Needful Things Trivia

1. In the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine the town's sheriff is a man named Alan Pangborn. Shortly after we are introduced to him we learn he is still plagued with guilt over something. What is it that is paining Alan Pangborn?

From Quiz "Needful Things" by Stephen King

Answer: The automobile deaths of his wife and youngest son

Very early in the novel we learn that Alan Pangborn, the elected sheriff of Castle Rock, has lost his wife, Annie and his 10 year old son, Todd. The two died in a strange automobile accident which Alan constantly reviews in his head. Pangborn is convinced that despite the open and shut nature of the accident, he has missed something or is responsible.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: A Sandy Koufax baseball card

Brian Rusk is the first person to be enticed by the ever mysterious Leland Gaunt and he buys a Sandy Koufax card on one condition. We do not find out till later on in the book that the condition was that he splatter Wilma's bedsheets with mud.

From Quiz "Needful Things" Quiz

Answer: Leland Gaunt & Gaunt

Of course he turned out to be the a devil/demon in disguise.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: Leland Gaunt

Gaunt turned out to not be a man at all, but a demon. This book emphasized the deceptive nature of demons with Gaunt's hypnotic way of dealing with people and with the fact that the needful things turned out to be just old junk in reality.

From Quiz "Needful Things" by Stephen King

Answer: horse racing

Danforth "Buster" Keeton is the town's Head Selectman and literally calls the shots in town, that is, until the arrival of Leland Gaunt. Keeton has a terrible gambling vice, specifically on horse racing, and has abused the town's funds for years to support his habit. To make matters worse he has gotten sloppy. and is going to be audited in several days. Mr Gaunt sells Keeton an old horse racing game which magically predicts the winning horse, by number, in actual races. Keeton uses this device hoping he can win enough money to make restitution.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: She sees Wilma entering the shop

Nettie Cobb has had a long lasting rivalry with local annoyance Wilma Jerzyck. Of course Mr. Gaunt uses this to his advantage and gets Hugh Priest and Brian Rusk to secretly pit the two women together, which eventually ends up in their untimely deaths.

From Quiz "Needful Things" Quiz

Answer: Chalmers

I liked Polly. At first I thought she was kind of crazy, but then she turned out to be lovable and kind, especially to Alan Pangborn.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: Polly

Polly was the first person in Castle Rock to get rid of her needful thing of her own free will.

From Quiz "Needful Things" by Stephen King

Answer: Rheumatic arthritis

In the novel, Polly Chalmers, the main female character, is romantically linked with Alan Pangborn. Polly owns a local sewing business but Rheumatic Arthritis, in her hands has limited severely what she can and cannot do. During the course of the story she purchases a necklace with a strange charm on it which is supposed to have incredible healing powers. Over the course of several days Polly's condition improves vastly but she eventually discovers that she has been deceived.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: Priest

Father John Brigham is head of the Protestants of Castle Rock and has had a long lasting rivalry with Reverend Rose, who is head of the Catholic church. John Brigham is also married to Sheila Brigham, who works for Alan Pangborn. He ends up making a mutual friendship with Rose at the end of the book.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: Cora Rusk

Myra had a picture of Elvis, Myrtle had a doll, and Wilma just had her natural meanness.

From Quiz "Needful Things" by Stephen King

Answer: Nettie Cobb and Wilma Jerzyck

Even before the arrival of Leland Gaunt, Nettie Cobb and Wilma Jerzyck have a brooding hatred between them. Nettie, an abused wife who murdered her husband and spent time in a mental home, has a dog named Raider, whose barking drives Wilma crazy. Mr Gaunt then stirs the pot by having twelve year old Brian Rusk ruin Wilma's bed sheets as they hung on a clothesline. Town drunkard Hugh Priest is then added to the mix as he murders Nettie's beloved doggie. Lastly Brian Rusk throws several rocks through Wilma's house, which not only breaks windows but destroys furniture. Each woman blames the other for their misfortunes, as they are meant to and die literally stabbing the other to death!

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: She believes Wilma murdered her dog

Nettie and Wilma's battle and deaths are among the first incidents caused by Leland Gaunt. Mr. Gaunt told Hugh that he could only keep his item if he killed Nettie's dog, which Hugh did so. Nettie believed it was Wilma because Wilma had already threatened to do so, so she went over to her house to kill her. However, Wilma was already on her way over to kill Nettie because Mr. Gaunt had secretly got Brian Rusk to break Wilma's windows. Believing Nettie had vandalised her house Wilma had set off to confront her and the two women killed each other in the street.

From Quiz "Needful Things" Quiz

Answer: arthritis

She suffered chronic arthritis in her hands.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: Buster

This was a nickname that Danforth picked up when he was younger and couldn't stand to be called as he got older. It was when his wife called him by this name that he snapped and killed her.

