10 Sandman Fates Worse Than Death

Abel first appeared in this incarnation in DC Special #4. He was famously the caretaker and chief storyteller of the House of Secrets, an old dilapidated mansion that existed both at the edge of a cemetery in Kentucky and across from his brother Cain’s House of Mystery in the Dreaming.

Abel was the first victim of the first story, while his brother Cain was the first murderer. Abel was a gentle, if somewhat neurotic, man who was easily scared, a fact that went in contrast to his ability to tell truly horrific stories. Cain was ill-tempered, cruel, and had a very short fuse. As such, he would murder his brother in increasingly inventive and violent ways. Cain's murderous rages could easily involve innocent bystanders as they got too close. Abel always came back to life and always forgave his brother, trying not to do the thing that got him killed again.

When the Furies tore through the Dreaming, they killed Abel. When he failed to return to life during The Wake, Cain became desperate and enraged. Cain traveled to the castle and first screamed at and then pleaded to Daniel, the new Dream, to revive his brother as their contract states that they were a “double act.” The new Dream King agreed and resurrected the slightly stuttering storyteller.