July 30, 1990
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                           Spontaneous Human Combustion
                    compiled and plagiarized by Jerry W. Decker

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       One of the  greatest  mysteries  known to man is when a living human
       body suddenly bursts into flames and  rapidly  burns to ashes.  This
       phenomenon has been known throughout history, yet to date no one has
       discovered how and why it takes place.

       The victims of the SHC phenomenon have little in common  though many
       have a history of alcohol abuse.

       Indeed, a 19th century theory concluded that people afflicted by SHC
       were drunkards who had somehow saturated their bodies with flammable
       spirits and accidentally set themselves on fire.

       Other ancient beliefs  regarding the phenomenon attributed it to the
       victims merely being  sinners who  were  being  punished  by  divine
       powers.

       An anomaly associated with death by lightning is that  the bodies of
       people killed by lightning have been observed to decompose at a very
       rapid rate.

       In the case of SHC, the decomposition process is much more rapid.

       Not only does the process occur in a matter of minutes, but the fire
       ONLY CONSUMES LIVING  FLESH,  leaving  almost untouched the clothing
       and surroundings of the victim.

       One of the most thoroughly documented  cases  was  that of Mrs. Mary
       Reeser, who was suddenly consumed on the night of July 1, 1951.

       The following morning, Mrs. Reeser's landlady took a telegram to
       her apartment.  The doorknob was found to be too hot to touch, which
       caused the landlady  to call for help from two painters  working  in
       the area.

       The door was  opened  and  a  hot blast of air rushed from the room.
       What was left of the 67 year old lady was found in an armchair.

       Around the chair, a blackened circle  on  the  floor,  a  few coiled
       springs, a charred liver, a fragment of backbone, a  skull SHRUNK TO
       THE SIZE OF  A  FIST,  and just on the edge of the scorched patch, a
       black satin slipper, enclosing a left foot BURNT OFF AT THE ANKLE.

       Note particularly the shrinking  of  the  skull,  which  could  only
       happen in the presence of an extremely hot flame.  Not a flame which
       would be encountered with normally combustible substances.

       At the inquest,  it  was  disclosed  that  crematoria normally use a
       temperature of 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit,  sustained  for  UP TO FOUR
       HOURS, to incinerate a body.

       Even then, they must resort to grinders to disintegrate  the remains
       to the state in which Mrs. Reeser's body was found.

       Most interesting of  all  was  why the wall behind the chair was not
       scorched, or why a pile of newspapers less than a foot away were not
       burnt.

       An FBI statement concerning the incident  concluded that Mrs. Reeser
       had taken her usual sleeping pills and fallen asleep  in  the  chair
       while smoking.  Experts  testified  that  even  if  her  clothes had
       caught fire, the burns would be only SUPERFICIAL.

       Foremost pathologist Dr. Wilton Krogman  investigated  the  case and
       stated that it  was the most amazing thing he had  ever  seen.   Dr.
       Krogman said that a human skull shrunk by intense heat, generated
       by normal means, usually has the opposite effect, i.e. to swell.

       Another case was  that  of  the Countess Bandi of Casena.  Four feet
       from her bed, in a heap of ashes,  only  her head, three fingers and
       both legs were found.  This occurred sometime before June 1731.

       How can such things happen and what could be a probable causes?

       Cade and Davis, in their book "Taming of the Thunderbolts",  suspect
       that ATOMIC FIRE,  similar  to  those  of  plasma  physics,  may  be
       involved.

       In our study  of the suppressive  effects  of  Deuterium  in  living
       tissues, there is   much   to   support   this,  particularly   when
       considering that all   living  tissues  utilize  a  form  of  atomic
       fission.

       Accounts from ancient Indian texts  state  that  people  lived  from
       2,000 to 10,000 years in the time of the Vedas.

       When the great wars of ancient India came about, atomic weapons were
       undoubtedly used.  Later  records  from Biblical accounts  give  the
       human lifespan as up to 1000 years.

       After Sodom and Gomorrah, life suddenly went from 100 to 500 max.

       This indicates a  buildup  of  something  in  the atmosphere or soil
       which has continued to degenerate  the  lifespan  of  all creatures,
       especially man.

       Another most interesting observation regarding SHC cases is that the
       victims appear to have been in SOME KIND OF TRANCE.

       An account by Dr. Bertholle in the investigations of  a  woman found
       burned to death,  reported  that the room was almost unscorched.  It
       was as if the body had been in an  intense  furnace,  yet  only  the
       floor under the body had been scorched.

       Why hadn't the woman screamed out to others of the household?

       Another bizarre case  were the charred bodies of 5 men found sitting
       in casual positions in a car on a backroad near Pikeville, Kentucky.

       The condition of the car is not described,  although the coroner was
       baffled at the absence of ANY SIGN OF A STRUGGLE TO ESCAPE.

       The term "ultra-rapid  holocaust"  has been applied  by  Eric  Frank
       Russell, since much of the circumstantial evidence points to a quick
       and intense combustion.

       On the 12th  of  May,  1890, a Dr. B.H. Hartwell was driving through
       Ayer, Massachusetts.  He was flagged  down  and called into a wooded
       area.

       In a clearing  he  saw  the  crouched  form of a woman  with  FLAMES
       BLAZING FROM HER SHOULDERS, ABDOMEN AND LEGS.

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       At the time of this writing (July 30, 1990), a young Chinese boy has
       been found in mainland China who bursts into flames from his armpits
       and other areas of his body, as reported in a Chicago paper.

       People who try  to  help  him also catch on fire, so the lad is kept
       isolated while scientists and doctors try to find the reason for the
       phenomenon.

       If our thinking regarding the suppression  of natural atomic fission
       processes by the  natural  presence  of  Carbon  as   well   as  the
       continuing consumption of Deuterium in the form of heavy water (D2O)
       mixed with H2O  is  correct,  then  perhaps  the  boy is in a super-
       critical state with little to suppress the fission process.

       It is possible that combinations of  foods,  environment, mental and
       physical stresses, as  well  as electromagnetic or  other  energetic
       disturbances might be contributing factors if not the primary reason
       for the SHC phenomenon.

       The current theory   regarding   SHC   is   that  its'  victims  are
       inebriates, although some neither smoked nor drank.

       We of Vangard Sciences, in conjunction  with  some  of  our Research
       Associates are studying  the problem from the above  atomic  fission
       approach and will  report on what we find through our newsletter and
       the KeelyNet BBS.

       Current experiments which we are  undertaking  involve  the use of a
       mirror image of  the  Deuterium frequency (Bivalent  state)  into  a
       homeopathic reagent.

       The idea is  that  at  varying  potencies,  water structured in this
       manner will act to convert the Deuterium  to  it's next lower atomic
       state of Hydrogen.

       We also have  a  contact  who  thinks he might be  able  to  make  a
       substance which could  selectively  attract and bind Deuterium found
       in the body for expulsion.

       This approach is  more  attractive  due to the removal of Deuterium,
       instead of conversion, since conversion  entails  the  release  of a
       "radical" neutron.

       Of course, such a release indiscrimately applied could cause strange
       problems including DNA/RNA damage.  For that reason, the binding and
       subsequent removal is much to be preferred.

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