Written by Stephen King, Needful Things (1991) is a horror novel set in the small town of Castle Rock, Maine, where a mysterious new shop offers townspeople their heart’s desires—for a price. As the store’s enigmatic owner, Leland Gaunt, manipulates the townsfolk into fulfilling dark bargains, the town spirals into chaos and violence, culminating in a fiery showdown between good and evil.

Widely celebrated for his prolific career in the horror genre, Stephen King has written over 50 novels, and many of his titles have been adapted into movies or television series. He has also won many prestigious literary awards, including the Bram Stoker Award, Edgar Award, Hugo Award, National Meda of Arts, and the Shirley Jackson Award. With Needful Things, King sharply critiques the deleterious effects of consumerism and materialism, using the concept of “needful things” as a metaphor for the destructive power of unchecked desire and obsession in modern society. As the chaotic elements of the narrative progress, King examines the effects of Desire and Greed as Corrupting Forces, Small-Town Dynamics and Hidden Tensions, and The Battle Between Good and Evil.

This guide refers to the 2016 Kindle edition.

Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide contain 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.

Plot Summary

Castle Rock, Maine, is a small town full of people who know far too much about each other’s business. When a mysterious man named Leland Gaunt opens a new “antiques” shop called Needful Things, his arrival causes a stir as the residents compete to be the first experts on this new location. Gaunt has an ominous habit of instantly ingratiating himself with his customers, who all become unhealthily fascinated by his shop.

Each member of the town has a different experience of exploring the shop, but they all find something that they must obtain at any cost. Eleven-year-old Brian Rusk visits the shop out of curiosity, and although he has mixed feelings of warmth and revulsion toward Mr. Gaunt, he tells the proprietor that he deeply desires a 1956 Sandy Koufax baseball card. Mr. Gaunt has this exact item, which is even inscribed with a note from Sandy to Brian. In exchange for this card, Brian must perform a few pranks for Mr. Gaunt. (It is later revealed that he plays a series of pranks on Wilma and Nettie, two women who have an ongoing petty feud with one another.) 

Later, Nettie Cobb, who murdered her husband, buys carnival glass and agrees to pull a prank on Dan (“Buster”) Keeton, whose paranoid behavior has been escalating oddly. Sheriff Alan Pangborn, who is haunted by the recent loss of his wife and son, wonders about the proprietor of Castle Rock’s newest shop. As time goes on, various residents of Castle Rock visit the shop out of curiosity and are inevitably drawn in by Mr. Gaunt’s charisma and by the lure of a specific object that incites their desire and their lust to possess it. One resident, Hugh Priest is entranced by a fox-tail that reminds him of his youth. 

Brian pulls his prank, spraying mud all over Wilma’s sheets, and Wilma believes that Nettie is responsible. As the feud between Nettie and Wilma escalates, Sally Ratcliffe buys a splinter that she believes to have come from Noah’s Ark, while Cora and Myra buy a picture of Elvis and sunglasses that supposedly belonged to the famous singer. With each new transaction, Mr. Gaunt requires his customers to perform pranks as payment. He also asks for tips about who can provide surveillance.

As time goes on, Alan enjoys his romantic relationship with Polly (Nettie’s friend and the owner of a sewing shop). The relationship is very healing for both Polly and Alan. However, he worries about the debilitating pain caused by Polly’s arthritis. Polly left Castle Rock when she became pregnant at age 17, and although she has told him that her baby died of SIDS, Alan doubts this story. However, he is content to wait until she is comfortable enough to tell him the truth (that her son and his babysitter died in a fire). Alan also has darkness in his past; he is haunted by not knowing the reason for the fatal car crash that killed his wife and son. He wonders if it was truly an accident, was a form of suicide, or was precipitated by a medical emergency like a seizure.

The narrative shifts to Buster, who is the town Selectman and has been embezzling from Castle Rock for many years in order to fund his gambling addiction. He is deeply paranoid and believes that a shadowy group whom he calls The Persecutors is now following his every move. His wife Myrtle, whom he abuses, fears that his obsession and violence will escalate. When Buster becomes entranced by a race track game in the window of Needful Things, Mr. Gaunt easily manipulates him.

