History Main / SpontaneousHumanCombustion

'''Naturally, as this is a DeathTrope, be prepared for some spoilers.'''

* ''Series/KolchakTheNightStalker'': In the episode "Firefall", an evil pyromaniac ghost kills several people by causing them to be instantly incinerated and reduced to ashes.

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A classic {{Urban Legend|s}}, hundreds of "allegedly true" accounts of this phenomenon have been reported for over centuries, the oldest known stories dating from as far back as the [[OlderThanSteam the mid 1600's]], and thanks to the aura of mystery and strangeness surrounding these incidents, Spontaneous Human Combustion is an anomaly that some can’t help but try and find a valid explanation for.

As such, works of fiction tend to explore this subject in a few ways. Comedic works, more often than not, tend to let such occurrences happen without a clear explanation of how it happened being given. On the other hand, more serious stories--especially SpeculativeFiction works or strange tales about the paranormal--may try to provide some kind of explanation and may even reveal an external cause (likely one that is pseudoscientific and even more bizarre than spontaneous human combustion already is on its own--possibly involving anything from aliens or ghosts causing it, an uncontrolled [[PlayingWithFire Pyrokinetic]] ability, or something even weirder).

See Also: MadeOfExplodium, ManOnFire.

* In ''Manga/HellTeacherNube'', a few documented cases of people just beginning to develop [[KillItWithFire pyrokinesis]] end up [[SuperpowerMeltdown consuming the person]] instead, because [[PowerIncontinence they have failed to develop]] the RequiredSecondaryPowers to control their own flame. When Izuna suddenly starts to burst into flame at random times ([[ClothingDamage reducing her clothes to ash]], but [[NakedPeopleAreFunny leaving her otherwise unharmed]]) Nube worries that she could lose control and ignite herself. [[spoiler: She manages to control these abilities at the last moment.]]
* In ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'', this is what happens to [[spoiler:Momoka after she changes Yuri's fate so Yuri can escape from her [[AbusiveParents abusive father]]. In a subversion she actually ''survives'' the incident, though she's left with serious wounds and has to be hospitalized.]]
* In ''Manga/BattleAngelAlita: Last Order'' it has become the leading cause of death. Much like cancer and heart disease in modern times, it's said to be something anybody can die from. It's explained that before medical technology became more advanced, most people just died of other things first.
* In ''Manga/FireForce'', this has killed people for so many generations that those born in the Second generation and above gain the ability to control it instead of letting it kill them. Those in the First generation, however, experience this along with a ForcedTransformation into a nigh-unstoppable fire beast. The deaths also seem to be extremely random, so it's impossible to tell who will combust next. The only people who you can be sure won't combust into a fire beast are those who already have 2nd or 3rd generation powers. The Fire Force's central goal is to discover the source of spontaneous human combustion and find a way to stop it from happening. [[spoiler:The source of the combustion is found to be [[PhysicalHell literally Hell]], but still nobody knows how to stop it from happening in the future.]]

* This is how glycation (damage to red blood cells by being exposed to too much glucose, a symptom of diabetes) is [[CastOfPersonifications depicted]] in ''Manga/CellsAtWorkCodeBlack.'' Once insulin production slows, the RBC's decide they can stand to eat more sugars, as it's just being thrown out otherwise. One swells up and explodes. Others are seen trying to work [[BodyHorror with their eyes boiled out of their heads and their skin covered in third-degree burns]].

* ''ComicBook/TheBeauty'': The first death in the comic is of someone combusting from inside their body. [[spoiler:We later learn that this is what happens to anyone who has The Beauty, approximately 800 days after initial infection.]]

* In the ''ComicBook/StrikeforceMorituri'' "Electric Undertow" limited series, this happens to random people due to [[spoiler:psychic harvesting by the alien [=VXX199=].]]
* In ''ComicBook/AllSuperheroesMustDie'', 90s causes people injected with it to explode in 90 seconds if they don't get the antidote in time.
* In the final issue of ''ComicBook/NthManTheUltimateNinja'', a character begins to combust soon after she arrives in the past. This is because [[OnlyOneMeAllowedRightNow she's being born at the same moment, and cannot exist in two places simultaneously.]]
* In the ''ComicBook/SamAndMax'' comic book episode "Monkeys Violating the Heavenly Temple", the eponymous duo are saved from a [[AppeaseTheVolcanoGod volcano sacrifice]] when the high priest performing the ritual [[DeusExMachina suddenly goes up in flames]].

