Spontaneous Human Combustion.

[TESLATOM]

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[Geri_Mars]

I still believe its myth..one of those pics looks as though the person is laying beside the fireplace...go figure

[Talisyn]

One of the more likely causes of SHC is the wick effect.

The wick effect is the name given to the partial destruction of a human body by fire, when the clothing of the victim soaks up melted human fat and acts like the wick of a candle. The wick effect is a phenomenon that has been proven to occur under certain conditions, and thoroughly observed. It is one commonly offered explanation for the alleged phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion (SHC).

The wick effect theory essentially says that a person is burned through his/her own fats after being ignited, accidentally or otherwise. The clothed human body acts like an "inside-out" candle, with the fuel source (human fat) inside and the wick (the clothing of the victim) outside. Hence there is a continuous supply of fuel in the form of melting fat seeping into the victim's clothing. Fat contains a large amount of energy due to the presence of long hydrocarbon chains.

It's a tried and proven way for the body to burn entirely. There are of course other SHC events that aren't possible via this method.

Robert Francis Bailey is a fantastic case of SHC with eyewitnesses seeing blue flame coming out of his abdomen.