That a living body burns until consumed without mediating any type of external source of ignition is a completely abnormal fact.In Mysterious we already talk about this phenomenon in our article Spontaneous Combustion, myth or reality ? On this occasion we bring you a case in the 18th century: the extraordinary spontaneous combustion of Cornelia Zangari.
The extraordinary spontaneous combustion of Cornelia Zangari
Apparently, the case of Cornelia Zangari is cited by the British writer Charles Dickens in the preface to his novel Bleak House (Desolated House, 1853). From this Mention, spontaneous combustion became a very popular topic and especially the case of Countess Zangari.
The combustion of Cornelia was reported by Giuseppe Bianchini (1704-1764) scholar and scientist , who was an advisor to the popes Clement XII and Benedict XIV, in a report entitled: « Parere sopra la cagione della morte della Comtessa Cornelia Zangari«. In the story he explains that the Countess, who was from Cesena , a city in the Emilia-Romana region in Italy, was 62 years old and considerably overweight when She died.She had spent the day with normality, although at night she felt tired and heavier and retired to her bedroom accompanied by her maid.They were talking, praying and preparing to sleep for almost three hours.After this time the servant Withdrawal until the next day when, lost that her mistress did not call her at the usual time, she entered the room.
I found her next to the burned bed , there was only a lot of ashes left among which you integrate the legs, from the feet to the knees , 3 blackened fingers and a piece of the head half burned .That, oddly enough, the socks remained intact on the legs.The ashes when touched left in their hands a fatty and smelly residue. In the room floated hollin remains and a strange odor of tallow.On the floor was a lamp without oil and covered with ash.Because of the stench and the amount of greasy substance that covered the area where the corpse was found, it was assumed that it was impossible for the lamp , accidentally, it would have been the cause of the combustion.The bed was intact ; sheets and blankets were half open so that they indicated that the woman had risen from her normally.What had happened? The solution for the time was easy: the countess was a heavy drinker and at that time it was believed that a person who consumed a lot of alcohol could turn on and calcinate.
dangers of spontaneous combustion were used, frequently during the eighteenth century in Britain, to combat the excesses of drinking from the pulpit.Preachers used to frighten the drinkers by telling them that if they drank too much they could be victims of that phenomenon .It was a way for the Church to combat the evils of alcohol.However, Bianchini, the author of the report , points out that the Countess could be a victim of lightning that entered through the open window at the moment she stood at the bedside.
It is currently believed that many of the 200 cases reported since the eighteenth century were due to the "wick effect" : it has been proven that a body can burn for hours, until practically calcining, as a result of a spark that burns the fabric that covers it and melts the body fat.This impregnates again the burned fabric that acts like a wick that for hours continues to burn and carbonizes the parts of the body that are in contact with the clothes.
If you have interested in this article, maybe you want to read more about strange phenomena in the post: 10 phenomena of the mind that can happen to you.
Image: Guy Mayer,
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