Spontaneous Human Combustion

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) describes alleged cases of the burning of a living human body without an apparent external source of ignition. While there have been about 200,000 cited cases worldwide over a period of around 300 years, most of the alleged cases are characterized by the lack of a thorough investigation, or rely heavily on hearsay and oral testimony. In many of the more recent cases, where photographic evidence is available, it is alleged that there was an external source of heat present (often cigarettes), and nothing occurred "spontaneously."