HBO’s ‘Tales from the Crypt’: 10 Things You May Not Know

Nobody can ever say that John Kassir wasn’t the perfect man for the job when it came to voicing the Crypt Keeper. If you’ve seen the show, you already hear that distinctive voice in your head just thinking about it. When Kassir auditioned, he was so impressive that it was clear right away to HBO who would be their Crypt Keeper.

Kassir had some stiff competition, too. For the part, he beat out Charles Fleischer, the voice of Roger Rabbit, and Michael Winslow, who played “Motor Mouth” Jones in the Police Academy movies.

In 1993, the children’s animated series Tiny Toon Adventures spoofed Tales from the Crypt with an episode called “Toons from the Crypt.” Buster Bunny takes on the role of the Crypt Keeper, telling three separate horror stories in the same style as the HBO show. Due to its horror content, the episode wasn’t aired during the cartoon’s initial run on Fox Kids. It wasn’t seen in its entirety until Nickelodeon acquired the rerun rights.

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The connection between these two shows doesn’t end here. During the production of Tiny Toon Adventures‘ third season, Buster Bunny voice actor Charlie Adler left the show. Guess who was brought in to replace Adler for the remainder of the series? The Crypt Keeper himself… John Kassir!

Because the series was created for HBO, it’s full of adult content unsuitable for other networks. However, producers still knew about the money to be made in syndication. They wanted to leave the door open for the series to air on broadcast television, but that would never happen with the episodes presented as they were.

So, what was the fix? Filming watered-down versions of the most horrific scenes of each episode. By having alternate footage on hand, and omitting the violence, language, and nudity, editing softer versions of the show became much easier. And that’s exactly what happened when Fox acquired rerun rights to the show in 1994.

In 2011, original series producer Gil Adler and Andrew Cosby began a collaboration on a reboot of Tales from the Crypt. This new version was said to omit the Crypt Keeper entirely and feature an ongoing story rather than a different tale each week. The idea was to incorporate characters from the comic book series into a “more modern context.” The two shopped their pitch around to various networks, but apparently, there weren’t any at the time that was interested.

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Fast forward to 2016. TNT ordered a 10-episode revival of Tales from the Crypt, set to premiere in the fall of 2017, with M. Night Shyamalan in the director’s chair. Ultimately, however, the issues in acquiring the rights were too much for TNT, and they axed the planned series in 2017.

Although the 1995 family comedy film is meant to be mostly for children, Casper does have some references only adults would enjoy. This includes an appearance by none other than the Crypt Keeper! It’s most certainly the Crypt Keeper himself who shows up in this classic film in a very bizarre cameo, as John Kassir even provides the voice.

During a scene in the movie, Dr. Harvey (Bill Pullman) is possessed by ghosts while looking into a mirror. He sees himself taking the form of various celebrities, such as Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, and Rodney Dangerfield. Most interesting, however, is that he morphs into the Crypt Keeper. It’s only for the briefest of moments, but it’s highly entertaining.

Most fans of Tales from the Crypt seem to be familiar with the animated series based on the program. Tales from the Cryptkeeper featured a cartoon version of the same host of the HBO show, complete with the voice of John Kassir. Telling different horror stories in each episode, the animated series ran for two seasons between 1993 and 1994.

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Not many people may realize that the series came back for another brief run years later. This time, it was called New Tales from the Cryptkeeper, presenting 13 new episodes in the same style as before. The program aired on CBS in the US and Teletoon in Canada in the fall of 1999. Technically, it’s the final Tales from the Crypt show to ever air on television.

Even crazier than the cartoon series based on Tales from the Crypt is the game show spinoff, Secrets of the Cryptkeeper’s Haunted House. Airing Saturday mornings on CBS from 1996 to 1997, the show premiered just a few months after the final episode of the HBO series. Once again featuring the voice of John Kassir, the obscure program actually managed to earn a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1997 for Outstanding Game Show.

This series never aired on television past its initial run, nor was it released on home video. However, as with most things, you can find clips on YouTube.

Because of the popularity of the HBO series, we’ve seen the franchise expand with movies, cartoons, and even a game show. That’s not even touching on all the merchandise featuring the Crypt Keeper, which was selling at the time. Looking back, it seems strange that there was never an official video game for the series, but as it turns out, it wasn’t for lack of trying.

The YouTube channel CryptTube uncovered screenshots and concept art from an abandoned Tales from the Crypt computer game. It’s not clear how exactly the game would have played, but it would have featured the Crypt Keeper in prominence, as seen in the early art. Planned for a release in 1995 or 1996, the project was nixed when the company working on it was bought out by someone uninterested in finishing the game.

Every big fan of Tales from the Crypt knows about the two official feature films to be released in theaters in the United States. Demon Knight (1995) and Bordello of Blood (1996) each told horror stories with an intro featuring the Crypt Keeper. Plans were in place to follow up with a third film produced as a Tales from the Crypt movie, but never again would a Tales film arrive in US theaters.

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However, there is a film that’s considered to be the third and final entry in the franchise’s film series. The 2002 film Ritual had shot footage with the Crypt Keeper referring to the HBO series, but after Bordello of Blood bombed, all references to the series were removed. The film was only released in select countries in 2002 but wasn’t seen in the US until it was brought to DVD in 2006. Fortunately, the home video release restored all of the Crypt Keeper footage.

Starring Tim Curry and Jennifer Grey, the film is worth checking out for fans of the series who never knew it existed.

This is one of those horror connections you certainly can’t unsee once you know about it and might even wonder how you ever missed it. When Tales from the Crypt first began production in the late ’80s, FX artist Kevin Yagher was brought in to create the Crypt Keeper. When designing the horror icon, Yagher realized he needed a pair of creepy eyes to truly complete the look.

Coincidentally, Yagher had previously worked on the original Child’s Play and had designed the infamous Chucky doll. The FX artist then used the very same eyes from Chucky to plant into the Crypt Keeper’s skull. If there was always something about the Crypt Keeper that seemed oddly familiar to you, perhaps this was it!