Needful Things

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, and animal death.

Throughout the novel, Stephen King explores the various ways in which avarice can lead regular people to compromise their morals, destroy their relationships, and even contribute to the destruction of an entire community. Through the manipulations of Leland Gaunt and the chaos he brings to Castle Rock, King demonstrates that unchecked desire and greed and can transform ordinary people into agents of destruction.

As a curio shop, Needful Things offers items that appear to fulfill the deepest desires of the townspeople. These objects are not inherently valuable, but each buyer ascribes immense personal significance to their chosen treasure. Gaunt exploits these vulnerabilities, and his ability to pinpoint people’s deepest desires exposes the fragility of human nature and hints at his own infernal origins. Notably, people’s different reactions to Mr. Gaunt’s touch indicate the level of their own corruption. Most people are vaguely repulsed by Mr. Gaunt’s presence, but those who have already chosen to embrace immorality, such as Buster and Ace, instinctively feel an immediate camaraderie with Mr. Gaunt, “finding, after what felt like centuries of struggle and darkness, a kindred soul” (444).