From Quiz "Needful Things" by Stephen King

Answer: Sandy Koufax

The very power of the mysterious Leland Gaunt is that he knows exactly just what item would appeal to you. In the case of the ill fated Brian Rusk it was a 1956 Topps Baseball Card of famous Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax. Brian loves collecting baseball cards and has a semi-completed set of 1956 Topps Cards. In reality the card was not a Koufax card but the card of a much lesser known player. The card just appears that way to Rusk to entice him into the deal with Leland Gaunt.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: Myrtle

Myrtle Keeton is a victim of mild domestic abuse at the hands of her husband. In the end of the book she is murdered by him when he believes she is conspiring with "them" (the government) to incarcerate him.

From Quiz "Needful Things" Quiz

Answer: Alan

They fell in love with each other and helped defeat Gaunt.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: Brian Rusk

This was the trick Brian had to play to pay Mr. Gaunt for his Sandy Koufax baseball card.

From Quiz "Needful Things" by Stephen King

Answer: John LaPointe

In the novel another pot is stirred by Leland Gaunt, this one involving Sally Ratcliffe, her fiance Lester Pratt and her ex-beau Deputy John LaPointe. In the course of the story Sally finds a picture of Lester and another woman making out at a local tavern. She then ends the romance with Lester who later finds John Lapointe's wallet in his car. Thinking that John has stolen away his fiance, Lester marches right into the Sheriff's office and starts beating LaPointe to a pulp. Realizing that Pratt has been driven mad, the dispatcher Shelia Brigham kills Lester by hitting him in the head with a shotgun. Once again this is all a ruse by Gaunt using third parties to plant incriminating evidence.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: Henry

Henry Beaufort and Hugh Priest is another rivalry that ends badly, just because Hugh was always kicking the jukebox in Henry's bar. Mr. Gaunt gets Norris Ridgewick and Myra Evans to play pranks on both Henry and Hugh; in the end they both believe the other is guilty and meet in the bar to shoot each other. Henry shoots Hugh dead before he can riddle him with bullets but one of the bullets that Hugh did shoot off came from Mr. Gaunt. The origins of the bullet are not known but some chemical inside it ends up exploding and killing Henry later on.

From Quiz "Needful Things" Quiz

Answer: corkscrew

Nettie thought it was done by Wilma Jerzyck, who hated her and her dog, Raider. However, it was Hugh Priest who did it, so he could his keep his precious foxtail.

From Quiz "Needful Things" by Stephen King

Answer: His deceased father owned one

In the novel we learn that Deputy Norris Ridgewick has a special interest in fishing as he spends most of his free time doing just that. One stormy evening he passes by "Needful Things" and sees a special Japanese fishing rod called a Bazun rod in the shop window. Immediately, Norris is taken back to childhood when his father used to take him fishing and had one of these rare rods. Ridgewick's father died of a sudden coronary when Norris was just fourteen and two days later the rod disappeared. Norris always suspected his Uncle took it after his father's funeral but never could prove it and now, years later, has a chance to buy back that prized possession.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: A car

Ace is forced to travel out into the country to pick up a strange car for Mr. Gaunt, in exchange for drugs and a book telling Ace where his grandfather buried some family treasure. Ace is freaked out by Mr. Gaunt and his somewhat psychic nature but he ends up joining forces with him at the end to blow up Castle Rock.

From Quiz "Needful Things" Quiz

Answer: Brian Rusk

He bought a 1956 Topps Sandy Koufax card, or so he thought. It was really a moldy, dog-eared Sammy Koberg card.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: Yellow

Mr. Gaunt was the only "person" to own this kind of car.

From Quiz "Needful Things" by Stephen King

Answer: John Merrill

In a link to a previous Stephen King story, "The Body", the shady John "Ace" Merrill returns to his hometown after a lengthy absence. In addition to serving some hard time in Shawshank, Merrill has developed quite the cocaine habit. In a deal which went sour he ended up owing the wrong people over $80,000 with just three months to pay up. With his very life depending on it, "Ace" returns home to find the rumored buried fortune of his late Uncle, Reginald "Pops" Merrill. In exchange for a map with exact directions, Merrill becomes the lackey of Leland Gaunt.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: Lenore Potter

Lenore Potter believed that a woman was trashing her garden so was given a gun by Mr. Gaunt to kill her the next time she tried it. However she accidentally shot Melissa who, ironically, was asked to trash Lenore's garden to frame another woman. Lenore was so distraught that she hung herself. Sheila Brigham did accidentally kill Lester Pratt however, whilst Andy was Melissa's husband.

From Quiz Needful Things

Answer: Alan Pangborn

Sherrif Alan Pangborn was the only person in town who made Mr. Gaunt uncomfortable.

From Quiz "Needful Things" by Stephen King

Answer: Casino Night

In Castle Rock the congregation of Catholics are led by Father John Brigham and are planning a special fund raiser called "Casino Night". This instantly draws the ire of the Protestants who are led by Reverend William Rose and shun anything having to do with gambling. A series of events are set into motion by Leland Gaunt which ends in the two religious sects nearly killing each other in a rumble type affair.

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