fraeon
Films
BrowseTop 250
Series
TV ShowsAnimeTop 250 TVTop 100 Anime
Games
BrowseTop 100
Books
BooksMangaTop 125 BooksTop 100 Manga
For youTrendingTier ListsThe ArchiveLeaderboard
Log inSign up free
fraeon

Everything you watch, play and read — tracked, rated and remembered in one library.

Explore

  • Films
  • TV
  • Anime
  • Games
  • Books
  • Manga

Discover

  • Trending
  • Leaderboard
  • Find people
  • Lists
  • Tier lists

Company

  • Tour
  • About
  • Community guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Contact

© 2026 fraeon. All rights reserved. ·

Metadata from TMDB, RAWG, Jikan & Open Library. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Questions or ideas? mehmet@avortas.com

HomeFeedProfile
Needful Things

Needful Things

by Stephen King

1991suspenseCity and town lifeSpecialty storesGood and evilAmerican Horror tales
4.2
Open Library
Open Library

First lines

In a small town, the opening of a new store is big news.

You've been here before.

About this book

Needful Things is a 1991 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first novel King wrote after his rehabilitation from drug and alcohol addiction. It was made into a film of the same name in 1993 which was directed by Fraser C. Heston. The story focuses on a shop that sells collectibles and antiques, managed by Leland Gaunt, a new arrival to the town of Castle Rock, Maine, the setting of many King stories. Gaunt often asks customers to perform a prank or mysterious deed in exchange for the item they are drawn to. As time goes by, the many deeds and pranks lead to increasing aggression among the townspeople, as well as chaos and death. A protagonist of the book is Alan Pangborn, previously seen in Stephen King's novel [The Dark Half](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL81620W).

Themes & subjects

suspenseCity and town lifeSpecialty storesGood and evilAmerican Horror talesTranslations into Russian
First published 1991

Characters & people

Setting

MaineCastle RockYou Sew and Sewmei guoxian dai

About the author

Stephen King
Stephen King

21 September 1947

Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. King has published 63 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five non-fiction books. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in book collections. King has received Bram Stoker Awards, World Fantasy Awards, and British Fantasy Society Awards. In 2003, the National Book Foundation awarded him the Medal for Distinguished Contribution t…

Author

Stephen King

First published

1991

Pages

698

Read time

≈ 17h

Editions

67

Languages

English, Polish, French

Publisher

BCA

ISBN

9788556511003

Where to buy

TR
Amazon Bookshop

Around the web

StephenKing.com - Needful Things Needful Things - Wikipedia Rereading Stephen King, chapter 29: Needful Things The Great Stephen King Reread: Needful Things Needful Things: The Last Castle Rock Story (publishersweekly.com) New York Times review

Reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to write one from the Log screen.

Quotes

No quotes yet.

Discussions

Across media

The same story in other forms.

the film

Needful Things

Similar books

Treasure Island

Fiction · Treasure Island (Imaginary place)

Treasure Island

Robert Louis Stevenson

1880

Northanger Abbey

Mate selection · Cousins

Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen

1818

Hrabě Monte Cristo. Díl 1 a 2 (třísvazkové vydání)

France -- History -- 19th century -- Fiction · France

Hrabě Monte Cristo. Díl 1 a 2 (třísvazkové vydání)

Alexandre Dumas

1830

The Secret Agent

Anarchists, fiction · Conspiracies, fiction

The Secret Agent

Joseph Conrad

1907

Fifty Candles

Mystery · Suspense

Fifty Candles

Earl Derr Biggers

1926

The Angel of Terror

Fiction · Mystery

The Angel of Terror

Edgar Wallace

1923

The After House

Classic Literature · Fiction

The After House

Mary Roberts Rinehart

1914

The Da Vinci Code

Suspense & Thriller · Spiritual Fiction

The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown

2003

Death on the Nile

Belgians · Fiction

Death on the Nile

Agatha Christie

1937

Dracula's guest, and other weird stories

Fiction · Literature

Dracula's guest, and other weird stories

Bram Stoker

1914

Angels & Demons

heparin · ambigrams

Angels & Demons

Dan Brown

2000

Casino Royale

British · Fiction

Casino Royale

Ian Fleming

1953

From Russia, with love

British · Fiction

From Russia, with love

Ian Fleming

1957

The A.B.C. Murders

Fiction · Mystery

The A.B.C. Murders

Agatha Christie

1936

A Tale of Two Cities

British · British and irish fiction (fictional works by one author)

A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens

1800

Dubliners

Daily Express · West Briton

Dubliners

James Joyce

1914

Ulysses

Married people · Male friendship

Ulysses

James Joyce

1914

A history of New York

Dutch Americans · Social life and customs

A history of New York

Washington Irving

1800

Similar across media

Same mood, other forms — books, series, anime, games and beyond.

Series
Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun

To be united with her crush, a hopeless romantic summons the ghost in the girls' bathroom at her school. But she's shocked when the ghost is a boy!

4.3

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun

2020

Film
Whiplash

Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.

