Spontaneous Human Combustion?

[JackLuis]

SHC is a odd thing, few 'believe' in it, but then you get one of these.

Oklahoma authorities who were investigating the mysterious death of the man, have come to a weird conclusion. They claim that the 65-year-old died after suddenly bursting into flames.

Family members found 65-year-old Danny Vanzandt, dead Monday inside his home. Sheriff Ron Lockhart said: "The body was totally burned from the inside."

Lockhart said that he believes the death could be a rare case of spontaneous human combustion. Lockhart said: "I think there are only about 200 cases worldwide.”

And they say there are no Witches, Ha!

 

[NaokoSmith]

I know of a spell that will turn people into ravens

There is a famous literary spontaneous combustion in Charles Dickens's Bleak House.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

OK, a lit cigarette is going to do that. People don't spontaneously combust, but there are enough cases of people apparently destroyed by fire without significant damage to surrounding materials.
They're invariably smokers, usually overweight, often drinkers, and found "combusted" in chairs with their lower legs largely intact. Remember first of all that fire burns upwards, so a fire starting in someone's lap is not likely to significantly damage what's below it. Overweight people have a lot of adipose tissue, and fat burns quite nicely, thank you. In fact, the fat creates a wicking effect, and the fire burns upward until it runs out of fuel (fat, in this case). The fat actually produces a very high temperature, but short-lived flame. So you end up with the mystery of a person consumed by flame with little dammage to the chair he's sitting in. And, if you don't really understand the mechanics of it, you come up with "Spontaneous Human Combustion" as the explanation.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

I know of a spell that will turn people into ravens

There is a famous literary spontaneous combustion in Charles Dickens's Bleak House.

I do too, Naoko, but it's such a dreary process. Everytime I incanted it, I was left so weary that, this past November, I swore to use it nevermore.

 

[MatthewVett]

I know of a spell that will turn people into ravens

So it's a spell that boosts the target's intelligence?