Spontaneous Human Combustion



I have heard of combustible materials during Fire Prevention & First Aid Course, but I find that the term spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC) is a way too mind-boggling a subject. Imagine a person going up in flames for no reason at all. It goes like this: Spontaneous Human Combustion is a name used to describe cases of burning of a living human body without an external source of ignition. Wow...say what? Burning without external source of ignition?


To date, there are over 200 reported cases that has been compiled for the past 3 Centuries. Although, in the past, due to the lack of modern technology, much is depended on hearsay & there is a lack of photographic evidence.

Some Cases of SHC
Case No. 1: Debbie Clark
In September 1985, a young woman named Debbie Clark was walking home when she noticed an occasional flash of blue 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.

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. ”


Case No 2: Susan Motteshead
In winter 1980, Cheshire, England resident Susan 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.

“ 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.

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.


(These first 2 accounts are reported in a book entitled "The Entrancing Flame" by John Heymer. )


Case No 3: John Irving Bentley
Bentley was last seen alive on December 4, 1966, when friends visiting him at his home said goodnight to him at about 9:00 P.M. On the following morning, December 5, Don Gosnell, a meter reader, let himself into Bentley's house and went to the basement to check the meter—since Bentley could only move about with the help of a walker, Mr. Gosnell had permission to enter as necessary.

While in the basement, Gosnell noticed a strange smell and a light blue smoke. Intrigued, he went upstairs to investigate. The bedroom was smoky and in the bathroom he found Bentley's cremated remains.

All that was left intact of the aged doctor was the lower half of his right leg with the slipper still on it. The rest of his body had been reduced to a pile of ashes on the floor in the basement below. His walker lay across the hole in the floor generated by the fire. The rubber tips on it were still intact, and the nearby bathtub was hardly scorched. Gosnell ran from the building to get help, screaming "Doctor Bentley's burned up!".


Case No 4: Mary Reeser
On the night of July 1 – July 2, 1951 she burned to death in her apartment and the nickname "The Cinder Lady" was given to her posthumously by the local media.

The alarm was raised at about 8 a.m. July 2 when Reeser's landlady, Pansy Carpenter, arrived at her door with a telegram. Trying the door, she found the metal doorknob to be uncomfortably warm to the touch and called the police.

Reeser's remains, which were largely ashes, were found among the remains of a chair in which she had been sitting. Only part of her left foot (which was wearing a slipper) remained. Plastic household objects at a distance from the seat of the fire were softened and had lost their shapes.

Reeser's skull had survived and was found among the ashes, but was 'shrunken' (sometimes with the added descriptive flourish of 'to the size of a teacup'). The extent of this shrinkage was enough to be remarked on by official investigators and was not an illusion caused by the removal of all facial features (ears, nose, lips, etc). The shrinking of the skull is not a regular feature of alleged cases of SHC, although the 'shrunken skull' claim has become a regular feature of anecdotal accounts of other SHC cases and numerous apocryphal stories. However, this is not the only case in which the remains featured a shrunken skull.




Possible Causes???
1. There actually was an external source of ignition that does not present itself after the victim of SHC is found.

2. (Unscientific explanation) Paranormal explanations suspicion of to evil ghosts or demons as having caused this bizarre phenomenon.

3. Since every human body contains varying strengths of electrical field and the human body also contains flammable gases (mainly methane in the intestines), an electrical discharge could ignite these gases.

However, Arthur C. Clarke the author of 2001 has this to say about SHC, "There's one mystery I'm asked about more than any other: spontaneous human combustion. Some cases seem to defy explanation, and leave me with a creepy and very unscientific feeling. If there's anything more to SHC, I simply don't want to know.

I have seen self ignited cases as commonly reported during demonstrations where some just douse themselves with kerosene & light themselves up. What a painful & suffocating way to die (I often say to myself when I read such reports). Perhaps, such occurences are pretty rare & there is not sufficient information to find out the exact truth behind this unexplained phenomenon. Perhaps, Science will some day. But until then, these bizarre incidents will continue to baffle mankind who in turn try to speculate with various hypothesis & explanations.

CONTRIBUTIONS:
1. LISTVERSE.COM
2. PARANORMAL PEOPLE ONLINE



The Miracles in Medjugorje



The event that I am about to narrate happens in a small village in Bosnia-Herzegovina called Medjugorge. Here, there are countless cases of unexplained phenomena, miracles and the healing. The claims are that Mother Mary has appeared in Medjugorje every day since June 24, 1981 to present. She has been giving messages ever since to this present day!

They are Messages of Peace and Love, and are meant to guide the followers to a closer relationship with God. Beginning on March 1, 1984, "Our Lady" began giving Weekly Messages to St. James parish in Medjugorje and the World. Then, on January 25, 1987, Lady began giving these Messages on the 25th of each Month. After 28+ years, "Our Lady" still appears to 3 of the visionaries daily (Marija, Vicka, and Ivan). The 25th of the month message is always given by "Our Lady" to the visionary Marija.

