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Author | Stephen King |
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Illustrator | Bill Russell |
Language | English |
Genre | Horror |
Publisher | Viking |
Publication date | October 1991 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
Pages | 690 |
ISBN | 978-0-670-83953-7 |
Needful Things is a 1991 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first novel King wrote after his rehabilitation from drug and alcohol addiction. [1] It was made into a film of the same name in 1993 which was directed by Fraser C. Heston. The story focuses on a shop that sells collectibles and antiques, managed by Leland Gaunt, a new arrival to the town of Castle Rock, Maine, the setting of many King stories. Gaunt often asks customers to perform a prank or mysterious deed in exchange for the item they are drawn to. As time goes by, the many deeds and pranks lead to increasing aggression among the townspeople, as well as chaos and death. A protagonist of the book is Alan Pangborn, previously seen in Stephen King's novel The Dark Half .
According to the cover, this novel is "The Last Castle Rock Story." However, the town later serves as the setting for the short story "It Grows on You" (published in King's 1993 collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes which, according to King, serves as an epilogue to Needful Things), as well as King's 2017 novella Gwendy's Button Box (cowritten with Richard Chizmar) and his 2018 novella Elevation .
A new shop named "Needful Things" opens in the small town of Castle Rock, Maine, sparking the curiosity of its citizens. The proprietor, Leland Gaunt, is a charming elderly gentleman purportedly from Akron, Ohio who always seems to have an item in stock that is perfectly suited to any customer. The prices are surprisingly low, considering the merchandise – such as a rare Sandy Koufax baseball card, a picture of Elvis Presley, a carnival glass lampshade, and a fragment of petrified wood stated to be from Noah's Ark – but he expects each customer to also play a "prank" on someone else in town. Each customer enters a trance and becomes highly agreeable when making a deal with Gaunt, afterwards forgetting anything abnormal about the encounter. Gaunt has complete knowledge of the long-standing private histories and conflicts between the various townspeople, and the pranks are his means of forcing them to escalate.
Gaunt quickly marks local Sheriff Alan Pangborn and Polly Chalmers, Alan's sweetheart and proprietor of a local sewing shop, as "tough customers" who are likely to question and interfere with him. Gaunt avoids Alan and offers Polly an ancient charm that relieves the terrible arthritic pain in her hands, as well as giving Gaunt control over her. Local boy Brian Rusk vandalizes the home of Wilma Jerzyck, who loathes Nettie Cobb, Polly's housekeeper, and alcoholic Hugh Priest kills Nettie's dog. Nettie and Wilma then kill each other with knives in a public confrontation, increasing tensions in town.
Other rivalries begin to fester, spurred by the personal motives and secrets of the people involved. Gaunt hires petty criminal John "Ace" Merrill as his assistant, providing him with high-quality cocaine and hinting at buried treasure that could relieve the debt he owes to drug dealers. Ace's first assignment is to retrieve crates of pistols, ammunition, and blasting caps from a garage in Boston; Gaunt soon begins to sell the pistols to his customers so they can protect their purchases.
The truth is eventually revealed: for centuries, Gaunt has tricked people into buying worthless junk that magically appears to be whatever they treasure or desire most. They then become so paranoid about keeping their items safe that they eagerly buy up the weapons that he offers, until the whole town is caught up in madness and violence. Ace begins to suspect the supernatural background of his new employer, but Gaunt keeps him in line through intimidation and promises of revenge against Alan and Castle Rock.
Several cases of violence happen simultaneously: gym coach Lester Pratt attacks Deputy John LaPointe (his fiancée's ex-boyfriend) and is killed in self-defense; Hugh Priest and bar owner Henry Beaufort kill each other in a shootout; Brian commits suicide out of guilt for his role in Wilma and Nettie's deaths; and town selectman Danforth "Buster" Keeton (who has been secretly embezzling from public funds to fuel his gambling addiction) attacks Deputy Norris Ridgewick before escaping to his home and killing his wife, Myrtle, with a hammer. Buster is then recruited by Ace to join him in his work for Gaunt. With the violence in Castle Rock rapidly escalating, Ace and Buster plant dynamite all over town, using the caps Ace brought back. Alan sets out to kill Ace, led by Gaunt to believe him responsible for the car accident that killed his wife and son. Polly realizes the evil of the charm she bought and destroys it. Norris attempts suicide, realizing that his prank on Priest led to the fatal shootout, but decides to go to the police station to help. As the bombs explode, Buster is wounded by Norris and is put out of his misery by Ace. Taking Polly hostage, Ace demands that Alan hand over a hoard of buried cash he allegedly stole. Norris kills Ace, leaving Alan to face off against Gaunt.
Using sleight of hand and magic novelties that suddenly come to life, Alan forces Gaunt back and grabs his valise, which contains the souls of his customers. Gaunt flees the scene, his car turning into a horse-drawn wagon (with the words CAVEAT EMPTOR - "Let the buyer beware" - written on the side), and the survivors are left to ponder an uncertain future. The novel ends as it begins, in first-person direct address indicating that a new and mysterious shop called "Answered Prayers" is about to open in a small Iowa town –ominously implying that Gaunt is ready to begin his business cycle again.
