Sandman

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The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.

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Representation in traditional folklore

The Sandman is a traditional character in many children's stories and books. In Scandinavian folklore, he is said to sprinkle sand or dust on or into the eyes of children at night to bring on sleep and dreams. [1] The grit or "sleep" (rheum) in one's eyes upon waking is the supposed result of the Sandman's work the previous night.

Literature

Vilhelm Pedersen representation for the fairy tale "Ole Lukoje" by Hans Christian Andersen. Vilhelm Pedersen, OLE LUKOJE, ubt.jpeg
Vilhelm Pedersen representation for the fairy tale "Ole Lukøje" by Hans Christian Andersen.
Vilhelm Pedersen depiction of "Ole Lukoje". Vilhelm Pedersen, 0k-06, ubt.jpeg
Vilhelm Pedersen depiction of "Ole Lukøje".
Klaas Vaak entertainer in Themepark Efteling. Klaas Vaak Bosrijk Efteling.JPG
Klaas Vaak entertainer in Themepark Efteling.

E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776–1822) wrote a short story in 1816 titled Der Sandmann , which showed how sinister such a character could be made. According to the protagonist's nurse, he threw sand in the eyes of children who would not sleep, with the result of those eyes falling out and being collected by the Sandman, who then takes the eyes to his iron nest on the Moon and uses them to feed his children. The protagonist of the story grows to associate this nightmarish creature with the genuinely sinister figure of his father's associate, Coppelius. In Romanian folklore, there is a similar character, Moș Ene (Ene the Elder). Hoffmann's version of the sandman is also similar to the French Canadian character known as the Bonhomme Sept Heures (Goodmaan Seven O’Clock), who, in some versions, throws sand in children's eyes to blind them so that he may capture them. Contrarily to the sandman, his bag is the place where he traps children who do not go to bed. [2]

Hans Christian Andersen's 1841 folk tale Ole Lukøje introduced the Sandman, named Ole Lukøje, by relating dreams he gave to a young boy in a week through his magical technique of sprinkling dust in the eyes of the children. "Ole" is a Danish first name and "Lukøje" means "close eye". [3] Andersen wrote:

There is nobody in the world who knows so many stories as Ole-Luk-Oie, or who can relate them so nicely. In the evening, while the children are seated at the table or in their little chairs, he comes up the stairs very softly, for he walks in his socks, then he opens the doors without the slightest noise, and throws a small quantity of very fine dust in their eyes, just enough to prevent them from keeping them open, and so they do not see him. Then he creeps behind them, and blows softly upon their necks, till their heads begin to droop. But Ole-Luk-Oie does not wish to hurt them, for he is very fond of children, and only wants them to be quiet that he may relate to them pretty stories, and they never are quiet until they are in bed and asleep. As soon as they are asleep, Ole-Luk-Oie seats himself upon the bed. He is nicely dressed; his coat is made of silken fabric; it is impossible to say of what color, for it changes from green to red, and from red to blue as he turns from side to side. Under each arm he carries an umbrella; one of them, with pictures on the inside, he spreads over the good children, and then they dream the most beautiful stories the whole night. But the other umbrella has no pictures, and this he holds over the naughty children so that they sleep heavily, and wake in the morning without having dreams at all.

In Norway and Sweden, he is called John Blund or Jon Blund ("blunda" is a verb that means both "to shut one's ones" and "to keep one's eyes shut", and "[en] blund" is a noun that means both "[an] occurrence of eyes shut" and "[an] occurrence of sleep"), and in the Netherlands, Belgium and parts of southern Africa, he is referred to as "Klaas Vaak". [4]

Klaas Vaak is a character in a Dutch Musical 'De sprookjesmusical Klaas Vaak", has its own TV-series 'Fairytales of Klaas Vaak' and is one of the entertainers in the amusement park 'Efteling'. [5]

Film and television

The East German Sandmannchen in a hot air balloon Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1984-1126-312, Sandmannchen, 25. Geburtstag.jpg
The East German Sandmännchen in a hot air balloon

The East German stop motion children's television programme Unser Sandmännchen (Our Little Sandman), based on Hans Christian Andersen's Ole Lukøje character and the story by E. T. A. Hoffmann, has been broadcast since 1959, along with a West German version which was discontinued after reunification. [6]

In the 1990s, Nilus the Sandman aired on Anglophone Canadian television.