4.2

Whiplash

2014

Game
L.A. Noire

Strategy · Adventure

4.5

L.A. Noire

2011

Anime
Steins;Gate

Eccentric scientist Rintarou Okabe has a never-ending thirst for scientific exploration. Together with his ditzy but well-meaning friend Mayuri Shiina and his roommate Itaru Hashida, Okabe founds the Future Gadget Laboratory in the hopes of creating technological innovations that baffle the human psyche. Despite claims of grandeur, the only notable "gadget" the trio have created is a microwave that has the mystifying power to turn bananas into green goo. However, when Okabe attends a conference on time travel, he experiences a series of strange events that lead him to believe that there is more to the "Phone Microwave" gadget than meets the eye. Apparently able to send text messages into the past using the microwave, Okabe dabbles further with the "time machine," attracting the ire and attention of the mysterious organization SERN. Due to the novel discovery, Okabe and his friends find themselves in an ever-present danger. As he works to mitigate the damage his invention has caused to the timeline, Okabe fights a battle to not only save his loved ones but also to preserve his degrading sanity. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Drama · Sci-Fi

4.5

Steins;Gate

2011 · 24 eps

Manga
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run

In the American Old West, the world's greatest race is about to begin. Thousands line up in San Diego to travel over six thousand kilometers for a chance to win the grand prize of fifty million dollars. With the era of the horse reaching its end, contestants are allowed to use any kind of vehicle they wish. Competitors will have to endure grueling conditions, traveling up to a hundred kilometers a day through uncharted wastelands. The Steel Ball Run is truly a one-of-a-kind event. The youthful Johnny Joestar, a crippled former horse racer, has come to San Diego to watch the start of the race. There he encounters Gyro Zeppeli, a racer with two steel balls at his waist instead of a gun. Johnny witnesses Gyro using one of his steel balls to unleash a fantastical power, compelling a man to fire his gun at himself during a duel. In the midst of the action, Johnny happens to touch the steel ball and feels a power surging through his legs, allowing him to stand up for the first time in two years. Vowing to find the secret of the steel balls, Johnny decides to compete in the race, and so begins his bizarre adventure across America on the Steel Ball Run. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Action · Adventure

4.7

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run

Araki Hirohiko

2004 · 96 ch

Series
Over the Garden Wall

Two brothers, Wirt and Greg, find themselves lost in the Unknown; a strange forest adrift in time. With the help of a wise old Woodsman and a foul-tempered bluebird named Beatrice, Wirt and Greg must travel across this strange land, in hope of finding their way home. Join them as they encounter surprises and obstacles on their journey through the wood.

4.3

Over the Garden Wall

2014

Film
High and Low

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

4.2

High and Low

1963

Game
Half-Life

Shooter · Puzzle

4.0

Half-Life

1998

Anime
Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2

Seeking to restore humanity's diminishing hope, the Survey Corps embark on a mission to retake Wall Maria, where the battle against the merciless "Titans" takes the stage once again. Returning to the tattered Shiganshina District that was once his home, Eren Yeager and the Corps find the town oddly unoccupied by Titans. Even after the outer gate is plugged, they strangely encounter no opposition. The mission progresses smoothly until Armin Arlert, highly suspicious of the enemy's absence, discovers distressing signs of a potential scheme against them. Shingeki no Kyojin Season 3 Part 2 follows Eren as he vows to take back everything that was once his. Alongside him, the Survey Corps strive—through countless sacrifices—to carve a path towards victory and uncover the secrets locked away in the Yeager family's basement. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Action · Drama

4.5

Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2

2019 · 10 eps

Manga
Vagabond

In 16th-century Japan, Shinmen Takezou is a wild, rough young man in both his appearance and his actions. His aggressive nature has won him the collective reproach and fear of his village, leading him and his best friend, Matahachi Honiden, to run away in search of something grander than provincial life. The pair enlist in the Toyotomi army, yearning for glory—but when the Toyotomi suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of the Tokugawa Clan at the Battle of Sekigahara, the friends barely make it out alive. After the two are separated, Shinmen returns home on a self-appointed mission to notify the Hon'iden family of Matahachi's survival. He instead finds himself a wanted criminal, framed for his friend's supposed murder based on his history of violence. Upon being captured, he is strung up on a tree and left to die. An itinerant monk, the distinguished Takuan Soho, takes pity on the "devil child," secretly freeing Shinmen and christening him with a new name to avoid pursuit by the authorities: Musashi Miyamoto. Vagabond is the fictitious retelling of the life of one of Japan's most renowned swordsmen, the "Sword Saint" Musashi Miyamoto—his rise from a swordsman with no desire other than to become "Invincible Under the Heavens" to an enlightened warrior who slowly learns of the importance of close friends, self-reflection, and life itself. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Action · Adventure

4.6

Vagabond

Inoue Takehiko

1998 · 327 ch

Series
Banana Fish

A teenaged gang leader in New York City faces his abuser and rival gangs alongside a photojournalist from Japan as they investigate a deadly new drug.

4.3

Banana Fish

2018

Film
The Silence of the Lambs

Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

4.2

The Silence of the Lambs

1991