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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Is spontaneous combustion of a human body preternatural	Anne	Sunday, March 5, 2017
Question: On Unsolved Mysteries and in other stories I have heard of a human body combust spontaneously. Does this have anything to do with the electrical current we have when we touch metal in the winter and a little spark pops out, or is this preternatural, do you think?
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r), LTh, DD Anne: Spontaneous human combustion does not exist. There are always exterior flame sources of some sort, such as a cigarette, fire place, candles, or some other similar source. In the Life Science article, Spontaneous Human Combustion: Facts & Theories, Benjamin Radford reports: Only about a dozen claimed real-life cases of SHC have been investigated in any detail. Researcher Joe Nickell examined many "unexplainable" cases in his book "Real-Life X-Files" and found that all of them were far less mysterious than often suggested. Most of the victims were elderly, alone and near flames (often cigarettes, candles, and open fires) when they died. If the person is asleep, intoxicated, unconscious, infirm or otherwise unable to move or put the flames out, the victim's clothes can act as a wick (most people spend most of their time wrapped in flammable clothing made up of cottons and polyester blends). The flames draw on the body's fat (a flammable oil very near the skin's surface which combines with the burning clothing) to fuel the fire. This is called the "wick effect." Brian Dunning in his article, Spontaneous Human Combustion, from the Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena podcasts states: The application of the wick effect to human corpses is not supposition, but proven fact. In 2001, the Journal of Forensic Sciences published an account of a test performed at the State of California's Bureau of Forensic Services in which a pig carcass was wrapped in a blanket and provided with a source of ignition. After a number of hours, the smoldering fire was extinguished and it was discovered that the part of the pig that had burned so far, bones and all, had been reduced to ash. The experiment was repeated on the BBC television program QED. The body burns very slowly, with only a tiny flame or even no visible flame at all; and like a candle, the heat is so localized that very little else in the vicinity is affected by it. There is no paranormal pr preternatural going on here. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

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Posted By

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Is spontaneous combustion of a human body preternatural

Anne

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Question:

On Unsolved Mysteries and in other stories I have heard of a human body combust spontaneously. Does this have anything to do with the electrical current we have when we touch metal in the winter and a little spark pops out, or is this preternatural, do you think?

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r), LTh, DD

Anne:

Spontaneous human combustion does not exist. There are always exterior flame sources of some sort, such as a cigarette, fire place, candles, or some other similar source.

In the Life Science article, Spontaneous Human Combustion: Facts & Theories, Benjamin Radford reports:

Only about a dozen claimed real-life cases of SHC have been investigated in any detail. Researcher Joe Nickell examined many "unexplainable" cases in his book "Real-Life X-Files" and found that all of them were far less mysterious than often suggested. Most of the victims were elderly, alone and near flames (often cigarettes, candles, and open fires) when they died.

If the person is asleep, intoxicated, unconscious, infirm or otherwise unable to move or put the flames out, the victim's clothes can act as a wick (most people spend most of their time wrapped in flammable clothing made up of cottons and polyester blends). The flames draw on the body's fat (a flammable oil very near the skin's surface which combines with the burning clothing) to fuel the fire.

This is called the "wick effect." Brian Dunning in his article, Spontaneous Human Combustion, from the Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena podcasts states:

The application of the wick effect to human corpses is not supposition, but proven fact. In 2001, the Journal of Forensic Sciences published an account of a test performed at the State of California's Bureau of Forensic Services in which a pig carcass was wrapped in a blanket and provided with a source of ignition. After a number of hours, the smoldering fire was extinguished and it was discovered that the part of the pig that had burned so far, bones and all, had been reduced to ash. The experiment was repeated on the BBC television program QED. The body burns very slowly, with only a tiny flame or even no visible flame at all; and like a candle, the heat is so localized that very little else in the vicinity is affected by it.

There is no paranormal pr preternatural going on here.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.