Sandman

"The Sandman" redirects here. For other uses, see Sandman (disambiguation).

Vilhelm Pedersen drew this representation of the Sandman for the fairytale "Ole Lukøje" (Mr. Sandman) by Hans Christian Andersen

The Sandman is a mythical character in Northern European folklore who brings good dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto the eyes of children while they sleep at night.

Representation in traditional folklore

Traditionally, he is a character in many children's stories. He is said to sprinkle sand or dust on or into the eyes of the child at night to bring on dreams and sleep. The grit or "sleep" in one's eyes upon waking is supposed to be the result of the Sandman's work the previous evening.

Hans Christian Andersen's 1841 folk tale Ole Lukøje recorded 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. 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.

E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776–1822) wrote an inverse depiction of the lovable character in a story called 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 wouldn't 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 popular culture

The Sandman is a popular character in folklore referenced in popular culture over several centuries. Some noteworthy examples include:

• The 1933 Walt Disney Silly Symphonies cartoon "Lullybye Land" ends with the baby being put to sleep by the sandman.

• In the 1935 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers classic 'Top Hat', Jerry Travers (played by Astaire), sprinkles sand on the floor and dances a slow dance, helping Dale Tremont (played by Rogers) sleep.

• The 1957 Soviet cartoon "The Snow Queen" is introduced by the Sandman.

• The 1958 Sandmännchen German children's bedtime television programms of puppets in stop motion animation.

• Films, including 1991 and 2000 versions of The Sandman.

• Popular music including "Mr. Sandman" popularized by the Chordettes, "The Japanese Sandman" (1920) by Raymond B. Egan and Richard A. Whiting, "Sandman" by America (band), "In Dreams" by Roy Orbison, "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, in "Mad Man Moon" by Genesis and "Mr. Sandman" from the album Tical by Method Man.

• Comic book characters from Vertigo and DC Comics.

• The Sandman appears in The Smurfs episode "Darkness Monster" voiced by Frank Welker. When Papa Smurf and the Smurflings travel to the Land of Nod in order to obtain some sand in order to make Brainy Smurf's new glasses (after he lost them to the Darkness Monster when gathering chocolate from its cave with Clumsy Smurf), they end up meeting a grouchy Sandman after the previous one retired. After managing to convince the Sandman to help them, Sandman requires chocolate from the Darkness Monster's cave in exchange for him giving them the sand. Once this trade is done, Papa Smurf obtains the sand in order to forge Brainy Smurf's new glasses.

• In The Real Ghostbusters in the episode "Mr. Sandman Dream me a Dream", a rogue sandman is the villain of the episode.

• The Sandman appears as a character in the Charmed episode "Sand Francisco Dreamin'".

• In The Fairly OddParents episode "Beddy Bye", the Sandman (voiced by Jackie Mason) is a mattress retail magnate and is referred to as Harvey Sandman and the Mattress King.

• In The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, there is a character name Steven the Sandman (voiced by Daran Norris).

• The Sandman appears in The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause portrayed by Michael Dorn. He is shown as a member of the Council of Legendary Figures (alongside Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Cupid, Mother Nature, Father Time, Tooth Fairy, and Jack Frost) and tends to fall asleep during meetings.

• Mr. Sandman is also a perk in the hit video game series Fallout. The perk allows the player to gain extra experience from killing enemies in their sleep.

• Sandman appears as a supporting protagonist in Rise of the Guardians.

• Sandman is the codename for Metal 0-1 in the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

• "The Sandman is making a legend for a girl", John le Carré Smiley's People, where the Sandman is Karla.

• Sandman is a well respected pilot in IL21946, master of sarcasm and wit.

References

• Andersen, Hans Christian. Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
• Tatar, Maria (2003) [1987]. Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-01487-6.
• Hoffman, E.T.A. (1817). "Der Sandmann". Die Nachtstücke.