In the sleepy seaside town of Castle Rock, Maine, a mysterious newcomer from Akron, Ohio, opens an antique shop called “Needful Things,” which piques the interest of local residents. One afternoon, a boy named Brian Rusk enters the store and meets the owner, the elderly but sophisticated Leland Gaunt. As they talk, Brian shares his interest in vintage baseball cards, and Gaunt presents him with an autographed Mickey Mantle card. When Brian reaches for it, a shock wave passes through his fingers and he sees a vision of the 1956 World Series. Although he does not have the money to buy it, Gaunt suggests the debt can instead be paid through various “deeds.” As Gaunt settles in, diner owner Polly Chalmers instructs waitress Nettie Cobb to take him one of her homemade pies. In the store, Nettie sees a figurine just like one she used to own. Gaunt persuades her to take it, and the touch of the object in her hand triggers painful memories of her abusive marriage before she killed her husband in self-defense. Polly Chalmers’ fiancé, Sheriff Alan Pangborn, also stops by to introduce himself, but remains wary of the old man’s charms. Meanwhile, turkey farmer Wilma Jerzyk returns home to find that Brian Rusk has slathered her laundry lines with mud and framed Nettie for the prank. Over the next few days, several notable members of the community notice items in Gaunt’s shop window that hold great personal value. Gaunt exchanges them for more “favors,” using the buyers as pawns to turn the residents against each other. Among those seduced by Gaunt’s persuasion is corrupt car salesman Danforth Keeton III, who recently embezzled city tax funds to pay off his gambling debts. Sensing the man’s desperation, Gaunt sells him a toy racetrack that predicts the winners of each day’s races. Later, he tells Nettie to paper Danforth’s house with police tickets signed by Deputy Norris Ridgewick, while Brian throws apples through the windows of Wilma’s house. Upon returning home, Nettie finds that a drunkard under Gaunt’s influence has brutally killed her dog. Assuming Wilma is responsible, Nettie attacks, and the two women kill each other in a knife fight. Meanwhile, Polly visits Gaunt’s shop seeking a cure for the crippling arthritis in her hands. Claiming it will cure the pain, Gaunt gives her a pendant that puts her under a sexual spell. While inspecting the scene of Wilma and Nettie’s murders, Alan sees Brian Rusk lingering nearby and suspects he knows something. When Alan approaches him, Brian holds a gun to his head and reveals that the “monstrous” Gaunt has poisoned his mind. Alan wrests the gun from his hand, but the boy still shoots and ends up in the hospital. While seeking comfort from Polly, Alan receives a call informing him that Gaunt lied about his innocuous past in Ohio, and should be considered dangerous. When Alan leaves to investigate the antique store, Polly tries to open the necklace, causing her arthritic hands to once again shrivel in pain. Gaunt appears, replacing the pendant and pushing her back against the bed in a passionate kiss. In the attic of Needful Things, Alan finds newspapers dating back to 1894, all featuring headlines about murders in different cities. As he shares his findings with Deputy Ridgewick, Polly calls, claiming to have found evidence linking Alan to Danforth’s embezzlement scheme. Just then, Danforth arrives at the police station and goads Deputy Ridgewick into a fight. Once Alan leaves to confront Polly, Danforth gets away and kills his wife in a manic rage. While burying her body in the cemetery, Gaunt convinces him to blow up the church. Inside, Alan questions Father Meehan about the evil that has recently plagued the town, believing that Gaunt is the Devil incarnate. When the church explodes, Alan climbs free of the rubble to find the residents rioting in the streets. He fires his gun in the air and implores them to listen as he explains the intricacies of Gaunt’s manipulation. Suddenly, Danforth appears with dynamite strapped to his chest. Before he can push the trigger, however, Alan convinces him that Gaunt was ultimately responsible for his wife’s death. Realizing he has been tricked, Danforth tackles Gaunt through the front window of the shop and detonates the bomb. When the dust settles, Gaunt emerges from the wreckage, completely unharmed. Although he did not succeed in destroying Castle Rock, he hints that he will encounter Alan and Polly’s future grandson in the year 2053, before getting into his car and driving away.