"Needful Things" by Stephen King Quiz

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Answer: Aunt Evelyn Chalmers

The fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine has been the backdrop for several of Stephen King's other literary masterpieces. In "Needful Things" we learn that Polly is the relative of the late Evelyn "Aunt Evvie" Chalmers. This character was introduced in the novel "Cujo" in which a benevolent Saint Bernard goes rabid and terrorizes a woman and her child in a stalled car.

It was Evvie Chalmers who predicted the intense heat wave which gripped the town that summer but, unfortunately, she expired right before it hit, of natural causes.

In addition to her blunt nature she is also a chain smoker with "Herbert Tareyton" being her brand of choice.