death

So-Called Spontaneous Combustion

Spontaneous human combustion describes the burning of a living human body without an external source of ignition. There is speculation and controversy regarding this phenomena. Some regard it as unique and unexplained, while others feel that cases described as spontaneous human combustion can be understood using generally-accepted scientific principles. In this publication, an undated reprint originally published in The New Orleans medical and surgical journal in April 1894, Dr.