If stress and anxiety caused it I would have exploded already. ? (or so I've been told).

I believe virtually everything I read, and I think that is what makes me more of a selective human than someone who doesn't believe anything.
I saw this documentary:.

It's never spontaneous, there has to be an external heat source.

However have known somebody who had their belly hair catch on fire when the were sharpening shearing combs with an angle grinder, bad enough burns to go to the hospital for treatment. That's a really hard one to live down.

It's a mythi saw a programme years ago providing evidence into what actually happens . What they found is that it's to do with what the person is wearing and how much fat they had on their body . They wrapped a large pig in wool and let a spark ignite the wool , the wool then slowly burnt this mixed with the fat of the body meant that the heat produced was high but with little or no flames . This then explained how the fire did not spread but still melted any plastic that was near . So basically don't fall asleep in woollen clothing whilst smoking a cigarette !!

Just check my ex. She always blows up.

It's the same thing that makes atheists burst into flames in churches

How fucking cool would it be if people could just burst into flames? Ha! Driving down the highway, you look over to the car to your side and poof, the human just ignites and wrecks. Sitting at the table, the waiter asks for your order, turns to submit the order to the kitchen, and starts to burn. Can I get another waiter, please?
Funny how that never happens.

It all depends on an individuals definition of , "Spontaneous Human Combustion", is. Can an living organism burn without causing near by objects to burn also, Yes. Can a living organism for no reason just burn, Improbable.

Has it ever happened to animals? There should be plenty of examples, or a good reason why there are none!

There is a scientific reasoning associated to this. The stomach uses phosphate in conjunction with other chemicals to digest your food. The left over phophate burns when combined with air. So the body expels it through flatulence which is why sometimes when you fart or burp the gas burns. Especially when you have eaten spicy peppers and foods. However, when a person is constipated they can't expel the gas as easily and it begins to build up inside you. And if a person has been constipated for an extended amount of time the gas eventually forces it's self out in a burp and if enough of the gas is present when it combines with the air it ignites and causes just enough flame to go down into the body where more gas is and that gas also ignites causing the person to burn from the inside out. That is also why the legs or feet are usually left because the gas burns upward through the body and the legs and feet have a very low, if any amount, of the gas inside them. I have read several documents and papers on this and this seems to be the most accepted reasoning behind the occurrence.

Until I see it, I don't believe it.

Common occurence in my family, but that's because they're dumbasses sometimes lol.

You know... I've heard this since I was a kid. I ain't got a clue about the truth in it.

I've seen experiments showing how this happens using dead pigs. it always involves a heat source like a gas fire and the heat though very hot is unusually very localised. it often leaves parts of the actual corps completely free of the heat and everything around it. it is the heat from said gas fire acting on human fat like a wick of a candle. it's always a person who has been missing a good while as this intense burning takes a long time to achieve. if you think about it, you never see people just combust on there own in the street or with witnesses and you would with 7 billion plus people.

Aha!! I had an Elvis epiphany!

When you listen to these lyrics, it is obvious that he was trying to tell us something. The story about Elvis dying while sitting on the toilet is a load of CRAP.

He was so full of burnin' love, he self-immolated.

I am powered by a reduction–oxidation reaction. If I do not continue to consume fuel, I will waste away.

It’s awful hot in ?

Look at all the evidence and suggestions!

[google.com]

Nope. And the jury has been in for quite a while.
Slow burn/smoldering from standard sources, cigarette/cigar mostly.

I don't have enough evidence to formulate even a wild-ass guess.

I don't know. But I'd like it to be true.

Considering the amount of water in the human body, no effing way.

A myth based on limited knowledge of actual events. If there were a truly benevolent god, it would be real and common.

The phenomenon was explained a few years ago, nothing mystic. There was a documentary where they recreated a 'spontaneous combustion' using a dead pig wrapped in a carpet or blanket (which acts like a wick of a candle). The fire was started by simulating a cigarette falling on to the material, which smouldered and ended up burning like an inside out candle, so the heat was contained inside. The result was very little of the pig carcass remained, just a trotter or two.
So, someone falling asleep with a cigarette could set themselves on fire this way, with little of them remaining and very little fire damage to their environment.
Conclusion - a normal event not paranormal.

spontaneous combustion happens in many different mediums and is a result of the interaction of unstable elements in the medium.