"Our Lady" continues to give messages to six people from the village of Medjugorje: Ivan, Jakov, Marija, Mirjana, Vicka, and Ivanka. These six people (referred to as "visionaries") have had apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary since June 24, 1981. In addition to these messages, Our Lady is to give each of the six visionaries a total of ten "secrets" or happenings that will occur on earth in the near future. Some of the secrets pertain to the whole world while others concern the visionaries themselves or their local village. Only one of the secrets so far has been revealed by the visionaries. Our Lady has promised to leave a supernatural, indestructable, and visible sign on the mountain where she first appeared.

The Unusual dance of the Sun....
Dr. fra Ljudevit Rupcic, the Medjugorje apparitions were accompanied by many unusual phenomena, both in the sky and on the ground, especially by miraculous healings. I myself, with about a thousand pilgrims, experienced one unusual dance of the sun. That manifestation was so unusual and obvious, that everyone without exception classified it as a miracle.



Image above: Miracle dance of the Sun (captured via mobile phone)


Dr. Fra adds,"None of those present remained indifferent, which I myself was convinced of by questioning the others who were present. The joy, the tears, and the statements of those present strongly confirmed it. From their words, it could be seen that they understood that manifestation as a confirmation of the authenticity of the apparitions, and as an incentive to respond to the Medjugorje messages by accepting them. And that is the real purpose of miracles: to help people believe and live by faith because they stand in the service of the faith and of the salvation of people."

Regarding the luminous phenomena in Medjugorje, a professor employed in Vienna, an expert in that field, admitted to me that he studied them in Medjugorje for a week. At the end, he told me: "Science has no answer to these manifestations." Although judgment about miracles does not belong to any natural science nor to science in general, but to theology and faith, nevertheless, the judgment of science is very important because where it leaves off, faith takes over. It is very significant that many events were understood by the faithful as a real miracle.

However, it is well known that several hundred of them have been reported and attested to. Several of them have been thoroughly examined and scientifically-theologically elaborated, and there is no serious reason whatsoever to doubt their supernatural character.

Miracle Healing:-
1. The first testimony was given by Nicolo Pacini from Florence. At 13, he was struck with muscular dystrophy that caused his hands to remain closed. He could not walk either when on of his foot got twisted. This then followed with another foot & the other hand. So, he was left with clenched hands & twisted legs. Not being able to walk anymore, he was rather very dependent. Then, a lady came to his house & spoke about Medjugorge. In his dreams, he saw a vision of the statue of Blessed Virgin inviting him to "Come, come!". Finally, he decided to visit the church. To his surprise, the vision he had in his dreams are the exact statue which is right before his eyes.

And in his own words, he explains,"I listened with great attention to the prayer in progress. In fact, it was the Mass, and then it happened: my right hand, which had been closed since May, opened itself very slowly. I came out of the church with the hand completely free, and I moved it perfectly. I was in my wheelchair, but my hand was cured.

The next day, Saturday, December 8, 1990, about 9 a.m. in the morning, we returned here to the church, and I told my friend who had spoken to me about Medjugorje of the dream which I had had of this statue. We went to see it in the garden, and I took two souvenir pictures. At that moment I felt the desire to get up. I got up and everything was normal. I walked and now I am truly well.

2. Nov. 12, 2004 — While many cancer survivors have overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, Arthur Boyle says his story is nothing short of miraculous. The Boston man's fight began when he was diagnosed with cancer of the kidney. The situation became desperate when doctors realized the cancer had spread to his lungs.

Motivated by faith and a determination to live, Boyle made the journey to Medjugorje. Boyle said he believes the journey there saved his life. When Boyle returned home, a CAT scan showed that one nodule on his lung had disappeared and two others had shrunk to an insignificant size. His physician, Dr. Francis McGovern of Massachusetts General Hospital, says the sudden change was certainly uncommon. "He has not received any other additional treatment. At this time we consider him without any evidence of cancer," McGovern said.




Image above: The Dancing Sun


Image: The dancing sun




Video above: Miracles of the sun 2013


Message of Our Lady Medjugorje on April 2, 2015


Dear Children,
I have chosen you, my apostles, because all of you carry something beautiful within you. You can help me to have the love, for the sake of which my Son died and then resurrected, win anew.

Therefore, I am calling you, my apostles, to try see something good in every creature of God, in all of my children and to try understand them. My children, you are all brothers and sisters through the same Holy Spirit. You filled with love for my Son, can speak of what you know to all those who have not come to know that love. You have come to know the love of my Son. You have comprehended His Resurrection, with joy you cast your gaze towards him.


My motherly desire is for all of my children to be united in love for Jesus. Therefore, I am calling you, my apostles, to live with the Eucharist with joy because in the Eucharist, my Son gives Himself to you anew and with his example shows the love and sacrifice towards the neighbor.Thank you."
 

SOURCES:
1. Medjugorje.org
2. Medjugorjeusa.org/miracles

3. The Javier Clan

A GRAVE VISIT DURING GRAVEYARD SHIFT AT THE POLICE STATION

Cops on graveyard shift duty at Bandar Hilir police station experienced an incident that sent a chilling shock straight to their spines....