TALES FROM THE CRYPT
Dust off those old pre-code comics full of macabre murder and supernatural terror, dig up the bones of a genuine horror host, put your show on a network known for it's relaxed “standards and practices” and, if you did your job right you’ve got HBO’s Tales from the Crypt!
For seven years and 93 episodes the campy antics adapted straight from EC Comics issues written by William Gaines and Al Feldstein were broadcast from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s—all of which were introduced by that lovable corpse, The Crypt Keeper voiced by John Kassir and puppeted by Van Snowden.
The comic book art used in the series was created by Mike Vosburg and Shawn McManus—two fine modern artists who would have fit in well in the pre-code days at EC.
ABC enjoyed the show so much, they produced a Saturday morning cartoon in 1993 called Tales from the Cryptkeeper. Here, a kinder, gentler Cryptkeeper introduced tales and other EC mascots The VaultKeeper and The Old Witch made frequent appearances. It lasted two seasons and 26 episodes and was resurrected in 1999 by CBS for 13 more episodes.
Nonetheless, Tales from the Crypt kept up the hardcore commitment to twist endings and gore galore! Wait a minute, can’t you just hear that invitingly gloomy theme by Danny Elfman now…
And for your selection of the best of the Tales from the Crypt vault, check out the links below for the choice cuts:
I never watched the whole run of the show, I keep hoping it will pop up on Netflix or Hulu. Want to dive in here, so badly!
ReplyDeleteI remember it being appointment tv for me, I probably watched them all when they first showed. Fun, hokey stuff!
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