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The Crypt Keeper.

The Crypt Keeper is a fictional host from the comedic horror series Tales from the Crypt as well as the 1990s horror show of the same name, produced by HBO and later aired in syndication. This character is somewhat similar to the host of The Twilight Zone, in that he cleverly sets up the premise of the episode's story, and then after the story, makes closing remarks in a clever fashion. In the Crypt Keeper's case, these were usually in particularly poor taste, and near the same level of humor as puns.

The television incarnation of the Crypt Keeper had the appearance of a ghoulish skeleton with bits of decaying flesh hanging off the bones, long, strite eyes, and a high pitched, cackling laugh. The Crypt Keeper was not actually played by a human, but was a sort of puppet voiced by John Kassir. According to episode twenty of season two, "Lower Berth", the Crypt Keeper was conceived by runaway travelling sideshow performers, a two-faced elephant man and a cursed, 4,000 year old mummy.^[1] Based on visual references at the beginning of every episode, the Crypt Keeper resided in the crypt of a castle in rural Europe.

Before 1954 the Crypt Keeper (along with the similarly conceived Vault Keeper and the Old Witch) served as narrator for many horror comics published by EC Comics, until the Comics Code put a stop to it in 1954. See EC Comics for more information.

In 1972, the Crypt Keeper starred in Tales from the Crypt, an anthology horror film, portrayed by Ralph Richardson. This incarnation had a more human appearance. He was also in the three spin-off films for the television series Demon Knight, Bordello of Blood and Ritual.

For 1996 and 1997, he was used as the icon for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Orlando, but was dropped after he faded from popularity. Since 2000, HHN has used its own original mascots.

The Crypt Keeper made a brief appearance in the 1995 film Casper, when Dr. Harvey was in the bathroom changing appearances.

Annually at the Orlando Universal Studios theme park since 1990, the Halloween Horror Nights (originally "fright nights") have been a staple of the park's attractions, and is to date one of the biggest halloween events in the United States. Each year (excluding the 1994 and 2004 years) have had "hosts" or iconic characters (created for the most part by the Park's design teams)for the event. In the 1995 and 1996 years, the Cryptkeeper was the host of the events, in coinciding existence of the HBO television show