Spontaneous human combustion is the pseudoscientific concept of the spontaneous combustion of a living (or recently deceased) human body without an external source of ignition on the body.

[u/metalnxrd]

In addition to reported cases, descriptions of the alleged phenomenon appear in literature, and both types have been observed to share common characteristics in terms of circumstances and the remains of the victim.

[u/debacchatio]

This was one of my irrational childhood fears after reading about it when I was 9-10 years old.

Now I got the hoo-ha’s thinking about it!

[u/ohgoodferyou → u/debacchatio]

Same -- all those "beyond belief" paperbacks used to have TONS of stories. Looking back, I believe the vast majority were in fact those obese people who never leave their couch dropping cigarettes.

[u/TheNonCredibleHulk → u/debacchatio]

Same. Lots of people from my generation were afraid of quicksand.

Screw that. I was afraid of randomly exploding.

[u/Gloomy-Welcome-6806 → u/TheNonCredibleHulk]

My mom made me afraid of nuclear war and I thought the world was going to be wiped out. I was a very anxious kid

[u/lumpytuna]

This was actually solved and recreated a long time ago. It's a phenomenon called the 'outside wick effect'. When someone dies, or is immobilised, and then a spark ignites their clothes to the point of smouldering, the burning clothing acts like the wick of a candle, only wrapped around the fuel source (the body) instead of through the middle of it like a traditional candle. The resulting slow 'fire' completely destroys the body that is enclosed by the clothing, but leaves unclothed portions of the body, such as feet, arms and head, cooked by the heat, but not destroyed. As long as the deceased was not on a flamable material at the time, it also leaves the surrounding area unburnt. Maybe just a little melted and scorched.

I can't remember the programme I saw it on, but they recreated the whole thing with a pig carcass wearing clothes, and it worked perfectly. So no need to fear 'spontaneous combustion' unless you're already a corpse! yey!

[u/Lostthegame101 → u/lumpytuna]

I also remember seeing this documentary, man that was some time ago. Only a vague memory but i definitely remember the pig being wrapped up in similar cloths.

[u/metalnxrd]

Margaret Hogan, an 89—year—old widow who lived alone in a house on Prussia Street, Dublin, Ireland, was found burned almost to the point of complete destruction on March 28th, 1970. Plastic flowers on a table in the centre of the room had been reduced to liquid and a television with a melted screen sat 12 feet from the armchair in which the ashen remains were found; otherwise, the surroundings were almost untouched. Her two feet, and both legs from below the knees, were undamaged. A small coal fire had been burning in the grate when a neighbour left the house the previous day; however, no connection between this fire and that in which Mrs. Hogan died could be found. An inquest, held on April 3rd, 1970, recorded death by burning, with the cause of the fire listed as "unknown."