
Stephen King’s 1980 novel, Firestarter, tells the story of Andy and Charlie McGee, a couple who gained limited psychic abilities after taking an experimental drug. Andy developed telepathy, while Charlie gained telekinesis. Their daughter, however, possessed a far more powerful and dangerous gift: pyrokinesis – the ability to create fire with her mind. When a government agency called The Shop learns about her abilities, Andy and his daughter are forced to go on the run, as The Shop wants to control and weaponize her power. Firestarter became a popular cult classic, and the idea of pyrokinesis has become well-known in modern culture, even inspiring the 1990 film Spontaneous Combustion.