In the 1970s, Bonne nuit les petits aired on French television. The show featured Nounours, a bear who took care of two toddlers, Nicolas and Pimprenelle. He would arrive on a cloud driven by his friend Sandman (“Le marchand de sable” in French) playing a flute as the sun set, and would only leave once he'd accompanied the children to bed. At the end of every episode, Nounours would say “Bonne nuit les petits” (which means “Good night, little ones”) before Sandman created a light shower of sand, putting the two siblings, Nicolas and Pimprenelle, to sleep. The bear and Sandman would then take their leave on the same cloud, once Nounours had climbed back up the ladder that he'd descended at the beginning of the episode. Here, Sandman has a major role to play, with his flute, driving the cloud, interacting with the other characters from time to time and, most importantly, inducing the children to fall asleep. The show was broadcast nightly at 7:50 pm, and each episode lasted 10 minutes, marking 8 pm as the bed-time when children, duly reassured, could sleep peacefully. It was later reduced to 5 minutes in the 1990s for the reboot series. In francophone Canada, it airs on Ici Radio-Canada Télé immediately before Le Téléjournal.

The Sandman appears in The Smurfs episodes "Darkness Monster" and "Lazy's Nightmare", voiced by Frank Welker.

In 1991, Paul Berry directed a stop-motion short film titled The Sandman based on the short story Der Sandmann by E. T. A. Hoffmann.

In 1998, the Sandman also appears in The Powerpuff Girls , where he appears in the episode "Dream Scheme".

The Sandman appears in The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause , portrayed by Michael Dorn. He is shown to be a member of the Council of Legendary Figures and tends to doze off during meetings, giving the other members cause to wake him up. [7]

The Sandman is supposedly represented as the demon Der Kindestod in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . [8]

Among the earlier productions of the British sci-fi television show Doctor Who following 2005 is an episode revolving around Sandmen. The ninth episode of the ninth season (2015), titled "Sleep No More", is a found footage video narrated by Gagan Rassmussen (Reece Shearsmith), a scientist and professor from the 38th century. Rassmussen manufactures a dangerous adventure involving Sandmen, intended to engage people to watch the video and by which an electronic signal transmits to the brains of others in order to create further Sandmen. The episode also makes use of the song "Mr. Sandman", written by Pat Ballard in 1954, as the Morpheus-machine theme.

The Sandman appears in Rise of the Guardians as a member of the Guardians. [9]

Netflix released The Sandman series in 2022, an adaptation of the Neil Gaiman comics. [10]

Comics

In Marvel Mystery Comics , the Sandman lives in the Land of Dreams, which is located in the Realm of Fairies within the potentially imaginary world of Nowhere. The Sandman ruled over the realm and would place a blanket over it every day. Those who grabbed a dream from the dream tree would have a dream based on whatever they grabbed from the tree and awaken again when the Sandman removed the blanket over his land. Anyone who did not grab a dream would end up in an eternal, dreamless sleep. [11]

Several fictional characters by the name of Sandman have appeared in comic books published by DC Comics. These include fantasy writer Neil Gaiman's 75-part comic book series called The Sandman for Vertigo Comics (an imprint of DC Comics). The original series ran from 1989 to 1996. It tells the story of Dream of the Endless, who rules over the world of dreams. He is an anthropomorphic personification of dreams known to various characters throughout the series as Morpheus, Oneiros, the Shaper of Form, Lord of the Dreaming, the Dream King, Dream-Sneak, the Cat of Dreams, Murphy, Kai'ckul, and Lord L'Zoril. He possesses three symbols of office: a helm, an amulet known as the Dreamstone, and a sand pouch. [12]

A comics adaption of the above-mentioned German TV show Unser Sandmännchen has also been published. Most notably on the back pages of FF Dabei focusing on Pittiplatsch and his friends.

