Zloduch Petříček – Spiess Christian Heinrich (2022)

The first spooky novel by Spieß (1791), set during the time of the Crusades to Palestine, features two main characters: the knight Rudolf of Westerburg and the evil spirit of this lineage, the little man Petr, who subtly manipulates Rudolf and leads him to wicked and sinful deeds. In line with the author's reflection that a small misstep at the beginning leads to horrific crimes at the end, we witness Rudolf's transformation from a knight with honorable intentions into a seducer of young girls and wives, through a liar and a fraudster, to a murderer who sells his soul to the devil and is justly punished for it – within the educational message of the novel. Although Spieß employs supernatural forces in the book, he does not hide his identity as an author of the Enlightenment – whether in the aforementioned and repeatedly proclaimed educational tendency in the text, or in the final 'explanation' of the villain Petr's motivation for his actions. After more than two centuries, Spieß's 'spooky' novel is an amusing curiosity; however, its insight into the far-reaching consequences of a minor transgression still holds true.