This caracter in folklore has fascinated me for ages. The Sandman, also known as the Dustman, is a well known figure in Western folklore but has his origin in English folklore.It is said that he brings good sleep and beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand into the eyes of children. According to wikipedia “the grit or 'sleep' in one's eyes upon waking is supposed to be the result of the Sandman's work the previous evening.”

This all sounds very sweet and innocent but it is nothing like the original story. This was the image of the Sandman in the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. Before that time the Sandman was a fearsome bogie.

According to the fairytale written by E.T.A Hoffmann in 1817 The Sandman was a real nursery bogie. The sand he sprinkled into the eyes of children who would not go to sleep was not meant to give them sweet dreams but was coarse and meant to hurt them. Once the children started rubbing their eyes, they started to bleed and fell out, on the floor. The Sandman collected these eyes and carried them home in a sack. He gave these eyes as food to his progeny which lived in a iron nest on a crescent moon.

Now, that's quite something else...

The shadow puppet I made, which you can see below, is not based on the version of Hoffmann neither is it based on the traditional and widely known version of the late nineteenth century.

This puppet is based on a beautiful version I found in a book about Legends of Frisia where both stories are united into one. In this book the Sandman called “Zandmannetje”or “Klaas Vaak”is described as a sort of dwarf who rides over clouds on his coach drawn by two rats. It is said that he carries along two sacks full of magical dust. One of the sacks contains “good dust” which he sprinkles on the children who behave well, so they will get beautiful dreams. The other sack contains “bad dust” which is ment for the children who behave badly, this will give them nightmares and sleepless nights.

In a few other Dutch legends I found, it is said that the Sandman uses the “bad dust” to punish the parents. I know one story where a father treats his child pourly and gets punished. The Sandman sprinkles the “bad dust”into the fathers eyes who immidiatley turns blind. Then the good spirit takes the child with him and cares for him till he has grown up.

Worldwide, beautiful stories are found about good and evil spirits who come at night to put the children asleep or punsih them if they don't want to. Other well known figures are the Scottish Wee Willie Winkie and the Danish Ole Luk Öie. I will devote a couple of my future shadow puppets and drawings to these beautiful creatures. So, if you would like to know more about this subject and my upcomming work, please do come back.

(the Sandman shadowpuppet is now available at my shop!)