12 Spine-Tingling Facts About Tales From the Crypt 

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Yanked from the tasteless, imaginative, and classic E.C. comics that incited a Congressional investigation in the 1950s, HBO’s

(1989-1996)—which signed off 20 years ago today—was one of the few television shows where A-list Hollywood talent appeared. Robert Zemeckis (

) was an executive producer, along with Richard Donner (

). Each week, the anthology series would deal out a bloody morality tale, framed by the cackling Crypt Keeper (voiced by John Kassir). Boils and ghouls curious about the show’s history should keep reading, or more puns will follow.

when he and director Richard Donner began talking about Silver’s failed attempts to adapt

had lessened enthusiasm for horror anthologies. Unmoved by those failures, Donner said he’d be interested in joining the project. When the series idea was brought to HBO, they were intrigued that so many feature film talents were backing the idea. When Zemeckis—who was working with Silver on 1988’s

—got involved, the network agreed to move forward with the show.  

When a film or television show needs a creepy animatronic puppet, they usually call Kevin Yagher. As horror’s Jim Henson, the prolific special effects expert has been responsible for the Crypt Keeper, Chucky of the

films, and various versions of the Freddy Krueger make-up. To create

’s decomposing host, Yagher used the clear blue eyes from his Chucky fabrication; it took six puppeteers to make him fully operational.  

was famous for luring a number of noted feature directors to television at a time when it was considered a step down from movies. While having producers like Donner and Zemeckis making phone calls helped, the primary attraction was getting to shoot what amounted to a short film with minimal interference. For actors, it was also a chance to step behind the camera without the burden of an extended shoot. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was paid scale ($15,000) to direct an episode, said at the time “It was, I would say, the greatest joy I’ve ever had in the movie business.”  

4. IT BROUGHT HUMPHREY BOGART BACK FROM THE DEAD.

would take any opportunity to explore new techniques for visual effects. In the episode “You, Murderer,” a career criminal murdered by his wife and best friend posthumously narrates the events leading up to his demise. When the character looks in the mirror—the show takes place from his POV—viewers see the resurrected features of Humphrey Bogart. Zemeckis used footage from

, and other Bogart films to capture footage and digitally insert it into the frame. During wraparounds, the Crypt Keeper also converses with a seemingly above-ground Alfred Hitchcock.   

5. IT HELPED CREATE THE “IT’S NOT TV, IT’S HBO” TAG.

Free from the restrictions of broadcast networks, HBO had no problems pushing boundaries in its content. When the channel enlisted a new ad agency to develop a marketing campaign for

, they screened a collection of racy footage from the show along with other original programming. When the lights came up, someone said, “It’s not TV.” Another person said, “No, it’s HBO.”  

For Zemeckis, Donner, and the rest of the show\'s high-profile producers, the financial payoff was always thought to be a move to syndication. Because HBO was more permissive in terms of content, they needed to prepare for an eventual screening on broadcast TV stations. When

was bought by Fox for a late-night Saturday slot in 1994, the episodes were re-edited to include alternate takes that eliminated most of the original episodes\' gore and nudity. The show also had actors loop non-profane dialogue during shooting. While HBO normally values exclusivity, it didn’t mind the deal: uncut episodes were still an attraction and, as one executive pointed out, “The show is called

One of the show’s earliest episodes featured Larry Drake (

) as a murderous Santa Claus stalking a woman who had just murdered her husband and couldn\'t exactly plead with the police for assistance. While the premise was based on an E.C. story, it wasn’t the first time it had been filmed. In 1972, a production company named Amicus released a

feature: in one segment, Joan Collins appears as the freshly widowed wife being hunted by a significantly less sinister-looking Santa.

8. JOHN KASSIR CALLED INTO RADIO SHOWS IN CHARACTER.

didn’t have any recurring cast members to help drum up publicity. The only familiar face (and voice) was Kassir\'s. So HBO had him make the media rounds at the start of each season, calling into radio shows as the Crypt Keeper. “We would launch a new season and I would spend a week in the morning doing 50 or 60 radio interviews as the Crypt Keeper,” he told CrypticRock.com. “I would naturally have to improvise all of that. I would have some bullet points and all that to talk about when the show was coming on ... [the Crypt Keeper] would sit there and talk. ‘How are you Frank? Ha ha ha.’”

And not, as some suspected, because it was cheaper. After six seasons, 

had more or less exhausted California’s reserve of actors and filmmakers. For its final season, the production moved to Ealing Studios in West London. Producer Gil Adler endorsed the switch for enabling new faces and locations to be utilized. As a result of the change, Ewan McGregor and Bob Hoskins were among the actors who popped up on the series.

in live-action prompted Silver to consider alternative revenue streams for its popular host, who once sat in with

band. In 1993, ABC aired a Saturday morning cartoon show,

, that featured a somewhat softer approach to the morbid material: characters didn’t die, and being dismembered was off-limits. Originally intended to be introduced by the puppet version, concerns over his appearance—the Crypt Keeper is essentially a rotting corpse, which might disturb children—led producers to replace him with an animated substitute. John Kassir remained the voice. The light alternative didn’t resonate with viewers, who tuned out after two seasons.   

was a 1996 production that featured Kassir and his puppet alter ego in a game show that aired on CBS on Saturday mornings. Shot at Universal Studios Florida, teams of contestants awkwardly interacted with a green screen and 1990s-era computer graphics while the Crypt Keeper taunted them. The effects were so peculiar that the show’s premiere was delayed by a month while technical difficulties were sorted out. It lasted a season, but that was enough to make some kind of TV history: by this point, the character had appeared on ABC, CBS, Fox, and HBO.

