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When I started out I was just a peddler moving across the blind face of a distant land. Moving, always moving. Always gone... and in the end I'd always offer weapons. And they'd always take them. Of course I was gone before they realized what they'd purchased.
~ Leland Gaunt

Leland Gaunt is the main antagonist of Stephen King's 1991 novel Needful Things, and its 1993 film adaptation.

He is the proprietor of the store Needful Things, a this n' that shop that seemed to have an item perfectly suited for anyone who ever came in. It is later revealed that he is actually a powerful demon that tricks customers into giving him their souls. (In the film, he is Satan himself.)

In the film, he was portrayed by the late Max von Sydow, who also played Joubert in Three Days of the Condor, Ming the Merciless in the 1980 Flash Gordon film, Brewmeister Smith in Strange Brew, Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Never Say Never Again, Vigo in Ghostbusters II, Lamar Burgess in Minority Report and Varden Reynard in Rush Hour 3.

Biography[]

When Leland Gaunt first appeared in Castle Rock, Maine, he seemed like a charming man in his 50's or 60's. His eyes changed color, depending on who saw them. His hands have no lines, and his index fingers are as long as his middle fingers. It has been hinted that, in Stephen King's literary multiverse, Gaunt might be an avatar of Nyarlathotep (unlike the film, in which he is The Devil in disguise.).

He opened a shop called Needful Things. After he was driven out of Castle Rock, he opened a shop, called Answered Prayers, in Junction City, Iowa.

Alan Pangborn remembers a shop in the hometown of his youth called Just The Ticket; whether Gaunt ran this shop or not is left unknown.

Needful Things[]

Needful Things

A woman is almost hit by a car. Coincidentally, Needful Things can be seen in the background.

The shop "Needful Things" opens in the town of Castle Rock, Maine, sparking the curiosity of its citizens. The proprietor, Leland Gaunt, is a charming elderly gentleman who always seems to have an item in stock that is perfectly suited to any customer who comes through his door.

The prices are surprisingly low, considering the merchandise - such as a rare Sandy Koufax baseball card, a carnival glass lampshade, and a fragment of wood believed to be from Noah's Ark - but he expects each customer to also play a little prank on someone else in Castle Rock.

Gaunt knows about the long-standing private grudges, arguments, and feuds between the various townspeople, and the pranks are his means of forcing them to escalate until the whole town is eventually caught up in madness and violence.

Polly Chalmers buys an ancient charm that relieves the arthritis pain in her hands. Gaunt eventually hires the 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 a pair of 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 property.  

He has traveled the world for centuries, selling useless junk that appears to be whatever the customers desire most.  

They become so paranoid about keeping their items safe that they eagerly buy up the weapons that he inevitably offers and trade away their souls. 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 the town. 

Eventually, Needful Things causes so much violence in the town that a riot breaks out, resulting in much of the town being destroyed, including Needful Things itself. Before Gaunt can get away with the customers' souls however, Alan confronts his new nemesis and uses a bunch of magical goods from Needful Things to force Gaunt back and grabs his valise, which contains the souls of his customers. Nevertheless, Gaunt escapes and flees the scene (not before destroying most of the remaining main street), his car turning into a horse-drawn wagon as he becomes a hunchbacked dwarf. With the town completely destroyed and many deaths, the survivors are left to ponder an uncertain future.

The novel ends as it begins, with a first-person narrative indicating that a new and mysterious shop is about to open in a small Iowa town - an implication that Gaunt is ready to begin his business cycle all over again.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Leland Guant's other quote "Kill them all! Let God sort it out!" is based on a quote from Arnaud Amalric. In the movie Doom which is based on the popular videogame series of the same name, Sarge's other similar quote "We kill them all. Let God sort them." was mentioned.
  • Leland Gaunt is parodied in an episode of the adult cartoon Rick and Morty as Lucius Needful, who is also The Devil in human guise and runs a shop called Needful Things that sells cursed items.
  • Although Gaunt is hinted to be the Devil himself in the movie, the possibility that he's Nyarlathotep might still be valid there, as Nyarlathotep himself is basically the equivalent of the Devil in the Cthulhu Mythos.
  • It is unknown what happened to Gaunt after opening a new shop in Iowa, as there has been no mentioning of his recycled plans coming out to the public.
  • The short story, It Grows on You, from Nightmares & Dreamscapes was claimed to be an epilogue to Needful Things by Stephen King. Gaunt’s whereabouts however haven’t been theorized.