In the notes to Nightmares & Dreamscapes , King suggested that his short story "It Grows on You" (originally written in 1973, and published in revised format in 1993) could serve as a sequel to Needful Things. [2]
In 1993, a film adaptation of King's book directed by Fraser C. Heston and starring Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia and J. T. Walsh was released in theaters. [3] It received generally negative reviews from critics, with an overall rating of 32% on Rotten Tomatoes. [4]
The Rick and Morty episode "Something Ricked This Way Comes" features the Devil as the proprietor of a store named "Needful Things", which sells cursed items. [5]
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because of Gaunt's royal origin, advantageous marriages, and some generous land grants, he was one of the richest men of his era, and was an influential figure during the reigns of both his father and his nephew, Richard II. As Duke of Lancaster, he is the founder of the royal House of Lancaster, whose members would ascend the throne after his death. His birthplace, Ghent in Flanders, then known in English as Gaunt, was the origin of his name.
Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth son of King Edward III.
Cujo is a 1981 horror novel by American writer Stephen King about a rabid Saint Bernard. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982 and was made into a film in 1983. Cujo's name was based on the alias of Willie Wolfe, one of the men responsible for orchestrating Patty Hearst's kidnapping and indoctrination into the Symbionese Liberation Army. King discusses Cujo in On Writing, referring to it as a novel he "barely remembers writing at all." King wrote the book during the height of his struggle with alcohol addiction. King goes on to say he likes the book and wishes he could remember enjoying the good parts as he put them on the page.
John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, KG, of Dartington Hall in Devon, was a half-brother of King Richard II (1377–1399), to whom he remained strongly loyal. He is primarily remembered for being suspected of assisting in the downfall of King Richard's uncle Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (1355–1397) and then for conspiring against King Richard's first cousin and eventual deposer, Henry Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV (1399–1413).
Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and Earl of Ulster was an English magnate who was appointed Lieutenant of Ireland but died after only two years in the post.
Cat's Eye is a 1985 American anthology horror thriller film directed by Lewis Teague and written by Stephen King. It comprises three stories, "Quitters, Inc.", "The Ledge", and "General". The first two are adaptations of short stories in King's 1978 Night Shift collection, and the third is unique to the film. The three stories are connected by the presence of a traveling cat, and Drew Barrymore both of which play incidental roles in the first two and major characters in the third.
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a 2000 American romantic comedy film directed by Brian Levant, written by Jim Cash, Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, and Jack Epps, Jr., and is the prequel to Levant's The Flintstones (1994), based on the 1960–1966 animated television series of the same name. The film was developed and produced without the involvement of Steven Spielberg, the executive producer of Levant's The Flintstones (1994). It is set before the events of both the series and the first film, showing how Fred and Barney meet Wilma and Betty. The title is a play on the Elvis Presley song, Viva Las Vegas, also used as the title of an MGM musical film.
"Nona" is a short horror story by Stephen King, first published in the 1978 anthology Shadows and later collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.
Castle Rock is a fictional town appearing in Stephen King's fictional Maine topography, providing the setting for a number of his novels, novellas, and short stories. Castle Rock first appeared in King's 1979 novel The Dead Zone and has since been referred to or used as the primary setting in many other works by King.
The Dark Half is a horror novel by American writer Stephen King, published in 1989. Publishers Weekly listed The Dark Half as the second-best-selling book of 1989 behind Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger. The novel was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 1993.
The O'Conordynasty are an Irish noble dynasty and formerly one of the most influential and distinguished royal dynasties in Ireland. The O'Conor family held the throne of the Kingdom of Connacht up until 1475. Having ruled it on and off since 967, they ruled continuously from 1102 to 1475. Moreover, the O'Conor parent house the Uí Briúin and Síol Muireadaigh ruled Connacht on many occasions – but not continuously – between 482 and 956. The house of O'Conor also produced two High Kings of Ireland, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair and his son Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, the last High King of Ireland. The family seat is Clonalis House outside Castlerea in County Roscommon.
"It Grows on You" is a short story by American writer Stephen King, originally published in Marshroots in 1973. It was nominated for the 1983 Locus Award for "Best Short Story".
The Dark Half is a 1993 American horror film adaptation of Stephen King's 1989 novel of the same name. It was written and directed by George A. Romero and features Timothy Hutton as Thad Beaumont and George Stark, Amy Madigan as Liz Beaumont, Michael Rooker as Sheriff Alan Pangborn and Royal Dano as Digger Holt.
Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, 4th Baron Lacy, was an Anglo-Norman landowner and royal office-holder. He had substantial land holdings in Herefordshire and Shropshire. Following his participation in the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, he was granted, in 1172, the lands of the Kingdom of Meath by the Anglo-Norman King Henry II, but he had to gain control of them. The Lordship of Meath was then the most extensive liberty in Ireland.
Events from the 1380s in England.
Just After Sunset is the fifth collection of short stories by Stephen King. It was released in hardcover by Scribner on November 11, 2008, and features a holographic dust jacket. On February 6, 2008, the author's official website revealed the title of the collection to be Just Past Sunset. About a month later, the title was subtly changed to Just After Sunset. Previous titles mentioned in the media by Stephen King himself were Pocket Rockets and Unnatural Acts of Human Intercourse.
Needful Things is a 1993 American horror film based on Stephen King's 1991 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Fraser C. Heston, and stars Ed Harris, Max von Sydow, Bonnie Bedelia, and J. T. Walsh. The film received mixed reviews, critics praised the performances and ending, but criticized its portrayal of its story and felt it inferior to its source material.
King Kelly of the U.S.A. is a 1934 American romantic musical film directed by Leonard Fields. The film stars then popular singer Guy Robertson in his only feature film appearance.
God's Country is a 1946 comedy Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey and starring Robert Lowery, Helen Gilbert and Buster Keaton. It is a low-budget color B Western set in the contemporary American West.
Castle Rock is an American psychological horror television series, featuring and inspired by characters, settings, and themes from the stories created by Stephen King and his fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. The series was created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, and premiered on July 25, 2018, on Hulu.
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