Johann Spies

1540-1623) was a German printer who published an anonymous book of tales about a legendary Doctor Faust who made a pact with the Devil.

The story became the basis for several notable literary works, including Marlowe's Tragedy of Doctor Faustus and Goethe's Faust.

[1] Spies published the book in 1587 in Frankfurt am Main under the title Historia von D. Johann Fausten.

[2] The book is a compendium of anecdotes about a professor of theology and medicine who undertakes the study of sorcery, forms an alliance with the Devil (in the form of a friar named Mephistopheles), and undergoes a series of fantastic adventures.

In the end, Faust is punished for his sins when Satan torments him and takes his soul to hell.