Navigation[]

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Novels/Novellas
Carrie: Carrie White | Mortimer Snerds (Chris Hargensen, Donna and Mary Lila Grace Thibodeau, Helen Shyres, Heather Shyres & Tina Blake) | Margaret White | Billy Nolan | Ralph White
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The Running Man: Damon Killian | United States of America
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Apt Pupil: Kurt Dussander | Todd Bowden
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Christine: Arnie Cunningham | Christine | Repperton Gang | Roland D. LeBay
Pet Sematary: Wendigo | Church | Gage Creed | Rachel Creed | Timmy Baterman
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Dolan's Cadillac: Jimmy Dolan
It: It | Bowers Gang (Belch Huggins, Henry Bowers, Marcia Fadden, Patrick Hockstetter, Peter Gordon & Vic Criss) | Alvin Marsh | Butch Bowers | Richard Macklin | Tom Rogan | Christopher Unwin | Webby Garton
Misery: Annie Wilkes
The Tommyknockers: Tommyknockers | Nancy Voss
The Dark Half: George Stark
Secret Window, Secret Garden: John Shooter
The Langoliers: Craig Toomey | Langoliers | Roger Toomey
Needful Things: Leland Gaunt | John "Ace" Merrill | Danforth Keeton III | Brian Rusk | Wilma Jerzyck | Nettie Cobb | Hugh Preist | Father Brigham (Father Meehan) | Reverend Rose
Gerald's Game: Gerald Burlingame | Moonlight Man | Tom Mahout
Dolores Claiborne: Joe St. George
Insomnia: Atropos | Crimson King
Rose Madder: Norman Daniels
The Green Mile: William Wharton | Percy Wetmore
Desperation: Tak | Sheriff Collie Entragian
The Regulators: Tak
Bag of Bones: Max Devore | Sara Tidwell | Roggete Whitmore
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: God of the Lost
Dreamcatcher: Byrus | Mr. Gray
Black House: Charles Burnside | The Crow Gorg | Mr. Munshun
From a Buick 8: The Buick
Cell: Phone Crazies | Raggedy Man
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1922: Wilfred James | Henry James | Shannon Cotterie
Big Driver: Lester Norville | Ramona Norville
A Good Marriage: Robert Bob Anderson
11/22/63: Lee Harvey Oswald | Frank Dunning
In The Tall Grass: Ross Humboldt | Cal Demuth
Doctor Sleep: The True Knot (Rose the Hat, Crow Daddy, Grandpa Flick, Barry the Chink & Snakebite Andi) | Andy Hallorann
Bill Hodges Trilogy: Brady Hartsfield | Morris Bellamy
Gwendy's Button Box: Richard Farris
The Outsider: The Outsider
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Cain Rose Up: Curt Garrish
The Mangler: Bill Gartley | The Mangler
The Boogeyman: The Boogeyman
Trucks: Westway Refrigerated Truck | Bulldozer
The Ledge: Cressner
Jerusalem's Lot: Philip Boone | James Boon | The Worm
Quitter's Inc.: Mr. Donatti | Quitters Inc.
The Crate: Crate Beast
Crouch End: The Children | The Goat with a Thousand Young
The Monkey: The Monkey
The Raft: Lake Blob
Word Processor of the Gods: Richard Hagstrom | Roger Hagstrom
Gramma: Gramma Bruckner
The Night Flier: Dwight Renfield
Low Men in Yellow Coats: Harry Doolin
Blind Willie: Raymond Fiegler
Why We're In Vietnam: Ronnie Malenfant
Lunch at the Gotham Café: Guy

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The Shining: Overlook Hotel (Lloyd, Lorraine Massey & Hotel Caretaker) | Jack Torrance
Creepshow: Creepshow Creep | Crate Beast | Nathan Grantham | Richard Vickers | Upson Pratt | Wilma Northrup
Cat's Eye: Cressner | Mr. Donatti | Quitters Inc. | Troll
Maximum Overdrive: Bubba Hendershot | Camp Loman | Happy Toyz Truck | Ice Cream Truck | M274 Mule | Vending Machine
A Return to Salem`s Lot: Judge Axle
Creepshow 2: Creepshow Creep | Creepshow Bullies | Lake Blob | Sam Whitemoon | The HitchHiker
Sleepwalkers: Charles Brady | Mary Brady | Sleepwalkers
Pet Sematary 2: Gus Gilbert | Renee Hallow | Clyde Parker | Zowie
The Mangler Trilogy: Bill Gartley | The Mangler | Lin Sue | The Mangler Virus
The Rage: Carrie 2: Rachel Lang | Mark Bing
Creepshow 3: Creepshow Creep | Rachel
The Dark Tower: Randall Flagg
It: Part One: It | Bowers Gang (Henry Bowers, Vic Criss | Belch Huggins & Patrick Hockstetter)
Pet Sematary (2019): Ellie Creed
It: Part Two: It | Henry Bowers | Tom Rogan
Doctor Sleep: The True Knot (Rose the Hat, Crow Daddy, Grandpa Flick, Barry the Chink & Snakebite Andi) | Overlook Hotel (Jack Torrance, Hotel Caretaker & Lorraine Massey)
The Boogeyman: Boogeyman

TV Series
The Stand: Randall Flagg | Harold Lauder | Julie Lawry | Nadine Cross | The Rat Woman | Trashcan Man
The Shining: Overlook Hotel | Jack Torrance | Hotel Caretaker | Lorraine Massey
Storm of the Century: André Linoge
Rose Red: Professor Joyce Reardon | Ellen Rimbauer
Under the Dome: Big Jim Rennie | Junior Rennie | Phil Bushey | The Kinship (Christine Price & Dawn Sinclair-Barbara)

Other
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: Ellen Rimbauer

See Also
The Dark Tower Villains

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