Editing Needful Things (section)

==Characters==
*[[Alan Pangborn]]: the Sheriff of Castle Rock and the main protagonist. He appeared in ''The Dark Half'', another novel by King. He quits his job as sheriff at the end of the novel.
*Leland Gaunt: Presumably a demon in human form (implied in the film to be [[Satan]]), who has spent centuries traveling about the world and tricking people into selling their souls to him, usually in exchange for useless objects disguised as the things they want most. Gaunt's plans are ultimately thwarted and he is forced to leave Castle Rock without the souls he collected.
*Brian Rusk: An 11-year-old boy who becomes the first customer of "Needful Things," buying a rare [[Sandy Koufax]] baseball card. Brian's prank leads to the death of Nettie and Wilma. Brian is overcome with guilt, sinking into depression. Brian ultimately shoots himself with his father's gun in front of his little brother Sean, warning Sean to stay out of "Needful Things".
*Patricia "Polly" Chalmers: known as the town's most eccentric woman, Polly was originally a Castle Rock native but the residents consider her an "out-of-towner" after she lives in San Francisco for years before returning. She suffers from arthritis which causes severe pain in her hands. After she accepts a magical amulet from Gaunt that relieves her pain, she becomes susceptible to his influence and is turned against Alan by fabricated evidence that he investigated the death of the infant child she had in San Francisco. Polly is able to realize Alan is innocent, destroys the amulet and the spider creature inside it, and convinces Alan not to kill Ace.
*Norris Ridgewick: one of the town's deputies and Sheriff Pangborn's closest ally. He buys a Bazun fishing rod from Gaunt in exchange for a prank on Hugh Priest, leading to the deaths of both Priest and Henry Beaumont. Ridgewick is assaulted by Keeton, then attempts suicide, but after realizing how worthless his fishing rod is plays a key role in Gaunt's defeat. Later books reveal that he would take Pangborn's place as sheriff of Castle Rock
*John "Ace" Merrill: the town's resident "bad boy" and petty criminal, who is back after time in prison. Gaunt hires Ace into his service, and manipulates him into deciding to kill Alan. Ace is ultimately shot dead by Ridgewick when he goes after Polly, his death not being noticed by Alan or Gaunt. Merrill also appears in King's novella ''[[The Body (King novella)|The Body]]''.
*Danforth "Buster" Keeton: the town's head [[board of selectmen|selectman]], who often uses the authority of his office to intimidate others. He is also a secret gambling addict who has embezzled funds from the town. Keeton suffers from paranoid delusions, believing that a group known as "They" are out to get him. Keeton is mortally wounded by a gunshot from Norris, and Ace finishes him off with a headshot.
*Wilma Jerzyck: The town bully and first victim of one of Mr. Gaunt's pranks, performed by Brian Rusk, which starts the cycle. Wilma is a cruel woman, often starting fights and begins tormenting Nettie after the prank. Wilma and Nettie both attack and kill each other.
*Netitia "Nettie" Cobb: Polly's best friend and housekeeper, and enemy of Wilma Jerzyck. Nettie is mentally unstable, having killed her abusive husband. Nettie is implied to develop a crush on Gaunt, and is ultimately killed when she attacks Wilma for killing her dog (a deed actually committed by Hugh Priest).
*Myrtle Keeton: Lonely wife of Buster Keeton. Myrtle buys a porcelain doll from Mr. Gaunt. Myrtle is ultimately beaten to death by a deranged Keeton with a hammer.
*Hugh Priest: Local drunk who purchases a foxtail from Gaunt. Priest kills Nettie's dog Raider for a prank, and spirals into madness. Priest is killed in a firefight with Henry Beaumont.
*Henry Beaumont: Owner of the local bar; incurs Hugh's wrath after refusing to serve him any more alcohol one night and then taking his car keys because he was too drunk to drive home. He and Hugh kill each other in a shootout at the bar.
*Sally Ratcliffe: A speech teacher and a deeply religious woman, who buys a wooden splinter from Gaunt that is supposedly a remnant of Noah's Ark. She later hangs herself out of guilt after taking part in the town-wide pranks and discovering that her fiancé has supposedly cheated on her with another woman.