Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of graphic violence, homicide, suicide, attempted suicide, domestic abuse, child loss, sexual abuse of a child, addiction, racism and explicit racist slurs, and animal death.

“Come in, my friend. Enter freely, and leave some of the happiness you bring!”

When Brian first enters the shop and meets Leland, he feels fearful. Leland’s persuasive manner of speaking sets Brian at ease. The introduction of Leland to the reader also establishes how Leland speaks persuasively to all his customers and shows that the relationship is transactional in more ways than one. Even the very idea of “leaving some of the happiness you bring” foreshadows the fact that Mr. Gaunt does indeed rob his customers of happiness.

“‘Oh now,’ Mr. Gaunt said, steepling his fingers below his chin and looking at Brian roguishly. ‘With an item like that—and with most of the good things I sell, the really interesting things—that would depend on the buyer. What the buyer would be willing to pay. What would you be willing to pay, Brian?’”

Stephen King’s use of repetition in this passage establishes a sinister, wheedling tone as Mr. Gaunt inveigles Brian to pay a significant price for the object of his desire. Brian’s initial interaction with Mr. Gaunt serves as a primer of sorts, establishing crucial aspects of King’s world-building and emphasizing the transactional nature of Mr. Gaunt’s activities. With his final suggestive question (“What would you be willing to pay?”), Mr. Gaunt also indicates that his items are priced quite dearly indeed, even if the currency is largely intangible. Thus, even at this early stage, King foreshadows the fact that Mr. Gaunt is encouraging the townsfolk to make Faustian bargains.