Spontaneous Human Combustion

Spontaneous Human Combustion investigates reports of people apparently burning to death without an obvious external source of ignition. Jenny Randles and Peter Hough examine the history of the claim, assemble accounts from different periods, and consider what the surviving evidence may show about each case.

The authors approach the subject as an investigation rather than a simple assertion that spontaneous combustion exists. Their discussion weighs possible explanations against reported details, asking how such deaths might be understood and why some incidents have remained difficult to explain. Published in 1992, the book places a persistent paranormal claim within a framework of case evidence, competing theories and documented research.