'''Max:''' Adapt your wardrobe accordingly -- Preferably light cottons and knits!

* Multiple drummers in the title band in ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap'' die in this a fashion—one who is said to have gone up in "a flash of green light," leaving "a little green globule" on his drum seat, and two more who explode on the band's tour of Japan. In the DVD commentary, the band is happy Marty [=DiBergi=] caught it on film, for insurance money's sake.
* Shown in the horror film ''Film/SpontaneousCombustion'', naturally. A couple who were involved in an atomic weapons test spontaneously bust into flames shortly after the birth of their son. When their son grows up, he discovers a pyrokinetic ability and begins setting people on fire when he gets angry.
* In ''Film/{{Bowfinger}}'', spontaneous combustion is mentioned by Kit to be one of his biggest fears, along with aliens and a giant foot trying to squash him.
* {{Invoked|Trope}} in ''Film/ConAir''; after Pinball intentionally sets fire to a fellow prisoner to create a distraction for the other more dangerous prisoners about to attempt to hijack the plane, in the middle of all the confusion Pinball humorously exclaims that this was an act of spontaneous combustion.
* Ambassador Standish in ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009'' bursts into flames when he attempts to shoot Lord Blackwood. [[spoiler: This is intended to be taken as a magical occurrence, displaying the dark powers Blackwood has protecting him from those who oppose him, but in the end a clear, external cause is revealed by Holmes that has nothing at all to do with magic. Standish was rained with oil without knowing (it was genuinely raining at the time) and his gun was sabotaged to create the spark.]]

* Krook in Creator/CharlesDickens’ ''Literature/BleakHouse'' dies like this and is '''possibly''' the UrExample of this trope appearing in fiction, though "true stories" were already said to have existed at the time, and Dickens was known to have strongly believed that this was possible. [[ArtisticLicenseBiology (He believed it to be due to people drinking excessive amounts of highly flammable alcohol.)]]

* Some "Drummers" in Creator/NealStephenson's ''Literature/TheDiamondAge'' end up like this [[spoiler: due to the heat generated by extensive computation done by nanosites in their bloodstreams]]. A major character almost suffers from this fate near the end of the book only to be saved in the last minute.
* ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresAllConsumingFire All-Consuming Fire]]'' features what appears to be a case of spontaneous human combustion, but ultimately turns out to have been murder-by-pyrokinesis.
* Creator/TimPowers' novel ''Literature/ExpirationDate'' reveals that ghosts sometimes burst into flames if they are suddenly alarmed. From this, it's suggested that human combustion happens when a person dies, but their ghost doesn't immediately notice and keeps walking around in their body for a while before suffering some kind of shock (such as, often, the shocking realization that they've been dead for a while and hadn't noticed).

* Reports of people bursting into flames circulate in a couple of the ''Literature/GarrettPI'' novels, as a rumor going around the city. Garrett finally looks into the matter in ''Whispering Nickel Idols'', and learns that [[spoiler: Chodo Contague triggered some of them with the help of some pyrogenic rocks planted by his lawyer]]. Saucerhead also tracks down some cases that turn out to be ordinary accidental fires, under circumstances very similar to the RealLife mishaps that inspired the Spontaneous Human Combustion Urban Legend.
* ConversationalTroping in ''[[Literature/JohnnyMaxwellTrilogy Johnny and the Bomb]]''; it's mentioned that Johnny once read about the phenomenon and [[ParanoiaFuel slept with a bucket of water by his bed for weeks]].

* Creator/MarkTwain, in one of his books, discusses the fate of someone he knew:
-->[[TheAlcoholic Jimmy Finn]] did not die in the caboose, but instead died a natural death in a tanning vat from a combination of delirium tremens and spontaneous combustion. When I say a natural death, I mean it was a natural death for Jimmy Finn to die.
* ''Literature/WrittenInBone'' features a body for which this is considered. Then Dr Hunter explains how spontaneous combustion is not all that spontaneous.
* Stephen King's ''Literature/{{Firestarter}}'' suggests that this is due to a form of PowerIncontinence brought on to normal people in very occasional bursts of the same pyrokinetic abilities the novel's protagonist Charlene "Charlie" [=McGee=] obtains from her parents' involvement in an experiment with a psychoactive drug, and then ultimately learns to control.
* Interesting variation with Fëanor from Literature/TheSilmarillion whose corpse cremates itself after he gets killed apparently due to his sheer [[HotBlooded hot bloodedness]] -- though it may also be related to the Curse of Mandos, which prevented him from being reincarnated in Arda. (Spontaneous Elven Combustion?) Note that this guy's name means "spirit of fire" in one of Tolkien's {{Constructed language}}s.
* In the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' novel ''Literature/{{Eisenhorn}}: Xenos'', the Chaos Space Marine Mandragore bursts into flame after being [[OffWithHisHead decapitated]] by Eisenhorn. It was more than likely a side-effect of [[TomeOfEldritchLore the Neuroteuch]], which he was holding at the time. [[spoiler:Which also provided a convenient way for Eisenhorn to dispose of the heretical book.]]
* The plot of the ''Literature/PresidentsVampire'' novella ''The Burning Men'' involves [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Cade]] and [[BadassNormal Zach]] chasing down a group of terrorists who've learned how to weaponise spontaneous human combustion to turn themselves into living bombs that can slip through any conventional security system.