One day, Hugh Priest kills Nettie’s dog as a “prank” for Mr. Gaunt, and Brian throws rocks through Wilma’s windows, escalating her feud with Nettie. In another “prank” for Gaunt, Nettie hangs pink slips in Buster’s house, accusing him of embezzlement and fraud. Now embroiled in their worsening feud, Wilma and Nettie stab each other to death, and Alan is befuddled by this particular case. 

Meanwhile, tensions mount between the local Baptists and Catholics as a contentious Casino Night looms, and Sally Ratcliffe is manipulated into believing that her fiancé Lester is cheating on her, while Lester likewise thinks that Sally is cheating on him.

The general sense of chaos escalates when Ace Merrill, an infamous criminal, returns to Castle Rock. Mr. Gaunt sells him a book of treasure maps that Ace believes was left by his uncle. Ace becomes a lackey of Mr. Gaunt’s and picks up boxes of weapons on behalf of the proprietor, loading them into Mr. Gaunt’s car, which is revealed to have magical properties.

Meanwhile, Brian struggles with his guilt over his role in the deaths of Wilma and Nettie, who were incited to violence by his pranks on behalf of Mr. Gaunt. As Alan starts to wonder how much Brian knows about this issue, the overall violence and vandalism in Castle Rock continue to escalate.

Polly purchases an amulet from Mr. Gaunt because she is manipulated into believing that it cures her arthritis. Later, Eddie Warburton leaves an envelope at Polly’s house addressed to “Ms. Patricia Chalmers” from the San Francisco Department of Child Welfare. The letter claims that Alan is investigating her.

When Hugh Priest’s fingerprints are found in Nettie’s house, indicating that he was the one who killed her dog, a manhunt for Hugh begins. Lester arrives at the sheriff’s station and nearly beats John LaPointe to death, believing that Sally was cheating on him with John. Buster is handcuffed to his car for his latest crimes and escapes, managing to drive over a witness. He returns home and beats Myrtle to death with a hammer.

In yet another violent incident, Sean Rusk witnesses his brother Brian die by suicide. Just before his death, Brian warns Sean never to go to Needful Things. As a “prank” for Mr. Gaunt, Polly buries a note at the Camber farm that Ace is directed to dig up shortly afterward, believing that the location contains buried treasure. His disappointment upon finding the mocking note makes him murderously angry.

Drawn by the chaos, news crews descend on Castle Rock, and a sudden electrical storm compromises the town’s communications devices. When Alan interviews Sean about Brian’s suicide, he finally realizes that Mr. Gaunt is at the center of all the town’s strife. The narrative reveals that Mr. Gaunt started his business many years ago. Mr. Gaunt is actually a demon who has been alive for hundreds of years, stealing souls and selling weapons.

Ace Merrill drives around erratically, searching for buried treasure, then returns to Needful Things to demand answers. When Ace demands a gun, Mr. Gaunt lifts him into the air, threatening to slice him open. Buster and Ace work together to distribute dynamite throughout the town.

The tension between the Catholics and Baptists explodes when they plant stink-bombs in each other’s buildings. Cora kills Myra’s cat, then finds Myra masturbating to the picture of Elvis and shoots Myra out of jealousy. In turn, Myra shoots Cora.

Alan goes to Needful Things and is manipulated into watching a video given to him by Mr. Gaunt, showing that Ace Merrill was responsible for his wife’s car crash. Meanwhile, Polly overcomes Mr. Gaunt’s demonic influence and renounces her amulet, killing the monstrous spider that lives inside of it. The dynamite set out by Buster and Ace explodes, destroying the town.

In front of Needful Things, Polly and Norris force an entranced Alan to realize that Mr. Gaunt has been manipulating him. Alan shakes free of Mr. Gaunt’s influence and uses a magic trick of his own to force Mr. Gaunt away. Mr. Gaunt’s magical car turns into a horse, then into a buckboard commanded by a hunchbacked dwarf. Leland Gaunt disappears. Most of Castle Rock is gone.

A new speaker in Junction City, Iowa, invites the reader to take in the small town. A new store called Answered Prayers has just opened. The speaker wonders what’s inside.