1985, May 25: Stepney Green Man’s Fiery Ignition

The Legend:

On May 25, 1985, a 19-year-old man in Stepney Green, London, England, suddenly caught fire form the waist up while just walking down a street. He dropped and rolled, smothering the flames out, then staggered to a hospital. He stated that it felt as if he had been suddenly doused in burning gasoline, but tests found no traces of gasoline on him or his clothes.

Unreliable

        This is the first listing of this incident in Anomalies, and therefore will require more research to confirm it. This is especially true because the above comes from Jenny Randles and Peter Hough's 1992 book, Spontaneous Human Combustion; this book gives almost no sources for the accounts it relates, in this case attributing the above to "Author's own investigation"... which essentially means "Just trust us." For this reason, this account is marked as both "Unreliable" and "Investigate;" I will add new information as I get a chance to dig further.