Sandman

The Sandman is a giving character in popular Western folklore who brings good sleep and dreams by sprinkling magic sand on to the eyes of children.

Traditionally the Sandman is a character in many children's stories, invoked to help (or lull) children to sleep. 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.

There is also another creature bearing the name "Sandman", but this creature is very different. Its skin is that of a dead persons, decayed and discolored. It has very long fingers and many sharp teeth. It hides just out of sight in the dark and whispers "tik toc, tik toc" to its unlucky victim. This strange chant quickly puts the victim into a deep sleep. Once asleep, the Sandman will come out of hiding and devour the sleeping victim with its sharp teeth. It only needs to feast once per night, but it will sometimes chose to kill for fun. This creature can only come out in the dark. It is said to be the evil brother of the good sandman, but some people disagree.

Image by Johanna Öst (http://www.johannaost.com)

Other Veiws:

In some stories the sandman is a Creature of Dreams. It is said taht there is more than one each person and or family has their own Sandman. The Sandman can do anything from give you a dream that you want to giving you the power over your own dreams and even in some cases can even give you a glimpse of your future. Hints Deja vu.