There have been a few hundred cases of spontaneous human combustion reported, with some reported instances from as early as the 17th century. They were highly debated as to whether they were truly a case of spontaneous combustion or something else - and the vast majority went ignored, written off as nothing more than an urban legend. However, when 67-year-old Mary Hardy Reeser was discovered completely reduced to a pile of burnt debris and ashes, law enforcement stepped in to investigate what had happened.

The FBI even became involved in the case, documenting evidence that just didn’t seem to add up. Still to this day, it isn’t clear what happened to Mary.

Sources:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2019/10/17/spontaneous-combustion-in-st-petersburg-the-curious-case-of-mary-reeser/

https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dzyma/netflix-unsolved-mysteries-scariest-episode-about-spontaneous-human-combustion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwhcF2tTefQ

https://www.britannica.com/story/is-spontaneous-human-combustion-real#:~:text=Descriptions%20of%20spontaneous%20human%20combustion,few%20hundred%20recorded%20possible%20cases.

https://unsolved.com/gallery/spontaneous-combustion/

https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2020/10/20/the-curious-case-of-mary-hardy-reeser

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