Sandman

The Sandman is a mythical character in central and 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 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 name and "Lukøje" means "close eye". Andersen wrote:

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 Romanian folklore there is a similar character, Mos Ene (Ene the Elder).

In popular culture
A popular character in folklore, the Sandman is frequently referenced in popular culture. Some noteworthy examples include the following:

Film and television

 * The 1933 Walt Disney Silly Symphonies cartoon Lullaby Land ends with the Sandman putting the baby to sleep
 * The 1934 Laurel and Hardy film Babes in Toyland (1934 film) depicts the Sandman putting Little Bo-Peep and Tom-Tom Piper to sleep
 * In East Germany on Deutscher Fernsehfunk, Sandmännchen survived through the end of the Iron Curtain, which was really popular for many kids in The GDR and Reunified Germany today.
 * In the Apollo Theater talent television show, a stage name for Howard Sims, who comedically ushered failed acts offstage with a shepherd's crook
 * The 2012 Dreamworks film Rise of the Guardians features the Sandman as a main character
 * The 2013 TV series Sleepy Hollow depicts the Sandman in an episode entitled "For the Triumph of Evil"

Music

 * The 1920 song "The Japanese Sandman" by Raymond B. Egan and Richard A. Whiting
 * The 1954 song "Mr. Sandman" popularized by The Chordettes
 * The 1957 song Morningtown Ride, recorded by The Seekers among others, in which the Sandman features as a character
 * The 1963 song In Dreams, by Roy Orbison, which mentions the Sandman
 * The 1971 song "Sandman" by America (band)
 * The 1991 song "Enter Sandman" by Metallica
 * The 2004 song "Blood Red Sandman" by Lordi
 * The 2009 song "Sandmann" by Oomph!
 * The 2013 song "Sandman" by HURTS (from their 2013 album "Exile")
 * The 2013 song "Sandman" by Kirsty McGee

Literature

 * The Sandman graphic novel series by Neil Gaiman, depicts the Sandman as protagonist, Dream