Pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis is the supposed psychic ability that allows a person to create and control fire with the mind. There is no conclusive evidence that pyrokinesis is a real phenomenon. Recorded cases of alleged pyrokinesis are hoaxes resulting from the use of tricks.
Etymology
The word pyrokinesis is formed from the Greek roots: pyr (πυρ) = fire and kinesis (κίνησις) = movement. It was coined by novelist Stephen King in his 1980 novel Eyes of Fire, to describe the ability to create and control fire with the mind. The word is intended to be equivalent to telekinesis , with ST Joshi describing it as a "singularly unfortunate creation" and noting that the correct analogy to telekinesis "would not be "pyrokinesis" but "teleprosis" (fire from a distance)".
King is apparently the first person to give a concrete name to this concept, as neither the term pyrokinesis nor any other term describing the idea has been found in previous work.
Parapsychologists and science fiction works define pyrokinesis as the ability to excite the molecules inside an object, accelerating them until their temperature is sufficient for ignition.
History
AW Underwood, a 19th century 19th century African-American, achieved minor celebrity status with the supposed ability to cause certain objects catch fire spontaneously. Magicians and scientists have suggested that small, hidden portions of phosphorus might have been responsible. The match can be easily ignited by breathing or rubbing it. Skeptical researcher Joe Nickell has written that Underwood may have used "a chemical combustion technique, and some other means. Whatever the exact method - and the matchstick trick might be the most likely - the chances of deception far outweigh any occult power hinted at by Charles Fort or others".
The medium Daniel Dunglas Home was known to perform feats with fire and manipulate a hot piece of coal taken from a burning fire. Magician Henry R. Evans wrote that the manipulation of coal was a juggling trick, performed by Home using a hidden piece of platinum. Hereward Carrington described Evans's hypothesis as "certainly ingenious", but noted that William Crookes, an experienced chemist, was present at a séance while Home performed the feat and would have known the difference between coal and platinum. Frank Podmore wrote that most feats with fire could easily have been performed using tricks and sleight of hand, but hallucination and sensory deception could explain Crookes' claim to have observed flames from Home's fingers.
Joseph McCabe has written that Home's alleged pyrokinesis feats were flimsy and unsatisfactory. He noted that they were performed in dark conditions in front of unreliable witnesses. McCabe suggested that the coal handling was probably a "piece of asbestos out of Home's pocket".
In March 2011, a three-year-old girl in Antique Province, Philippines, drew media attention for her alleged supernatural power to predict or create fires. The town's mayor said she witnessed a pillow ignite after the girl said "fire... pillow." Others claimed to have witnessed the girl predicting or causing fires without any physical contact with the objects.
Sometimes pyrokinesis claims are published in the context of fire ghosts, such as the Canneto di Caronia fires and an earlier Italian case of a young nanny, Carole Compton.
However, there is no scientifically plausible method for the brain to trigger explosions or fires.