10 Stephen King References And Homages In Stranger Things
1. Eleven Might As Well Be Charlie
Speaking of Eleven: in one of the biggest nods to the world of Stephen King, Eleven could very well have been plucked right from the pages of FireStarter.
That's not to say she's a rip-off, but she could very well be Charlie, the pyrokinetic girl from King's novel, in another form.
Eleven has more powers, and is slightly older, but the similarities between Charlie and Eleven are strong. Both possess powers, incredible powers, and both sometimes struggle to control them. Both were the result of drug experiments by the CIA (in FireStarter, they're referred to as The Shop). Both wind up on the run from the government from the very beginning of their stories (at least as we meet them). Both wind up forced to kill men.
Both are fearsome in their own right. In FireStarter, Charlie is described as tall for her age, and blonde - which makes the blonde wig used to disguise Eleven another similarity.
Charlie, unlike Eleven, isn't drained after using her powers - but interestingly, in the novel, her parents, who have powers of their own from the Shop's experiments, do wind up drained of their energy. And like Eleven, Charlie's powers seem to vary - they all stem from her ability to create fire, but she also possesses telepathy and telekinesis, among other abilities.