Mysterious Pals

Did Matilda Rooney Spontaneously Combust? Episode #14

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In 1885, on Christmas Day in Seneca, Illinois, USA, the bodies of Patrick and Matilda Rooney were found. Patrick died from asphyxiation, but Matilda's demise was mysterious—only her feet remained intact. The cause: a fire perhaps, but some have linked it to spontaneous human combustion. So did Matilda Rooney spontaneously combust?

Music

Theme Music by Dethlehem (dethlehem.bandcamp.com)

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    • Episode Resources

    • Moreno, Richard. Myths and Mysteries of Illinois. Rowman & Littlefield, 6 Aug. 2013.
  • ‌“Therapeutic Gazette.” Google Books, G. S. Davis, 1889, books.google.com/books?id=u1U_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA387&dq=%22which+came+under+my+observation+while+coroner+of+La+Salle+County. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
  • ‌“Is Spontaneous Human Combustion Real? | Britannica.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/story/is-spontaneous-human-combustion-real.
  • ‌“The Real Case of Spontaneous Combustion That Inspired a Death in Dickens’s Bleak House.” Www.mentalfloss.com, 20 Nov. 2018, www.mentalfloss.com/article/564288/charles-dickens-bleak-house-spontaneous-combustion-death.
  • ‌“Ball Lightning Scientists Remain in the Dark.” New Scientist, www.newscientist.com/article/dn1720-ball-lightning-scientists-remain-in-the-dark/.
  • ‌Radford, Benjamin. “Spontaneous Human Combustion: Facts & Theories.” Livescience.com, Live Science, 19 Dec. 2013, www.livescience.com/42080-spontaneous-human-combustion.html.
  • ‌Francis, Matthew. “The Dirty Secret behind Ball Lightning Is Dirt.” Ars Technica, 22 Jan. 2014, arstechnica.com/science/2014/01/the-dirty-secret-behind-ball-lightning-is-dirt/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
  • ‌“Spontaneous Human Combustion.” Wikipedia, 2 Apr. 2022, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_human_combustion.

    • Images

    • Episode Thumbnail: Charles Dickens' Bleak House, MacMillan and Co, New-York London 1895 page 402
  • Background Video by Brett Sayles from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/lighted-christmas-tree-1708601/

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    A mysterious show about history and friendship.

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