Spontaneous Human Combustion

by Morgan Farrell | January 2022

For centuries, the mysterious phenomenon known as Spontaneous Human Combustion has puzzled both amateur and professional researchers. To date, no satisfactory explanation for this rare occurrence has emerged, which makes it an excellent subject for a Remote Viewing investigation. Our Remote Viewing study into this strange phenomenon focused on a single and seemingly typical case - that of Mary Reeser.

Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC) is broadly defined as an anomalous event where a human being, seemingly at random, bursts into flames from within. There is no readily identifiable ignition source, and the combustion occurs without warning, generally resulting in a fatality. There is very little remaining of the victim but a pile of fine ash, and sometimes a limb, or other partial extremity. However, in extremely rare cases, the victim has survived to tell their story – with quite visibly damaged skin to back up their account.

Historical Cases

This strange and unexplained phenomenon has intrigued both scientists and laypersons alike for centuries. The first occurrence of such an event was recorded in Italy, during the reign of Queen Bona Sforza, between 1468-1503. Danish physician Thomas Bartholin recorded this story in his 1641 volume of anomalous medical phenomena entitled Historiarum Anatomicarum Rariorum, regarding the death of the knight Polonus Vorstius. As the tale goes, Polonus enjoyed some particularly strong wine one evening with dinner, when shortly thereafter, he began to complain of something not agreeing with his stomach.  Suddenly, he began to violently exhale fire, prior to his entire body bursting aflame in front of several witnesses, including his parents. Although no previous known example of such a seemingly irrational, illogical event exists, a significant number of cases have been reported in the years and centuries since.

In an account first recorded in 1731, the Countess Cornelia Di Bandi retired to her chambers one night after dinner, where she appeared “dull and heavy”. Noting the Countess’ failure to rise at her usual hour, her mistress called to her through her closed chamber door and was met with silence. Opening and peering through the bedroom window, the mistress was shocked to discover the following gruesome sight: “four feet distance from the bed there was a heap of ashes, two legs untouched, from the foot to the knee, with their stockings on, between them was the lady’s head, whose [sic] brains, half the back part of the skull and the whole chin, were burnt to ashes, amongst which were found three fingers blackened.” Common traits of the phenomenon present in this case were a greasy, soot covered room, but otherwise no discernible damage to the surrounding area. However, in this case, there was one particularly interesting item of note: a pair of candlewicks remained perfectly intact while the tallow around them had been burnt completely away.

In 1899, the Kirby sisters, who lived separately, each with one of their estranged parents, allegedly both fell victim to SHC simultaneously, separated by a few miles. The sisters’ mother returned home from fetching water at a nearby well only to discover her daughter Amy in flames. With the fire extinguished, the mother raced to her husband’s house to inform him of what had happened. However, on her way there, she encountered a neighbor who was on his way to deliver the unfortunate news: Amy’s sister Alice had just burst into flames in her house, and was not expected to live. Both sisters were declared dead upon arrival at the local hospital.

In 1967, an English woman waiting on a bus noticed blue-hued flames through the window of an abandoned apartment building as she stood at the bus stop with some co-workers. Presuming a gas line rupture, she called the fire department, who responded to the scene. Upon entering the building, firefighters reportedly discovered the body of a homeless man, Robert Francis Bailey, having a “slit of about four inches” in his abdomen, “from which was issuing, at force, a blue flame”. The firefighters concurred that the source of this blue flame was most certainly internal, though no rational explanation could be offered.

Spontaneous Human Combustion Theories

Historically, there have been many proposed explanations for this unexplained phenomenon. These range from a connection to alcoholism (partially popularized by reference in Charles Dickens’ novel Bleak House), to the supernatural and divine intervention. Today, more modern theories encompass a greater range of scientific understanding but remain little more than theories. Some speculate that ignition occurs when methane gas encounters certain enzymes in the digestive tract. Others propose that transient charges, such as ball lightning, or geo-electromagnetic forces might be to blame. Or perhaps the required spark results from something as simple as an internal buildup and discharge of static electricity. And finally, there is the skeptical perspective, which all too often trends towards the cynical. This train of thought presumes that cases where all causes have been ruled out besides SHC are at best mis-identifications and at worst incompetently reported. In other words, nothing more than a simple accident, easily explained, with nothing unusual about it.

Unfortunately, none of these theories can account for the numerous anomalies commonly associated with cases of SHC. Most viewpoints infer that regardless of the supposed ignition source SHC is a byproduct of standard oxygen-fueled combustion. However, the bulk of the available evidence suggests that this is not the case. Too many instances report anomalies inconsistent with standard fire-induced deaths, such as highly flammable materials failing to catch fire, even when in direct contact with the victim, while denser materials such as bone are reduced to ash. Equally curious, most victims of SHC exhibit no signs of struggle, or that any attempt was made to extinguish the flames.

A private researcher named Larry Arnold, who spent a great deal of time investigating the mysterious phenomenon we call SHC, came up with an alternative explanation: the presence of a rare and uncategorized subatomic particle, which he called a “pyroton”. This concept was first described in his 1995 book Ablaze. When passing through the body in the form of cosmic rays, he posited that this particle could potentially strike a cell nucleus and react with an explosive force.

Another alternative idea, presented by John E. Heymer, in the book The Entrancing Flame, suggests that the cause might in fact be psychosomatic in nature. A combination of loneliness, stress, and/or deep depression could lead to a trance-like mental state, wherein the individual initiates a devastating chain reaction within their own internal makeup. The theories only get stranger from here, and certainly there are those who presume the responsibility truly lies with an outside force, be it aliens, demons, or God. But at the end of the day, as of now, society at large simply does not know for sure.