Music

Songs based on the figure of the Sandman include the 1950s classic "Mr. Sandman" by The Chordettes, [13] Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" in which the singer is put to sleep by "a candy-colored clown they call the sandman" to dream of his lost love, [14] and Metallica's "Enter Sandman" whose lyrics "juxtapose childhood bedtime rituals and nightmarish imagery" and originally included a reference to crib death. [15] [16] The Sandman also appears in the song "Blood Red Sandman" by Lordi, "Mein Herz brennt" by Rammstein, "Sandmann" by Oomph!, "Sandman" by Manchester-based duo Hurts, the 1971 song "Sandman" by America and the version of the lullaby "Morningtown Ride" recorded by The Seekers [17] and is mentioned briefly in the songs "Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet" by Fall Out Boy and "Farewell and Goodnight" from the Smashing Pumpkins album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness . [18] Ed Sheeran's album = (Equals) contains a song name "Sandman" that refers to the sandman bringing magical dreams. Oranger also released a song titled "Mr. Sandman" with reference to the mythical character. In 2021 SYML record a song at St. Mark's Cathedral called "Mr. Sandman". American rapper ASAP Rocky released a song called Sandman on his 2021 re-release of his debut mixtape Live. Love. ASAP.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Gaiman</span> English writer (born 1960)

Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic book series The Sandman and the novels Good Omens, Stardust, Anansi Boys, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. He co-created the TV series adaptions of Good Omens and The Sandman.

The Sandman is a figure in folklore who brings good sleep and dreams.

<i>The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes</i> First trade paperback of the comic book series The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

Preludes & Nocturnes is the first trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by the DC Comics imprint Vertigo. It collects issues #1–8. It is written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones III, colored by Robbie Busch and lettered by Todd Klein.

<i>The Sandman: The Kindly Ones</i> Comic book album by Neil Gaiman

The Kindly Ones (1996) is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Daniel Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The volume features an introduction by Frank McConnell.

<i>The Sandman: The Wake</i>

The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the American comic book series The Sandman. It is written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J. Muth and Charles Vess, colored by Daniel Vozzo and Jon J. Muth, and lettered by Todd Klein.

<i>The Sandman</i> (comic book) Graphic novels by Neil Gaiman, 1989–1996

The Sandman is a comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. Its artists include Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel, Bryan Talbot, and Michael Zulli, with lettering by Todd Klein and covers by Dave McKean. The original series ran for 75 issues from January 1989 to March 1996. Beginning with issue No. 47, it was placed under DC's Vertigo imprint, and following Vertigo's retirement in 2020, reprints have been published under DC's Black Label imprint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dream (character)</span> Protagonist of the comic book series The Sandman

Dream of the Endless is a fictional anthropomorphic personification who first appeared in the first issue of The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. One of the seven Endless, who are inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality. He has taken many names, including Morpheus and Oneiros, and the Sandman, and his appearance can change depending on the person who is seeing him. Dream was named the sixth-greatest comic book character by Empire. He was also named fifteenth in IGN's 100 Top Comic Book Heroes list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corinthian (comics)</span> Comics character

The Corinthian is a fictional character in Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman. He first appeared in The Sandman #10, which is part of the second story arc, The Doll's House. The Corinthian is an anthropomorphized living nightmare created by Dream, who destroys him in the same collection for going rogue and failing to fulfill his original design. Dream later recreates him with "some changes", though the exact nature of these changes is not explicit. His most notable physical feature is his lack of eyes: in their place, two rows of small, jagged teeth line each eye socket, which he often covers with sunglasses. He can speak, eat, see, and even breathe through these mouths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandman (Wesley Dodds)</span> Fictional DC Comics character

The Sandman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first of several DC characters to bear the name Sandman, he was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman. Attired in a green business suit, fedora, and World War I gas mask, the Sandman used a gun emitting a sleeping gas to sedate criminals. He was originally one of the "mystery men" to appear in comic books and other types of adventure fiction in the 1930s, but later was outfitted with a unitard/cowl costume and developed into a proper superhero, acquiring a sidekick, Sandy, and founding the Justice Society of America (JSA).

<i>Sandman</i> (DC Comics) Pseudonym of several DC Comics characters

The Sandman is the pseudonym of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. They have appeared in stories of various genres, including the pulp detective character Wesley Dodds, superheroes such as Garrett Sanford and Hector Hall, and mythic fantasy characters more commonly called by the name Dream. Named after the folklore character that is said to bring pleasant dreams to children, each has had some thematic connection to dreaming, and efforts have been made to tie them into a common continuity within the DC Universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cain and Abel (comics)</span> DC Comics characters

Cain and Abel are a pair of characters from DC Comics based on the biblical Cain and Abel. They are key figures in DC's "Mystery" line of the late 1960s and 1970s, which became the mature-readers imprint Vertigo in 1993.

<i>The Sandman: The Dream Hunters</i> DC Comics miniseries

The Sandman: The Dream Hunters is a novella by English author Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano, and published by DC Comics under its Vertigo imprint. The story is tangential to The Sandman comic book series, and can be read without prior knowledge of the main sequence. It won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Illustrated Narrative. The story deals with a love affair between a Buddhist monk and a fox spirit or kitsune.