* This is suggested as an explanation several times in ''Series/TheXFiles'', but it's {{subverted|Trope}} in each case. In "[[Recap/TheXFilesS01E12Fire Fire]]", there turns out to be an external cause. Also suggested as an explanation in "[[Recap/TheXFilesS02E23SoftLight Soft Light]]" and "[[Recap/TheXFilesS06E17Trevor Trevor]]", both of which turn out to be something weirder. The "Trevor" reference to this trope is funny, since it is [[AgentScully Scully]] who offers it as an initial cause:
-->'''Scully:''' Spontaneous human combustion.\\
'''Mulder:''' ''[grinning]'' Scully!\\
'''Scully:''' Well, isn't that where you were going with this?\\
'''Mulder:''' "Dear Diary, [[GeekyTurnOn today my heart leapt]] when AgentScully suggested spontaneous human combustion."\\
'''Scully:''' Mulder, there are one or two somewhat well-documented cases.\\
''[Mulder nods, grinning]''\\
'''Scully:''' Mulder, shut up.
* In the ''Series/{{Bones}}'' episode "The Foot in the Foreclosure" they find ashes of a pair of loafers; Booth suspects SHC but Brennan says it's just an Urban Legend.
* One episode of ''Series/DeadLikeMe'' sees an untalented stand-up comedian, literally, die on stage by inexplicably exploding after one of his bad jokes.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath "Deep Breath"]], this apparently happens to the ''[[UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' that the Doctor accidentally brought to London at the beginning. Vastra discovers that London's been having a rash of cases of spontaneous combustion. Of course, it's not actually spontaneous: the villain has been [[HumanResources killing people for their organs]] and burning the bodies to [[FieryCoverup hide what was taken]]. The dinosaur was merely the most public victim.
* ''Series/{{Fringe}}'':
** A Season One episode explored this. People who were used in experiments involving Pyrokinesis would burst into flames and explode if they couldn't focus their attention on other things around them when their power builds up inside of them.
** Later, in Season Four, a fringe incident is initially believed to involve several people spontaneously combusting after their bodies exerted too much energy (with others in the affected area needing to stand perfectly still to avoid meeting the same fate), but it is revealed to have been spurned by nanotechnology entering the affected persons' bloodstream.

* ''Series/{{CSI}}'' had an episode with a subplot dedicated to SHC. After finding a charred corpse with all the hallmarks of RealLife SHC cases, the characters conducted an experiment: They wrapped a pig's corpse in the woman's clothing, put the corpse on an identical lounger to the victim, doused the pig with liquor, and lit it up, thereby replicating the scene that they found. Grissom, who already knew about [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wick_effect the Wick Effect]], congratulated the experimenters on a successful experiment, and then told them that this was coming out of their paycheck since it was unnecessary.

* In the ''Series/{{Haven}}'' episode "Survivors", a man unknowingly had the ability to recreate events he feels guilty about. He was guilty about his friend dying in a fire, so people around him would burn up.

* PlayedForLaughs (of course) on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' in a news segment:

* An episode of ''Series/PicketFences'' wrote the depressed, alcoholic mayor out of the plot by having him spontaneously combust within his own house. He already figured his political career was over, apparently making him a literal burnout was the final blow to the character.
* The ''Series/PsiFactor'' episode "The Fire Within" focuses on a group of friends who are killed, one-by-one, by spontaneous combustion. The investigators discover that the victims are [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic right-wing terrorists]] being killed by [[spoiler: government nano-weapons]].

-->"He blowed up ''good!''"\\
"Blowed up ''real'' good!"
* On ''Series/TheSeanCullenShow'', an episode revolved around a talisman which granted Sean's every wish in exchange for famous figure skaters spontaneously combusting.

