The Maskenhersteller

The Maskenhersteller, (Masken-Her-Steller) The Mask Maker appears as an average height human carrying a burlap sack full of sand, a cloak lined with dozens of glass masks all bearing different faces all seemingly in restful sleep. The face of the Mask Maker is said to be blank until it puts on one of the various glass masks. A large glass sickle is used by the Mask Maker to balance a single grain of his sand before depositing it gently on your face whispering just before you lose consciousness a 'good night'.
The Patron of Sleep The Maskenhersteller's sand is used to make those glass masks after the death of a person, but the sand is said to be what allows someone to sleep at night in the first place and so he should be welcomed into your place of rest lest you not be able to sleep.

Summary

Each night when you go to sleep The Maskenhersteller will appear beside your bed and place a grain of sand on your face and vanish again. As you continue to age the amount of sand on your face grows and eventually becomes a mask when you die in your sleep. Should you die in your sleep The Maskenhersteller will appear and claim your burial mask and keep it as part of their collection. Supposedly the masks are said to recount the person's life in full detail if worn.
Those who suffer from Insomnia are said to be cursed by The Maskenhersteller as he refuses to put sand on their face to put them to sleep. Thus they bear the curse of a fey brought on by somehow offending The Maskenhersteller. The bags under their eyes are seen by the superstitious as a mark telling others not to offer them a place to sleep.

Historical Basis

While fey are known to exist and are often strange creatures it is possible The Maskenhersteller could have existed or may even still exist. The widely accepted basis for this myth is an ancient story used to tell children when someone in the family died in their sleep. Linked to this is also the custom of placing masks on a dead person for the funeral service.

Spread

Every country in Savorah has heard the tale at one point or another as for those who believe it, it has more weight in smaller villages where superstitions are more prevalent. The oldest written records come from Rhyderia but it is suspected to have been a tale only told verbally long before that.

Variations & Mutation

One variation is that this creature will cause monsters to appear under the bed or in the closet of children who refuse to sleep when they are supposed to. Often the tales involve fey creatures stealing them away from their parents and either keeping them prisoner or eating them.