Spontaneous Combustion

Spontaneous human combustion is when someones body bursts into flames without no apparent source, and for no apparent reason. There have only been 200 cases of SHC in the last 300 years, some ausing deaths. One case reports half a persons leg found in a pile of their own ashes. According to wikipedia there are three possible causes. 1: the work for ghosts or aliens. 2: the production of abnormally concentrated gas or raised levels of blood alcohol cause spontaneous ignition. 3: an external source of ignition e.g. the victim dropped a ciggarette. I searched the internet and found two cases of people surviving S.H.C.
in September 1985, the following events occured when a woman was walking home and creating blue flashes of light.

It was me. I was lighting up the driveway every couple of steps. As we got into the garden I thought it was funny at that point. I was walking around in circles saying: 'look at this, mum, look!' She started screaming and my brother came to the door and started screaming and shouting 'Have you never heard of spontaneous human combustion?'

”

Debbie's mother, Dianne Clark:

“	I screamed at her to get her shoes off and it [the flashes] kept going so I hassled her through and got her into the bath. I thought that the bath is wired to earth. It was a blue light you know what they call electric blue. She thought it was fun, she was laughing.

The next occured in Winter, 1980.
usan Motteshead was standing in her kitchen, wearing flame-resistant pajamas, when she was suddenly engulfed in a short-lived fire that seemed to have ignited the fluff on her clothing but burned out before it could set anything properly alight.^[10]

“

I was in the kitchen and my daughter just screamed out that my back was on fire. As I looked down it sort of whooshed all over me. It was like yellow and blue flames all over me. I was not burned at all. Not even my hair was burned.

”

The daughter, Joanne Motteshead, confirms this account and adds that the fire brigade arrived and tried (unsuccessfully) to set fire to Susan's pajamas.

• The two subjects (Debbie Clark and Susan Motteshead), speaking independently and with no knowledge of each other, give similar histories.^[10]

Clark:

“

I was not wearing any nylon clothing [at the time of the flashes]. I used to suffer a lot with static electricity so I tended not to wear anything nylon. I used to crackle with static when taking off my clothes and if I touched any metal thing it used to hurt me. I used to have a lot of trouble with electrical things. They would break down or blow up.

”

Motteshead:

“	I had just washed and dried my hair [at the time of the incident]. I used to have a lot when I was younger. I used to get shocks from touching fridges, things like that.