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.

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 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.

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.

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.