* ''Series/KolchakTheNightStalker''. In the episode "Firefall", an evil pyromaniac ghost kills several people by causing them to be instantly incinerated and reduced to ashes.
* In the Creator/KenBurns documentary ''Prohibition'', it's mentioned that anti-drinking propaganda in some school textbooks included the claim that drinking could lead to this trope.
* ''Series/BarneyMiller'' episode "[[Recap/BarneyMillerS6E06 Strip Joint]]" involved a nutjob arrested for bathing in a public fountain because he claims he's prone to this and could go up in flames at any moment. At least the detectives ''think'' he's a nutjob, but when a trash can in the squad room catches fire, Barney tells Levitt to get the man some ice.
* ''Series/ForeverKnight''. When a vampire friend of Nick Knight commits SuicideBySunlight, a witness assumes this trope. It's not like Nick is going to tell them the truth, after all.

* The a capella group [[http://www.bobs.com The Bobs]] have a song about this, called "Spontaneous Human Combustion".
* This is the subject of the Music/{{Incubus}} song "Pardon Me".

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', human combustion does happen but it's [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=234075 specifically pointed out to not be spontaneous]].

** There is a card named [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=4919 Spontaneous Combustion]], though.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock}}'': This is one of the core powers you obtain. Who needs fireballs when you can instantly hit the "on_fire" button on anything in your line of sight with a snap of your fingers! It's as fast as your lightning spell and just as tactically usable!
* In ''[[VideoGame/GuitarHero Guitar Hero II]]'', the drummer is shown exploding and leaving behind a puff of smoke after performances of "Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight" as a ShoutOut to the band that wrote the song, [[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap Spinal Tap]].

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'''s Alexia Ashford, who is an {{expy}} of Eve, gains pyrokinetic powers upon her viral mutation, though in her case, she's setting her own ''blood'' on fire.
* In the original ''VideoGame/TheSims'', it was possible for sims to catch fire spontaneously. Also in earlier versions, the flames would be ''invisible'' causing them to thrash around for no apparent reason, then turn into an ash pile. In the ''Seasons'' expansions for the later two games, sims can also spontaneously combust in hot weather; in the second game, they could be swimming, in which case they'd get out of the water, take a few steps, ''then'' catch on fire.

* Players can do this to themselves in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' by typing "explode" into the console.

* The world of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' has a disease (probably engineered by some MadScientist), "[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090810 Hogfarb's resplendent immolation]]", that causes this effect. The body is filled with an incendiary substance, and in the end the victim will "go up like a torch".
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Aberrations do this upon death and are quickly reduced to ash.
* In ''Webcomic/MenInHats'', Sam spontaneously bursts into flames after claiming that he's "just doing God's work"--twice in a row.
-->'''Gamal''': Why are you suddenly on fire?\\
'''Sam''': No reason.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''WebAnimation/AbilityNoX'': In one [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ9x_GX3-9g episode]], a man ''explodes'' in the club that Naru went to. Turns out that it's his special ability.
* Website/CollegeHumor:

* The Website/SCPFoundation describes [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-081 SCP-081]] as a virus that's said to be the cause of many instances of spontaneous human combustion throughout history.

* Caitlin Evans dies this way in ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' v2, abruptly exploding due to a chemical reaction in her digestive tract.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Mr. Burns claims one of his siblings died this way, although he was probably murdered.

* ''Film/Spontaneous2020'' takes a HighConcept BlackComedy approach, where the crisis affecting the students of a high school is random spontaneous combustion opposed to something more commonly reported on in reality, like a school shooting.

* PlayedForLaughs in a ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' CutawayGag in the episode "A Fish Out of Water," when Stewie imagines how his family would look if they were more cultured. Cue the Griffin men sitting in the living room wearing formal clothes, drinking wine, talking with British accents... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIgwY1pRzTw and Peter spontaneously bursting into flames.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Discussed in the episode "Feeling Pinkie Keen". When Pinkie Pie's [[MySignificanceSenseIsTingling Pinkie Sense]] predicts a "doozy" in Froggy Bottom Bog, where Fluttershy is working, Spike worries that it means something truly terrible and bizarre happened to Fluttershy, like exploding "for no reason".

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' Kenny is shown dying via Spontaneous Combustion; it’s later explained that Kenny was holding in all his farts because he had been spending a lot of time with his girlfriend Kelly. Other South Park citizens get killed the same way.

