This article about The Sandman looks at the question “is the Sleepy Sickness real?”. It contains minor spoilers from Episode 1.
The Sandman is the latest Netflix original that everyone is talking about. And its unique concept and enigmatic lore has raised a lot of questions for viewers.
The new fantasy series is based on a comic book by Neil Gaiman, who also developed this adaption alongside David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg.
The Sandman chronicles the capture of Dream (AKA ‘Morpheus’) in an occult ritual in 1916 and his eventual escape 106 years later. Morpheus is one of seven ‘Endless’. Endless are amongst the most powerful in the entire DC universe.
They are a family of seven who each control a key aspect of life: Death, Delirium, Desire, Despair, Destiny, Destruction, and Dream.
After Dream is captured in the first episode, he explains that there were dire consequences for the human race resulting from his imprisonment.
The worst of these consequences is the so called ‘Sleepy Sickness’ or ‘Sleeping Sickness’.
The first episode takes place in the early 20th century. As a result, many viewers are wondering if it was or is a real illness.
So, is the Sleepy Sickness real? Let’s take a look…
Is The Sleepy Sickness Real in The Sandman?
In The Sandman, the so-called ‘Sleepy Sickness’ or ‘Sleeping Sickness’ is depicted as an illness which locks humans into a permanently sleeping or sleep-walking state.
It’s a pretty scary concept. After Dream was imprisoned, millions of people who were sleeping at the time simply never woke up. Many spent the rest of their lives asleep, stuck in their beds.
So, is the Sleepy Sickness real in The Sandman? Yes, Sleepy Sickness, AKA ‘Sleeping Sickness’ or ‘Encephalitis lethargica’, is a real illness. Just as depicted in the show, it appeared as a pandemic in 1917 and is estimated to have infected more than one million people. It ultimately caused more than 500,000 deaths.
Sleepy Sickness (EL) was first described by neurologist Constantin von Economo and the pathologist Jean-René Cruchet.
The Sandman explains that the illness was caused by the imprisonment of Dream. Of course, this is not the case in the real world. However, its true cause isn’t known for sure and it remains an enigmatic illness with few treatments for patients.
It has been speculated that Sleepy Sickness (EL), was linked to or caused by the 1918 influenza epidemic. However, opinion on this is divided.
In 1927, the Encephalitis lethargica pandemic ended almost as suddenly as it started. However, even today, people continue to contract the Sleepy Sickness – just in much smaller numbers.
What Are The Symptoms of Sleepy Sickness?
In the real world, Sleepy Sickness brought on mild symptoms of lethargy, headaches, sore throat, high temperature, and double vision.
However, in severe cases (and there were many during the pandemic), patients entered a comatose statue-like state unable to move or speak.
Many pandemic-era patients only partially recovered and remained in a zombie-like state for the rest of their lives. Neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks explained:
They would be conscious and aware – yet not fully awake; they would sit motionless and speechless all day in their chairs, totally lacking energy, impetus, initiative, motive, appetite, affect or desire; they registered what went on about them without active attention, and with profound indifference. They neither conveyed nor felt the feeling of life; they were as insubstantial as ghosts, and as passive as zombies.
Even for those who ‘fully’ recovered, Parkinson’s symptoms commonly developed years after initial infection. Other neurological and psychiatric problems were also common.
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