Was it spontaneous human combustion?

Some believe ‘wick theory’ may explain spontaneous human combustion, with the human body becoming an ‘inside out candle’. Clothes act as a wick and body fat the flammable substance.

Critics say there is no way human flesh, which is made up of 70 per cent water, can simply burst into flames without a spark. ÷

In 1470, Italian knight Polonus Vorstius was drinking wine when he allegedly belched fire then burst into flames. When Charles Dickens wrote in Bleak House that nothing was found of Mr Krook aside from a pile of ash, it caused uproar. Critic George Lewes wrote: ‘The circumstances give credence to a scientific impossibility.’

Alcoholism or low-carb dieting, produces acetone, which is flammable and could lead to apparently spontaneous combustion.

Almost all cases involve people with low mobility due to advanced age or obesity, along with poor health.