r r e s i d u a l r a d i a t i o n .
We o u r s e l v e s are r e l u c t a n t to put forward a theory.
The r e a d e r must judge f o r h i m s e l f o r h e r s e l f .
From
a l l we have read o f the subject, most r e p u t a t i o n minded
p h y s i c i a n s and s c i e n t i s t s s t e e r w e l l c l e a r o f attempting
to e x p l a i n the phenomenon. Most o f those who have been
i n v o l v e d i n any way i n i n v e s t i g a t i n g such cases d e c l a r e
themselves completely b a f f l e d .
In spite of intensive
i n q u i r y and and lengMiy and comprehensive i n q u e s t s , the
experts u s u a l l y come "up with an ambiguous c o n c l u s i o n , a t
the v e r y b e s t .
While i t i s c e r t a i n t h a t some cases where death
i s r e p o r t e d as being due to SHC there may be some
reasonable doubt about what happened, i n others the
evidence seems i r o n c l a d .
I t i s d i f f i c u l t indeed to f i n d
an e x p l a n a t i o n f o r the deaths o f Mrs. Reeser, and Dr.
Bentley,
f o rinstance.
Spontaneous human combustion, i s a r a r e and f r i g h t e n i n g
phenomenon, but i t remains as much o f a p u z z l e as when i t
was f i r s t r e p o r t e d some f o u r c e n t u r i e s ago.
BIBLEOGRAPHY.
Can We E x p l a i n the P o l t e r g e i s t
- A.R.G. Owen. 1964.
Garrett Publications.
Strange and Anomalous Phenomena - A New Horizons Monograph.
January
Did
1985.
Jack Angel Survive Spontaneous Combustion?
Joe N i c k e l l and John F. F i s h e r - Fate Mag..May
1989.
F i r e s - Ed. a r t i c l e - F o r t e a n Times, Autumn 1978.
P s y c h i c Arson? F o r t e a n Times - Issue No. 38
The Human Flame Thrower - F o r t e a n Times - Issue No. 42
The C r e a t i o n o f a Myth? Postmortem on the J a c q u e l i n e F i t z s i m o n
'SHC
Inquest.
P e t e r Hough & Jenny Randies.
F o r t e a n Times. Issue No. 47.
Hands on F i r e - M. Richond
des Brus.
Fortean Times. Issue No.
Small B a l l s o f F i r e - F o r t e a n Times Issue No. 55.
F i r e from Heaven, Review o f book by Michael H a r r i s o n , F o r t e a n
Times, Issue No. 58
Smokescreen - Feature a r t i c l e
- F o r t e a n Times, Issue 63.
Spontaneous Human Combustion - Review o f book by Jenny
Randies and P e t e r Hough. Fortean Times. Issue No. 66.
SORRAT - A H i s t o r y o f Neihardt P s y c h o k i n e s i s Experiments,
John Thomas Richards - Scarecrow Puss 1982.
THE HUMAN FLAME-THROWER
During the trial of Carole Compton, the Scottish nanny accused of setting fires in Italy,
allegedly by paranormal powers [see FIRES on
p46. ], mention was made of the concurrrent
native sensation Benedetto Supino, a lOyr-old
boy who can demonstrably set objects ablaze
by gazing at them.
Benedetto is the son of a carpenter, and lives
in the resort of Formia, not far from Rome. A
fairly shy and studious boy, he is slightly embarrassed at all the attention he is getting for
purely involuntary incidents. It began, so we
are told, in 1982, when a comic he was reading,
in a dentist's sitting room, caught fire. One
morning he awoke to find his bedclothes on fire
- he was painfully burned. He does not smoke
and the incident mystified and frightened him
and his family. "I don't want things to catch
fire. But what can I do," he shrugs.
A plastic object held by his Uncle Erasmo
burst into flames as Benedetto stared at it. Everywhere he went furniture, fittings and objects
smouldered. Pages of books were scorched
where he touched them. Along with the fiery
phenomena came the peculiar electromagnetic
effects which were a familiar feature of the
famous Rosenheim poltergeist case and others.
Electrical objects in the house would function
erratically, and the power supply actually failed
several times. When he visited his father's workshop machinery would stop or not start, and
the firm spent over £3000 on repairs before
they made the surprising connection. Witnesses
have seen his hands glow at such times.
His distraught parents began taking him to
doctors, and so prominent was the boy's unwanted gift that he soon came to the attention
of top scientists. Dr Giovanni Ballesio, Dean
of Physical Medicine at Rome University
said: "It is wrong to call him an
'Electric Boy' because
PiAT£
he really doesn't possess any more electricity
than anybody else." Prof Mario Scuncio of the
Tivoli Social Medical Centre said the boy was
"perfectly normal." We wonder what abnormal
or paranormal means to this professor? Dr
Massimo Inardi, a celebrated TV doctor,
thought the boy was "cleaiiy capable of projecting his aggressive powers on outside objects
in an extraordinary manner." Though the
family got no comfort from these statements,
they were undoubtedly relieved when, after an
examination, Archbishop Vincenzo Fagiolo
pronounced the phenomenon "not malign,"
and warned, "Neither must his extraordinary
powers be considered miracles." Meanwhile,
noted parapsychologist, Dr Demetrio Croce, has
taken Benedetto under his wing, hoping to
channel his "extrasensory powers of considerable force" into healing and research by teaching the boy how to control
the phenomenon. 3.
