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Mary Reeser

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Oddity

The Resume

    (1884-July 2, 1951)
    Born in Columbia, Pennsylvania
    Retired widower believed to have died from spontaneous human combustion (SHC) in St. Petersburg, FL at age 67
    Landlady with the help of nearby painters discovered her remains - her left foot with a slipper, liver fused to vertebrae and her shrunken skull
    Her 175 pound frame reduced to less than 10 pounds of material, mostly ash
    Estimated intensity of fire between 2500-3000° Fahrenheit
    Death officially attributed to falling asleep with lit cigarette in hand

Why she might be annoying:

    Last seen by her landlady late July 1 she was smoking a cigarette, said she had taken two Seconal and was going to take two more before going to sleep (not the smartest idea).
    Though her skull was reduced to 'baseball size,' human skulls are not known to shrink while burning.
    A clock near her charred remains was stopped at 4:20 am, but worked fine when plugged into an outlet away from the fire scene.
    Believers vs skeptics argue just how much fire damage there was around the body, where the only point they agree on is her easy chair was completely consumed, leaving just the springs.
    She never got to read the telegram that arrived the day she died and her landlady was trying to give her.
    Physical anthropology Dr. Wilton Krogman called in to speculate, stated, 'I cannot conceive of such complete cremation without more burning of the apartment itself...Were I living in the Middle Ages, I'd mutter something about black magic,' then later backtracked and suggested foul play.

Why she might not be annoying:

    Though SHC theories were known many years (first reported case was a Frenchman in 1763) and a character from Dickens's 'Bleak House' was killed of this way, her case renewed interest in the phenomenon.
    Her remains were sent to the F.B.I. where it was concluded she was consumed from the 'wick effect,' where a body can fuel fire within itself for hours from burning fat.
    She fit the profile - 80% of SHC victims are 'plump' (overweight) females who live alone.
    Many believers maintain a lit cigarette could never burn hot enough to do the kind of damage done to her and her death certificate was signed with severe apprehension.
    Whatever the case may be she got herself a free cremation.

Credit: Scar Tactics


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 12 Votes: 8.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 200 Votes: 42.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 10 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 17 Votes: 64.71% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 19 Votes: 57.89% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 26 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 34 Votes: 67.65% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 113 Votes: 44.25% Annoying