Tales from the Crypt | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Steven Dodd |
Based on | |
Starring | Jerry Hyams |
Voices of | John Kassir |
Theme music composer | Danny Elfman |
Composer(s) |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 7 |
No. of episodes | 93 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | |
Running time | 22–29 minutes |
Production company(s) |
EC Comics HBO |
Distributor |
Syndication: Genesis Entertainment 20th Television Worldwide Media: Warner Home Video |
Release | |
Original network | HBO |
Audio format | Dolby Surround 2.0 |
Original release | June 10, 1989 – July 19, 1996 |
Chronology | |
Related shows |
Tales from the Cryptkeeper Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House |
Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from June 10, 1989 to July 19, 1996, on the premium cable channel HBO for seven seasons with a total of 93 episodes. The title is based on the 1950s EC Comics series of the same name and most of the content originated in that comic or the other EC Comics of the time (Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror, Crime SuspenStories, Shock SuspenStories, and Two-Fisted Tales). The show was produced by HBO.
Because it was aired on HBO, a premium cable television channel, it was one of the few anthology series to be allowed to have full freedom from censorship by network standards and practices. As a result, HBO allowed the series to contain content that had not appeared in most television series up to that time, such as graphic violence, profanity, sexual activity and nudity. The show is subsequently edited for such content when broadcast in syndication or on basic cable. While the series began production in the United States, in the final season filming moved to Britain, resulting in episodes which revolved around British characters.
In 2017, M. Night Shyamalan will helm a reboot series.
Each episode begins with a tracking shot leading to the front door of the Crypt Keeper's decrepit mansion. Once inside, the camera pans down hallways and stairways, and finally descends into the basement. The show's host, the Crypt Keeper, then pops out from his coffin, cackling wildly; finally, green slime pours down over the screen as the main title appears. The Crypt Keeper is an animated corpse, as opposed to the original comics in which he was a living human being. The wisecracking Crypt Keeper, who was voiced by John Kassir and performed by puppeteer Van Snowden, would then introduce the episode with intentionally hackneyed puns (e.g. his frequent greeting to viewers: "Hello, Boils and Ghouls" or "Hello, Kiddies"). Each episode was self contained, and was bookended by an outro sequence again involving the Crypt Keeper. Comic book cover art was created by Mike Vosburg and Shawn McManus.