The events depicted in The Sandman may not be all fiction. Keep reading to find out what&#039;s real and what isn&#039;t.

Is The Sleeping Sickness From &#8216;The Sandman&#8217; Something Based On Reality? Was Morpheous Really Captured?

Is The Sleeping Sickness From &#8216;The Sandman&#8217; Something Based On Reality? Was Morpheous Really Captured? - Netflix Junkie

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Srabani Biswas is a writer at Netflix Junkie. She is a sociology graduate from Lady Brabourne College. Previously, she has contributed to Sports India Show and The Sports Room as a sports writer, and interned at Ripples Learning. A daydreamer, a dancer, and a lover of dogs, she enjoys quiet evenings with her laptop and a cozy blanket. With so much to do and so little time, she is constantly worried about her growing pile of unread books and unwatched shows on Netflix. Her favourites include Stranger, Vincenzo, Hello! My twenties,  Emily in Paris, Never Have I Ever, Peaky Blinders, Stranger Things, Reply 1997 and Sex Education.

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Is The Sleeping Sickness From &#8216;The Sandman&#8217; Something Based On Reality? Was Morpheous Really Captured? - netflix-junkie

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Neil Gaiman&#8217;s dark fantasy comic The Sandman is getting highly positive reviews on Netflix. The adaptation took years to make because it was deemed unfilmable. The unique fantasy series stars Tom Sturridge in the lead as Dream of the Endless. It follows his quest to retrieve the totems that were stolen from him and exact revenge on the ones that had done him wrong. While the narrative is indeed enthralling, you&#8217;d be surprised to know that the sleeping sickness depicted in the series was actually quite real. 
It&#8217;s not all fiction folks.
<h2>The sleeping sickness in The Sandman is based on true events </h2>
Neil Gaiman has crafted a marvelous story from real events that took place between 1917 and 1927. He put a genius spin on the real epidemic that affected nearly 5-10 million people globally and blamed it on the King of Dreams. In the series, when Roderick Burgess captures Dream and steals his tools &#8211; a pouch of sand, <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-netflixs-sandman-got-this-iconic-morpheus-artifact-right/">helmet</a>, and ruby, he does some serious damage to both the Dreaming and the waking world. While Dreams&#8217; realm crumbles in his absence, as Dreams and Nightmares abandon the realm, an incomprehensible disease like sleeping sickness affects humans. Humans fall into an endless cycle of sleep, never waking up.
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://wegotthiscovered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/The-Sandman-1.jpg" alt="" width="1395" height="797" />
But in the real world, an unidentified bacteria caused lethargic encephalitis otherwise known as sleeping sickness. The mysterious disease caused an inflammation of the brain and killed the affected almost immediately during that period. But weirdly, the epidemic ended suddenly in 1927. Doctors and researchers couldn&#8217;t find an answer to its abrupt ending. The survivors of the disease suffered from Parkinson&#8217;s-like syndrome years later. 
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-originals-tom-sturridge-stole-the-most-unexpected-item-from-the-sets-of-the-sandman/">Tom Sturridge Stole the Most Unexpected Item From the Sets of ‘The Sandman’</a>
<a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/tag/the-sandman/">The Sandman</a> isn&#8217;t the first series to bring the event to light. Robin Williams-starrer, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099077/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Awakenings,</a> a 1990 movie also chronicled this very event. In fact, it was based on Dr. Oliver Sachs&#8217; books about sleeping sickness. His books also talked about L-Dopa, the drug administered to survivors who exhibited Parkinson-like syndrome.
<div class="flex-video widescreen youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Sleeping Sickness - an introduction to African Trypanosomiasis" width="1170" height="658" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mKnlRVfjl-o?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
In Neil Gaiman&#8217;s fictional series, however, Dreams&#8217; escape from captivity and his return to the realms sets things right in the waking world. People started waking up after years of slumber. 
Stream the dark fantasy series <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81150303">here</a>. 
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-will-desire-and-despair-get-more-screen-time-in-the-sandman-season-2/">Will Desire and Despair Get More Screen Time In ‘The Sandman’ Season 2?</a>

Will Desire and Despair Get More Screen Time In ‘The Sandman’ Season 2?

Tom Sturridge Stole the Most Unexpected Item From the Sets of ‘The Sandman’

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The events depicted in The Sandman may not be all fiction. Keep reading to find out what's real and what isn't.

Is The Sleeping Sickness From 'The Sandman' Something Based On Reality? Was Morpheous Really Captured? - Netflix Junkie

Srabani Biswas is a writer at Netflix Junkie. She is a sociology graduate from Lady Brabourne College. Previously, she has contributed to Sports India Show and The Sports Room as a sports writer, and interned at Ripples Learning. A daydreamer, a dancer, and a lover of dogs, she enjoys quiet evenings with her laptop and a cozy blanket. With so much to do and so little time, she is constantly worried about her growing pile of unread books and unwatched shows on Netflix. Her favourites include Stranger, Vincenzo, Hello! My twenties, Emily in Paris, Never Have I Ever, Peaky Blinders, Stranger Things, Reply 1997 and Sex Education.

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Srabani Biswas

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Is The Sleeping Sickness From &#039;The Sandman&#039; Something Based On Reality? Was Morpheous Really Captured? - Netflix Junkie

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Is The Sleeping Sickness From ‘The Sandman’ Something Based On Reality? Was Morpheous Really Captured?

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