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Mrs.
Mary Reeser
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The
last time 67-year-old widow Mrs. Mary Reeser was seen alive
was on July 1, 1951. This is one account of this mysterious
phenomenon.
The widow Reeser as they found her. |
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History
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Learn
more about the history of spontanious human combustion,
this short excerpt explains how this phenomenon became famous,
but I believe that it must have happened more throughout
history. Various theories have risen from the grey cells
of bright minds, but still, SHC remains mysterious.
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What
is SHC?
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Spontanious
Human Combustion
People bursting into flames for no apparent reason?
yes!
Exactly that.
But
what happens to the body?
Read one explanation here.
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Image
gallery
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| Seeing
is believing, so they say. Well these, to say the least, abhorrant
photos were taken at the various SHC scenes. |
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Ancient
Whispers
The
following events are sorted by chronological order.
The next are just a few of an estimated 400 worldwide anecdotal
accounts of spontaneous combustion.
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October
1938
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Maybelle
Andrews was
with her boyfriend dancing at a nightclub. Suddenly flames
erupted from her back, chest and shoulders.
Her boyfriend was severely burned trying to put the flames
out. He said that at the time there were no other flames in
the room anywhere and that they had come from Maybelle herself.
Maybelle died of her injuries on the way to hospital
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January
31st, 1959
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Jack
Larber
who was a 72 year old patient at the Laguna Honda Home in
San Francisco had his clothing catch fire a few minutes after
being fed. His attendant was out of the room at the time it
happened but attempted to put out the fire when returning
back into the room. Mr. Larber died of 3rd degree burns on
February 2nd 1959. No explanation was found for the fire -
Mr Larber was a non-smoker.
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December,
1959
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An
autoworker by the name of
Billy Peterson was found dead in the
front seat of his car in Pontiac, Michigan. At first it appeared
that Peterson had attempted suicide for the exhaust pipe had
been bent to lead into the car's front seat. However Peterson's
body had third-degree burns on his back, legs and arms, his
flesh was severely burnt but neither his clothing or the front
seat were damaged. It was also noted that hairs on the charred
portions of the body were not even singed. On the death certificate
the cause was noted as carbon monoxide poisoning but the burns
were ignored
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December
1966
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92
year old Dr. John Irving Bentley
was last seen alive on the evening of December 4th, 1966 at
about 9.00pm. The following morning Mr. Gosnell, a meter reader
let himself into Mr Bentley's house. Once in the basement
Mr Gosnell could smell a strange smell and then could see
a light blue smoke. Worried, he went upstairs to investigate.
Mr. Bentley's bedroom was filled with smoke and in the bathroom
there lay the charred remains of Mr. Bentley. All that was
left of the old man was the lower half of his right leg with
his slipper still on it. The rubber stoppers on his walker
which lay beside his remains were still intact and the bathtub
was hardly scorched. It was first thought that Mr. Bentley
set himself on fire with his pipe, but it was soon discovered
that his pipe was still on it's stand by the bed in his bedroom.
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January
6th, 1980
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Blackwood,
Ebbw Vales, Wales - the police and forensic officers discovered
a mans body burnt beyond recognition in his living room.
The armchair that he was sitting in had hardly been damaged
along with some nearby plastic objects. The fire that had
killed the man had been so intense that it left a coating
of vaporized flesh on the ceiling
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October
1980
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An
airwoman by the name of Jenna Winchester
burst into flames whilst sitting in a car next to a friend
in Florida. Her friend saw yellow flames coming from Jenna
and heard her scream "Get me out of here!" and saw her trying
to beat out the flames with her bare hands. The car crashed
into a telephone pole. Jenna survived the experience with
20% of her body covered in burns
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24th
March, 1997
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Co
Kerry, Irish Republic. 76 year old John
O'Connor was found dead in his living room at Gortaleen
by the community nurse who regularly visited him. Mr O'Connors
charred remains were in a chair positioned some distance
from his hearth. Only his head and upper torso along with
his feet remained unburnt. There was little smoke damage
to the room or furniture.
The Local priest who attended the scene described it as
"if somebody had poured petrol into his lap".
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January
6th, 1980
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The
death of Agnes Phillips, 82,
might be the result of spontaneous human combustion. The
elderly woman died in August from burns to her upper body
while sitting in a car in Wollongong, New South Wales. Yet
amazingly there was no evidence to suggest the source of
the fire or how it started. None of the usual signs that
determine sources of combustion were present. Fire brigade
inspector Donald Walshe conceded during the inquest that
the case was so baffling that spontaneous human combustion
had initially been considered a possibility.
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Ablaze
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If there's
one key element (besides fire) that this book by Larry Arnold
is filled with it's FACTS! This man has dug into old archives
and libraries, has interviewed not only people who witnessed
these bizarre cases of flaming humans, but he also has interviewed
SURVIVORS of SHC! Amazing and well documented throughout,
Ablaze is a fascinating read! To an avid researcher of stange
phenomena such as this, it is a welcome gift to us all because
Larry has already done the work for us, and he covers aspects
entirely unthought of by other researchers... the cartography
of SHC and more! Mr. Arnold, and his book, is by far the
BEST in the world of SHC!
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