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation describes [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-081 SCP-081]] as a virus that's said to be the cause of many instances of spontaneous human combustion throughout history.

-->"At least you can't say that [[WhenIWasYourAge things were worse in your time."]]

* ''Series/TheXFiles'' suggested this as an explanation several times but it was subverted in each case. In the first-season episode "Fire", there turns out to be an external cause. Also suggested as an explanation in "Soft Light" and "Trevor", both of which turn out to be something weirder. The "Trevor" reference to this trope is funny, since it is [[AgentScully Scully]] that offers it as an initial cause:

'''Mulder:''' (''grinning'') Scully!\\

(''Mulder nods, grinning'')\\

'''Mulder:''' "Dear Diary, today my heart leapt when AgentScully suggested spontaneous human combustion."\\

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath "Deep Breath"]], this apparently happens to [[spoiler:the ''[[UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' that the Doctor accidentally brought to London at the beginning. Vastra discovers that London's been having a rash of cases of spontaneous combustion. Of course, it's not actually spontaneous: the villain has been [[HumanResources killing people for their organs]] and burning the bodies to [[FieryCoverup hide what was taken]]. The dinosaur was merely the most public victim.]]

* In ''Manga/FireForce'', this has killed people for so many generations that those born in the Second generation and above gain the ability to control it instead of letting it kill them. Those in the First generation, however, experience this along with a BalefulPolymorph transformation into a nigh-unstoppable fire beast. The deaths also seem to be extremely random, so it's impossible to tell who will combust next. The only people who you can be sure won't combust into a fire beast are those who already have 2nd or 3rd generation powers. The Fire Force's central goal is to discover the source of spontaneous human combustion and find a way to stop it from happening. [[spoiler:The source of the combustion is found to be [[PhysicalHell literally Hell]], but still nobody knows how to stop it from happening in the future.]]

** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E7OnceMoreWithFeeling Once More with Feeling]]", this is a side-effect of [[FanNickname Sweet's]] power. Those unable to release their emotions through song burst into flame. Buffy herself barely escapes this fate.

* In the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' novel ''Literature/{{Eisenhorn}}: Xenos'', the Chaos Space Marine Mandragore bursts into flame for no apparent reason after being [[OffWithHisHead decapitated]] by Eisenhorn.

* In ''Film/RepoMan'', Agent Rodgerz tries to brush off the fate of a state trooper who unwisely looked in the trunk of the '64 Chevy Malibu and was reduced to a pair of SmolderingShoes by the [[MacGuffin mystery device]] therein as spontaneous combustion.

* Interesting variation with Fëanor from Literature/TheSilmarillion whose corpse cremates itself after he gets killed apparently due to his sheer [[HotBlooded hot bloodedness]]. Note that this guy's name means "spirit of fire" in one of Tolkien's {{Constructed language}}s.

** In the original manga, Kamui's mom Tohru spontaneously combusted in the BackStory. The reason for this, however, was made pretty clear: She made herself a shadow sacrifice of the entire planet Earth and, by burning to death, delayed its destruction by ClimateChange. ItMakesSenseInContext.

* This is a pretty common occurrence in ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve''. Eve does this by making the mitochondria of a victim generate an energy over-charge, which causes the body of a victim to burst into flames. Using this, she massacres the cast, staff and most of the audience of an opera, the staff at the Central Park Zoo, the skeleton crew at a hospital, numerous NYPD officers and Aya's partner. Twice. She even manages to use it as a means to start a carriage, by ''setting the horses on fire''. In fact, one of the central plot elements is the fact that Aya's own mutated mitochondria prevent her from going up like a Roman candle whenever she gets within a thousand feet of Eve, which makes her the only one able to defeat her.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath "Deep Breath"]], this apparently happens to [[spoiler:the ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' that the Doctor accidentally brought to London at the beginning. Vastra discovers that London's been having a rash of cases of spontaneous combustion. Of course, it's not actually spontaneous: the villain has been [[HumanResources killing people for their organs]] and burning the bodies to [[FieryCoverup hide what was taken]]. The dinosaur was merely the most public victim.]]

* This is how glycation (damage to red blood cells by being exposed to too much glucose, a symptom of diabetes) is [[CastOfPersonifications depicted]] in ''Manga/CellsAtWorkBlack.'' Once insulin production slows, the RBC's decide they can stand to eat more sugars, as it's just being thrown out otherwise One swells up and explodes. Others are seen trying to work [[BodyHorror with their eyes boiled out of their heads and their skin covered in third-degree burns]].