Remote Viewing Insights

Our RV study of this strange phenomenon focused on a single and seemingly typical case – that of Mary Reeser. While making her daily rounds, Ms. Reeser’s landlady discovered that the door to her apartment was exceedingly hot. Concerned, she entered the room only to discover her tenant’s remains lying in a section of charred carpet. All that was left was a pile of ashes, a skull, and a single foot that was completely undamaged. Nearby her table and chair stood upright, indicating no sign of struggle, and curiously, a stack of newspapers on the floor, wholly intact.

The RV session work portrays a timeline, beginning when the subject Mary Reeser, encountered a rare earth element or compound in the form of an airborne particulate, similar to a “hot” or radioactively charged particle. According to our work, it appears that this unnamed rare earth element was, in this case, purposely dispersed in a public place by way of a small, hidden canister. Bizarre as it sounds, session data very clearly states that this incident was no accident. It was a carefully considered and clandestinely executed. Unfortunately for Ms. Reeser, she had now become the subject of scientific experiment, albeit unwittingly. And so it happened that through no fault of her own, she unknowingly inhaled or ingested a small amount of a mysterious element, and a short while later was erupted in flames.

When Ms. Reeser arrived home that night she began to feel somewhat sickly. She collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain, but only for a moment. At this point, an incredible event occurred, as described by our remote viewers: in the subject’s abdomen a chemical reaction, initiated by the presence of the rare, foreign particulate, combined with the correct internal conditions. The result was spectacular and lasted for a mere moment.

An instantaneous burst of energy began enveloping Ms. Reeser, the effects of which can be closely described as something like microwaves. The SHC phenomenon often displays characteristics commonly associated with radiation, being tremendously powerful at the source, while dispersing rapidly with increased distance. However, an interesting and particularly puzzling characteristic identified by remote viewers is the apparent presence of a self-limiting effect in the form of an outer, shell-like field of ice and crystal. At the core of the event, viewers describe a vacuum-like environment. The outburst of energy, as it suddenly erupts, collapses into a void, and is self-extinguished. Equally interesting, our RV session data repeatedly confirms that the effect produced by the microwave-like energy burst is as much akin to rotting from the inside out, as it is to burning.

In the case of Ms. Reeser, it appears that the event lasted only a few short moments, and Mary’s death was mercifully brief. Its circumstances, however, remain unfortunate – enough so were this some random occurrence, a happenstance crossing of paths between a woman and the elements, but as we have discovered, that is not the case in this instance. As part of the aforementioned experiment, it seems Mary was followed home after her oblivious encounter with the unnamed element. Someone else was there, monitoring the effects. Someone watched her die.

Conclusions

When dealing with so-called unknowns, or mysteries beyond our current societal or scientific understanding, it is important to remember that we as remote viewers can only describe these things to the best of our ability, within our existing framework of understanding, and our present vocabulary. As such, the ideas conveyed should be considered in this light. To achieve maximum real-world problem-solving potential, RV is best used in conjunction with other scientific methods of exploration, and RV-generated data is most effectively evaluated and analyzed by a field-specific professional. However, we as a group, lacking such a specialist, have done the best we can to shed some light on this strange and rare phenomenon.

First conclusion: The primary cause of spontaneous human combustion is indeed an internal electro-chemical reaction induced by the presence of a foreign substance, much like a charged particle, in this case a rare earth element. This would seem to support, to some extent at least, the concept of the “pyroton”, as laid out by Larry Arnold.

Second conclusion: The effects of this reaction are in fact closer in nature to a microwave radiation burst, as opposed to a burst of flame, as we would think of it. This single fact alone could account for a number of anomalies not normally associated with SHC. For one: the lack of damage to a variety of highly combustible items and materials found in the immediate proximity of many of the victims. This may also be the reason that organic tissue appears to be particularly susceptible to the effects. Consider Countess Di Bandi’s melted candle tallow with the wick untouched. And the fact that RV sessions described the effect on Mary Reeser as much akin to rotting as burning.

Third conclusion: The effect of the reaction is brief, self-limiting, and self-extinguishing. It is extremely powerful, with great destructive potential – especially to living organic tissue – given the state of victims’ remains. The standard method of reduction used in crematoriums is to subject the remains to a temperature of around 1200 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours.  However, it requires a consistent temperature of at least 3000 degrees to incinerate bone, the densest of human organic materials, readily.  Clearly the power generated during an SHC event must be enormous, given the rapid and destructive results.

Fourth conclusion: As much a postulate as it is a conclusion, it would seem as though someone, or some organization, already knows precisely the element required to initiate spontaneous human combustion. Furthermore, it appears that a supply of this element has been isolated for use, and is in someone’s possession. Unfortunately, it can be inferred based on a great deal of historical precedent, that those in possession of said material are very likely more interested in its exploitation as part of a weapons platform, than any energy providing potentials it may have to offer.

As you can see, our RV exploration of the phenomenon known as spontaneous human combustion resulted in some surprising discoveries.  Perhaps the most revealing insight is the nature of the energetic release – that of a microwave-like radiation, thus accounting for one of the biggest anomalies reported in cases of SHC: the contrast of an almost completely incinerated body, surrounded by various, highly flammable materials that remain virtually unscathed.  However, as is so often the case with such mysterious subject matter, each new piece of the puzzle brings with it new questions.  What, precisely, is the rare earth element identified by remote viewers, and where does it come from?  Once inside the body, what are the exact conditions required to set off a chain reaction?  Is it the element that’s rare, or is it the necessary internal conditions within the people?  Each of these questions, and more, can be used as a “jump-off” point for future RV explorations.  Perhaps what we have uncovered thus far can serve as inspiration for further scientific research into SHC, or, at the very least, as insight into the capabilities of RV as a unique and powerful research tool that virtually anyone can use.

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