<i>Sandmännchen</i> German childrens television program

Unser Sandmännchen, Das Sandmännchen, Der Abendgruß, Abendgruß ("Evening-Greeting"), Der Sandmann, Sandmann ("Sandman"), Sandmännchen is a German children's bedtime television program using stop-motion animation. The puppet was based on the Ole Lukøje character by Hans Christian Andersen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wee Willie Winkie</span> 1841 rhyme by William Miller

"Wee Willie Winkie" is a Scottish nursery rhyme whose titular figure has become popular as a personification of sleep. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13711.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ole Lukøje</span> Fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

"Ole Lukøje" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen based upon a folk tale telling of a mysterious mythic creature of the Sandman who gently takes children to sleep and, depending on how good or bad they were, shows them various dreams.

Under each arm he carries an umbrella; one of them, with pictures on the inside, he spreads over the good children, and then they dream the most beautiful stories the whole night. But the other umbrella has no pictures, and this he holds over the naughty children so that they sleep heavily, and wake in the morning without having dreamed at all.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Endless (comics)</span> Sandman comic characters

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Die Blümelein, sie schlafen</span>

"Die Blümelein, sie schlafen" is the first line of the German lullaby "Sandmännchen" (Sandman), from Anton Wilhelm von Zuccalmaglio's collection Deutsche Volkslieder (1840). The melody is based on a French song from the late 1500s which was also used for the Christmas carol "Zu Bethlehem geboren" (1638) to a text by Friedrich Spee.

<i>The Sandman</i> (TV series) Fantasy drama television series

The Sandman is an American fantasy drama television series based on the 1989–1996 comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. The series was developed by Gaiman, David S. Goyer, and Allan Heinberg for the streaming service Netflix and is produced by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. Like the comic, The Sandman tells the story of Dream / Morpheus, the titular Sandman. The series stars Tom Sturridge as the title character, with Boyd Holbrook, Vivienne Acheampong, and Patton Oswalt in supporting roles.

References

  1. ↑ Walsh, William S. (1915). "Walsh, William Shepard. "Sandman", Heroes and Heroines of Fiction, Classical Mediæval, Legendary, J.B. Lippincott, 1915". Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2016-07-30.
  2. ↑ "Der Sandmann". germanstories.vcu.edu. Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Ole Lukoie". The Hans Christian Andersen Center. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Jon Blund". Ny ABC. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Klaas Vaak, The Dutch Character". Archived from the original on 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  6. ↑ Connolly, Kate (23 November 2009). "The Sandmannchen, Germany's cutest communist, turns 50". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  7. ↑ Ebert, Roger (2005). Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2005. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 573.
  8. ↑ Durand, Kevin K. (2009). Buffy Meets the Academy : Essays on the Episodes and Scripts as Texts. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 95. ISBN   9780786453740.
  9. ↑ "Why Rise Of The Guardians Is An Underrated DreamWorks Movie And Everyone Needs To See It". CinemaBlend.
  10. ↑ Nicholson, Rebecca (5 August 2022). "The Sandman review – Neil Gaiman has created 2022's single greatest hour of TV drama". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  11. ↑ Marvel Mystery Comics #41. Marvel Comics.
  12. ↑ Neil Gaiman (27 April 2007). "Sandman, Master of Dreams". arschkrebs.de. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  13. ↑ Betts, Stephen L. (9 September 2016). "Flashback: Parton, Ronstadt, Harris Share 'Those Memories of You'". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  14. ↑ Lehman, Peter (2003). Roy Orbison: The Invention of An Alternative Rock Masculinity, Temple University Press. ISBN   1-59213-037-2
  15. ↑ James Hetfield. When Metallica Ruled the World (TV Documentary). VH1. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016. Extras – "James On Writing "Enter Sandman" Lyrics, 2004; When Ruled the World
  16. ↑ Grierson, Tim (2006). "The Greatest Songs Ever! Enter Sandman". Blender . Archived from the original on November 1, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2007.
  17. ↑ Reynolds, Malvina. "Morningtown Ride: Steyn's Song of the Week". SteynOnline. Archived from the original on 2019-07-12. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  18. ↑ "Farewell and Goodnight". Genius.

14. Rise of the guardians

Bibliography

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