January is generally a time of reflection, looking back at the year gone, and concentrating on the 11 months ahead.
But in January 1905, the residents of Hull were a little less preoccupied with their New Year's resolutions and more concerned with rumours that one of the locals had been the victim of spontaneous human combustion.
The very thought of spontaneous human combustion is frightening – not least because science has yet to deliver the final verdict on how anyone can suddenly burst into flames and burn to death without explanation.
So one can only imagine the feelings of unease in the winter of 1904-05, when a report of the death of an Elizabeth Clark in the press brought the phenomena a little closer to home.
Mr Covell explains: "Different theories have been presented as to how spontaneous human combustion happens, and I had always had an interest in cases, so imagine my surprise when I found an alleged case in Hull.
"I first came across the case in a book by Charles Fort, called Lo, which was published in 1931. He spoke of this case of spontaneous human combustion. I then found other books all mentioning the case and knew I had to investigate."
Mr Covell had little more than Mrs Clark's name, the date of the horror and its location at Trinity Almshouse to go on, but a long search of historical newspapers at Hull History Centre reaped rewards.
The main coverage was in the Hull Daily Mail, and in an article dated January 6, 1905, headlined:
"Room door burst open. Almshouse inmates aroused by groans. Hull widow fatally burned."
The article reported a "most mysterious and terrible burning accident" at the residential home for elderly people in Carr Lane.
It described how mariner widow Mrs Clark, who was "exceedingly feeble" was discovered by a fellow "inmate" after hearing groans coming from her bedroom.
It read: "At about six o'clock this morning Mrs Walton heard groans proceeding from the other woman's chamber.
"She went to the door and found it locked, and caught the attention of another inmate, Wm Conyers, to the moans, which were exceedingly audible.
"Conyers burst open the door and discovered Clark in bed. Her body was covered with burns and not a shred of her nightdress remained. "There was no fire or light in the room, and Clark was in a semi-conscious condition."
The woman was taken to the hospital, but died from her "terrible" injuries at noon.
Despite the article going on to suggest the woman had struck a match, accidentally and unknowingly setting her nightdress on fire before climbing into bed, rumours of spontaneous combustion had the city gripped after researchers stated Mrs Clark had died from spontaneous human combustion.
Mr Covell has uncovered a series of reports on the case that shed new light on the mystery.
"If we take this first report at face value, it does look like it could be a case of SHC, but what if there were other reports?" Mr Covell queries.
"I didn't give up the search and found more newspaper reports on the case. "These showed that it was nothing more than a terrible accident, poor Mrs Clark had set fire to herself accidentally by lighting a candle in the dark. The later newspaper reports all pointed to this but they were ignored."
Mr Covell also points to other sources that took the case and changed the facts to make it more sensational.
One paper even changed her name to Mrs Burns in an apparent attempt to make the story more mysterious, which he admits hindered his research at first.
But dogged determination and a look at the official records put the case in a clearer light.
"I took two unusual steps," Mr Covell adds. "First, I ordered Mrs Clark's death certificate, which featured the true extent of her injuries and cause of death.
"It gave us more details about her life too – she was 71 years old when she died, and was the widow of Mr John Clark, who was a mariner.
"The death certificate mentioned the coroner, so I went one step further and contacted the coroner for Hull. "As you can imagine, having to put on the request that it was potentially a case of SHC was a little daunting but the coroner's office were really helpful, and in turn sent me to the East Riding Archives in Beverley, who kindly provided me with the inquest documents."
It read: Elizabeth Clark of Hull died from accidental death, she was 71 years of age, her death occurred on January 6 and her inquest was held on January 7 1905.
Within 40 years of her death, the almshouse that housed her until she died was also destroyed by fire during the Blitz.
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