Reminded that Freddy Krueger once performed with the Fat Boys, Kassir recorded several albums in character for Warner Bros. The first,

, was released in 1994. (Sample track: “Deck the Halls with Parts of Charlie.”) Kassir has said his father, a surgeon, enjoyed playing the holiday record during procedures.

Since 1960, newspaper readers have found circular logic in

, a single-panel strip about the misadventures of married couple Bil and Thelma and their four mischievous children: Billy, Jeffy, Dolly, and P.J. Known as the “Norman Rockwell of the comics page,” artist Bil Keane drew upon his own parenting experiences for the comic, which relies on misunderstandings and sibling rivalry to fuel its gags. Check out some things you might not know about Keane’s work, including some controversy over the strip’s title and why Keane wasn\'t always trying to be funny.

Born in Philadelphia in 1922, Keane—who dropped one “L” from his first name while working on a satirical magazine project in the 1930s—pursued comic art as a vocation. In 1954, he created

, a commentary on the new medium of television. While successful, Keane wanted to try his hand at something else. Drawing on his household experiences with five children, he created a slice-of-life strip titled

in 1960: The name was a reference to the circular panel Keane used. The house tips magazine

objected, thinking it might confuse readers. Keane obliged them, changing the strip to

, which would provide commentary on world events. Due to the six-week lead time of cartooning, it didn’t go well. But one element of the strip stuck with him: He decided to draw it inside of a circle because some newspapers would use it as a spot illustration above their masthead, guaranteeing a wide audience. Though it migrated to the comics pages, Keane kept the circle for

While serving in the Army in Australia during World War II, Keane met his future wife, Thelma Carne. Returning stateside and working on the strip, he modeled the cartoon Thelma (or “Thel”) on his real-life wife. The likeness was apparently uncanny, as Thelma would sometimes get recognized out in public. “When the cartoon first appeared, she looked so much like Mommy," Keane said, "that if she was in the supermarket pushing her cart, people would come up to her and say, \'Aren\'t you the mommy in

Keane’s sentimental observations of an American nuclear family were sometimes criticized for being too saccharine. According to Keane, that’s exactly what he was looking for. “I don’t have to come up with a ha-ha belly laugh every day,” Keane said, “but drawings with warmth and love or ones that put a lump in the throat or tug at the heart. That’s more important to me than a laugh. I would rather have the readers react with a warm smile as they recall doing the same things in their own family.”

Keane’s approach wasn’t always so family-friendly. In the early days of the strip and while searching for the proper tone, Keane took a more cynical view of parenting, depicting the father drinking and having a wandering eye for passing women. Keane changed the direction after one mid-1960s strip—Billy wandering into a room asking for a hug—resulted in several reader letters saying the sentiment had struck a chord.

Sporting a distinctive bob for nearly 40 years, in 1996 Thelma made newspaper headlines when Keane decided to give her an updated style. The artist made the change after a reader complained the cut was too old-fashioned. Solicited for comment, celebrity hairstylist Jose Eber said he “would have made it sexier.”

made the jump to animation. ABC produced three primetime specials:

(1982).  A live-action feature film has been in development at Fox since 2010.

began online in 1995 as a wry commentary on the original’s earnest approach: Readers could submit their own (often morbid) captions to substitute Keane’s own. After 500 submissions, webmaster Greg Galcik got a cease-and-desist letter from King Features Syndicate, which co-owns and distributes the strip, and discontinued the parody in 1999.

was the alt-rock of the comics pages, a dive into the surreal world of eraser-headed Zippy and his trippy adventures. When Griffith decided to have Zippy inhabit

world, he called Keane and solicited his collaboration. Griffith drew several daily strips in 1994 featuring Zippy interacting with the

cast, which Keane would then finish by illustrating his own characters. “Life is a circus, Zippy!” Billy admonished him. “It can be a circus of pain or a circus of delight!” The following year, Billy had a dream about Zippy—with Griffith contributing art—in the

In 2013, city officials in Keane\'s adopted hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona unveiled a tribute to one of their most famous residents. A nine-foot-tall statue of Keane with some of

kids riding piggyback went up at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. Keane, who died in 2011, had made several donations to town projects in Scottsdale and nearby Paradise Valley. When it came time to raise the estimated $75,000 cost of the tribute, donors quickly contributed $85,000.

may be dismissed by some as unchallenging, Keane possessed a very sharp and biting wit. Interviewed by journalist Jud Hurd, Keane heard himself described as an “unqualified success” and mused, “Think what I could do if I was qualified.”  

comic strip by famed cartoonist Charles Schulz could sell for as much as $30,000 at auction, according to estimates from Swann Auction Galleries. The New York City-based auction house will be selling this rare, signed comic strip at its Illustration Art sale on June 5.

The comic strip, which features characters Schroeder, Lucy, and Frieda, was originally published in 1970. Prior to the auction house acquiring the illustration, Schulz gave it to conductor Maurice Peress, who used it in a visual exhibition that accompanied the Kansas City Philharmonic\'s 1978 Beethoven Festival.

fans will want to pay close attention to the ninth panel, which contains Schulz\'s signature. It\'s also inscribed with a message at the top reading, "Bill—Please save this one for me—Sparky." It\'s unclear who Bill might be, but Sparky was Schulz\'s nickname.

comic strips will also be up for grabs. A three-panel strip featuring Snoopy is expected to sell for as much as $12,000, while a longer strip showing Charlie Brown playing baseball as Snoopy begs for food could go for $25,000.

Other highlights of the auction include works by illustrator Edward Gorey, an original Russell H. Tandy cover illustration for a Nancy Drew novel, and various cover designs for

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