Pyrokinesis is a psychic ability allowing a person to create and control fire with the mind.[1][2][3] As with other parapsychological phenomena, there is no conclusive evidence in support of the actual existence of pyrokinesis. Many alleged cases are hoaxes; the result of trickery.[4][5]
The word pyrokinesis (from Greek pyr meaning fire, kinesis meaning movement) was popularized by horror novelist Stephen King in his 1980 novel Firestarter to describe the ability to create and control fire with the mind, though its use predates the novel.[1][6][7] The word is intended to be parallel to telekinesis, with S. T. Joshi describing it as a "singularly unfortunate coinage" and noting that the correct analogy to telekinesis would "not be 'pyrokinesis' but 'telepyrosis' (fire from a distance)".[8]