The Creepiest Characters In The Sandman, Ranked
Get yourself a coffee, Red Bull, or a bottle of No-Doz because "The Sandman" has finally arrived on Netflix and no one's dreams are beyond his grasp. The series follows Lord Morpheus (also called Dream of the Endless), an eternal being who oversees the realm of dreams and nightmares, as well as the supernatural creatures that dwell there.
After a long day of monotony and responsibility, many look forward to escaping into sleep, where fantasy can become reality for a few precious hours. No matter how tedious and disappointing your daily life, you can always escape into The Dreaming, but dreams shouldn't mix with reality.
When Lord Morpheus is captured by a human sorcerer, and no longer capable of supervising The Dreaming, the door between reality and dreams opens wide. Openings like this allow for a captivating mixture of fantasy and reality, but also for terrifying nightmares. Here are some of the creepiest characters from "The Sandman" that are the stuff of nightmares.
Spoilers for "The Sandman" season 1 follow.
8. Squatterbloat
Squatterbloat is a demon that guards the gates of Hell. He's tall, built like a tank, and armed with an ax. His skin is a sickly gray filled with deep, pink and red scars, and his back is littered with penetrating arrows. While this creature's looks alone are nightmare-inducing, his habit of speaking in threatening riddles is what really escalated his creep factor. Arriving at Hell's gate would be horrifying enough, but it's accompanied by thundering footsteps and a guttural voice saying:
"There's one at the door at the gate of damnation. Is it thief, thug, or whore? There's one at the door, and there's room for one more, until the end of creation."
That piece of poetry is enough to send shivers down the spine of the freshly damned for sure.
7. The Fates
The Fates are a gang of three sisters who will answer three questions for whoever summons them. The motif of three women with supernatural powers is a motif as old as storytelling itself, and they are often portrayed in a menacing and freaky way. The Fates in "The Sandman" are all-knowing creatures who like to pop up unannounced (seems to be a big thing with characters in this series) and answer three questions. Don't be fooled though, these women aren't really going to help anyone.
The Fates speak in frustrating ways that mirror medieval literature, have an unnerving habit of finishing each others convoluted sentences, and their "answers" would more accurately be called riddles. In other words, they are ultimately useless to the character who seeks their help, but plenty frightening.
Also, one of them opens her mouth and allows a very large snake to slither down her throat, which is hardly the action of someone friendly.
6. The Corinthian
A blonde guy in an off-white suite and dark sunglasses hardly screams danger, but the Corinthian is a truly scary character. Born as a nightmare, he grew weary of Morpheus' supervision and of hanging out in the Dreaming, so he takes a prolonged vacation in reality. As you'd expect from a walking nightmare, Corinthian gets into all kinds of trouble, and actively plots against a weak and imprisoned Morpheus. Most disturbing of all is Corinthian's habit of plucking human eyeballs from their sockets and devouring them as a midnight snack.
Corinthian is armed with strength and immortality, but his most deadly weapon of choice is charisma. Throughout the series, Corinthian has trysts with a few humans, and is frequently hit on in the series. On top of sexual desire, his deadly charms also spark devotion, and he gains a cult-like following of serial killers.
If you judge this character by his looks, you might end up with hollow eye sockets ... or a juicy story about hooking up with a nightmare.
5. John Burgess
John Burgess is the son of Roderick Burgess, a wicked sorcerer, and Ethel Cripps. Faced with a forced abortion, a pregnant Cripps fled the home of Roderick with a stolen helm, ruby, and bag of sand, all items which held some of Morpheus' power. As a young man, John attempts to steal the ruby from his mother, so she locks him away. Decades later, she releases him, and he takes possession of the ruby again. This time, without anyone stopping him, he uses the gem to manipulate innocent people and ruin lives.
Burgess talks openly about his hatred of lies, so he decides to use the ruby to rid people's lives of dishonesty. Of course, this leads to some pretty gnarly events. Under the influence of Burgess' ruby, relationships are ruined, people are killed, and others commit suicide. While this bloody destruction takes place around him, Burgess sits idly by, eating from a gallon tub of ice cream.
It's true that the guy had a tough upbringing, and both of his parents were terrible. However, stuffing your face with a treat while people bleed out can't be blamed on mommy and daddy issues.
4. Nimrod
Nimrod is a serial killer and one of Corinthian's obsessive fans. He's a human with a nerdy, unassuming look that closely resembles a high school chemistry teacher or principal. However, behind closed doors, he's a vicious hunter of human beings. Well versed in the tools of murder, Nimrod skins, bones, joints, and guts his victims swiftly and without remorse. At one point in the series, Nimrod is shown at a sewing machine, making something out of human skin.
Once you go Leatherface, you earn a high spot on the creep list.
3. The Doctor
A close associate of Nimrod, The Doctor is also totally human. The image of a petite brunette isn't' exactly what comes to mind when thinking about a serial killer, but nothing is as it seems in "The Sandman." Another fan of Corinthian, The Doctor kills by removing her victims organs one at a time. This character is particularly disturbing because she is a medical professional, someone people go to for help, and she slaughters them instead. Taking advantage of someone's trust and authority to satisfy a homicidal urge is incredibly cruel and sadistic, which is why she is ranked so high.
2. Fun Land
Anyone who has seen the series already understands why this character made the list. Fun Land, yet another serial killer fan of Corinthian, ranks higher than the others because he's a pedophile that targets children. He refers to sexually abusing children as "playing," and openly admits to kidnapping kids from amusement parks. Throughout the series, he targets the young, and attempts to lure Jed into a hotel room to "play."
The creep factor is off the charts with this guy!
1. Lord Morpheus
Lord Morpheus might be the protagonist of "The Sandman," born to keep our human imaginations and fantasies in check, but he's also a creepy dude. First of all, he literally creates the supernatural beings that fill our dreams and nightmares, which is a power that is both incredibly fascinating and deeply disturbing. Secondly, he can walk into private dreams without permission (even vampires have to knock first), and he can also turn exciting dreamscapes into unsettling nightmares with the simple wave of his hand. Worst of all, Morpheus, like fellow creeper Freddy Krueger, is impossible to escape because a person has to sleep, and when you do, he owns you.
It's also worth noting that Morpheus' physical appearance doesn't help his creeptastic dream-dwelling tendencies. He's sickly thin, deathly pale, and frequently dons a mask with huge black eyes and a long beak that resembles the attire of a plague doctor.
Yes, he's the good guy here, but creating nightmares, popping up uninvited in people's dreams, and being an all-out creeper lands him in the number one spot.