10 Questions about Needful Things | Literature

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Answer: Alan Pangborn

Alan Pangborn gives up his badge at the end of "Needful Things" to spend the rest of his life with Polly, whilst Norris and Danforth also work at the Municipal building. Sonny is a mechanic.

Answer: Ace Merrill

Ace Merrill was shot by Norris in the nick of time, just as he was about to shoot Polly for taking his missing treasures. Norris was on death's door thanks to the poisonous bullet he was shot with but Alan freed the souls of the town's residents keeping everyone (still alive that is) safe.

In anger Mr. Gaunt showed his true form (a demon) before taking off into the night to torment others. Seaton Thomas is a cop who was at the scene when Ace was killed and Gaunt took off.