Leland Gaunt was for a time the proprietor of a curio shop named Needful Things that operated from the small town of Castle Rock, Maine. Gaunt gives people things they really want - needful things - and all he asks in return is a favor or two. These favors, seemingly innocent, ultimately drive wedges between people to create discord and chaos. Eventually his machinations can destroy communities, persuading the citizens of them to assault each other and engage in other acts of violence and destruction. Many of Castle Rock's citizens and a good deal of its infrastructure came out the worse for Gaunt's visit.Gaunt has at least some supernatural powers. He can discern what his customers want, and convince them he has provided it (although often what he provides is a worthless but similar item). He produced or provided a charm that completely negated painful arthritis. He also provided cocaine that he described as from the plateau of Leng. Leng is one of the places also mentioned in the tales of H. P. Lovecraft - a supernatural location frequented by horrors beyond human understanding. Gaunt also has at least limited precognitive abilities, and is either immortal or extremely long-lived. He may be an aspect of Nyarlathotep, a quasi-deity who serves the Great Old Ones as a messenger and facilitator of evil. It is also possible the he is a fallen angel, perhaps even Lucifer himself. Much is hinted, but little revealed.Finally driven from Castle Rock (but not before largely destroying it), Gaunt promises Sheriff Pangborn that he'll meet Pangborn's grandson in Jakarta in 2053. And in the small town of Junction City, Iowa, a sign announces that a new store, Answered Prayers, will open soon...