Mirror 21 Aug;
Weekend 1
Nov 1983.
4 ^
Benedetto Supino, holding one of his sheets which had burned
through. [Photo: Weekend ? Nov 1983.]
Ar?E/vv/X: VLATE
THE ARMCHAIR
OF OBLIY IOrV
"Wo.' No! Not the comfy chair!"
M. Python.
I
n the annals of SHC, probably the
best known case is that of Mrs Mary
Reeser [inset), who was almost
totally consumed by afireof
unknown origin as she reclined in an
overstuffed armchair in her apartment in
St Petersburg, Florida, in the night of 1
ZL
July 1951. In the morning, her landlady
took her a telegram and found the doorknob too hot to handle. She called for
help, and the party were met by a blast
of hot air as they opened the door. In a
charred circle lay the few remains of Mrs
Reeser and her chair: burnt springs,
fragments of backbone, a cooked liver,
and a skull shrunk to the size of fist.
The photo shows the damage in the
region of the chain above a four-foot
line, heat had buckled, cracked and
melted fragile items and coated walls
with greasy soot. The inquest deter-
ee. The coroner who presided at the inquest
was the same one who had twice denied that it
had taken place...
In another case from north-west England,
two people had emerged from a high-rise flat
as human fireballs and died as a result of their
injuries. The story had made the front page of
one regional newspaper, but it never carried
details of the post mortem or the inquest
(which we discovered was held remarkably
fast and established an 'open verdict'.
We visited the scene of the tragedy and
found the area rife with rumours. Staff on the
local paper were puzzled that they had never
carried the story at all. "We covered every little
chip pan fire", noted a senior reporter incredulously. But this double fire mystery on their
door step which was common knowledge
mined that heat in excess of 2500F was
needed to reduce a living body to this
state, yet a pile of papers less than a foot
away had not caught fire.
An FBI statement suggested that Mrs
Reeser had fallen asleep while smoking,
having taken her usual sleeping pills, but
this was refuted by experts at the inquest
who testified that even if her clothes had
ignited this way it would have caused
only superficial burns, and even if the
armchair stuffing smouldered it could not
have generated enough intensity to ignite
or char a living body so completely.
locally, with all sorts of connotations (love triangle, suicide pact, even murder allegations)
got not one word. We never found out why.
As for official help on the matter, we were
sent from one department to the next, faced
with replies such as: "I don't think I can tell
you that". At one stage the person we spoke to
had to go and check if they could give us a
department phone number we could have got
from the phone book!
After weeks of on-the-beat investigation,
we were able to tell the police more than their
press officer could tell us when they finally
agreed to say anything at all. Ultimately, the
coroner agreed to provide a few quotes that,
frankly, made the case more contentious.
The point is that, while we were asking for
nothing that could not be obtained by reasonFortean Times 63 - 47
S T R A N G E FIRES
• Mary Carter, 86, an elderly widow, was found dead in
the hall of her flat in Ivor
Rd, Sparkhill, Birmingham. Although she died,
from a heart attack, she had
severe burns, yet there was
no evidence of any fire in
the flat, her inquest was
told. A fire investigation
team concluded that her
clothing must have caught
fire "elsewhere" and she
had been running for help
when she was engulfed by
flame. There were candles
and matches in some rooms
but none near the body. If
there was any evidence that
these had been alight, or
had ignited her clothes, it
would not have been labelled a 'fire riddle'. Wolverhampton Express & Star
23 April 1985.
• Paul Hayes, a 19yr-old
London computer operator, is one of that select
band who seem to have survived a spontaneous combustion - see photo. What
happened to him, as he
walked along a quiet road in
Stepney Green, late on the
night of 25th May 1985, remains a mystery to police
and medical investigators,
because he suddenly and
inexplicably burst into
flames. From the waist up,
he was surrounded by intense flames, as though, in
his own words, he had been
doused with petrol and set
alight. "It was indescribable...like being plunged into
the heat of a furnace...My
arms felt as though they
were being prodded by redhot pokers, from my shoulders to my wrists. My
cheeks were red-hot, my
ears were numb. My chest
felt like boiling water had
been poured over it. I
thought I could hear my
brains bubbling." Fearing
more for his eyes, he instinctively shut them tight
and put his hands over
them.
Screaming
and
shouting, "I tried to run,
stupidly thinking I could
race ahead of the flames."
But he fell to the pavement.
In distress and pain, he
curled up into a ball. "I
thought I was dying. Images of my parents, my
friends, my girlfriend,
came to mind." Then, as
suddenly as it began, his
half minute ordeal was
over. "I opened my eyes.
There was no flame, no
smoke. For a few minutes I
lay still, terrified. I began to
shiver with shock." He felt
himself gingerly. "I was
numb in some spots, white-
hot in others." Luckily he
was only a few streets away
from the London Hospital,
and
he stumbled into
casualty, where he received
prompt
treatment
for
burns on his hands, forearms, face, neck and ears.
Paul does not smoke. London
Standard 31 May;
National Enquirer 23 Julv
1985.
• Earlier still last year was
news of an "enigmatic explosion" in the mouth of a
61yr-old patient at the Innsbruck University Clinic.
According to the accounts
of other patients, the pensioner "suddenly spat fire"
and suffered burns to the
face. Only the speedy intervention of other patients
prevented him from further injury. AP. Soester
Anzeizer 15 Feb 1985.
Paul Hayes holds up the shirt he was wearing the night he
burst into flame unaccountably.