The CryptKeeper

The CryptKeeper

The CryptKeeper (or Crypt-Keeper) is the on-camera puppet host of Tales From the Crypt.  He is voiced by actor Johnny Kassir and performed by puppeteer Van Snowden.

Appearance

The CryptKeeper is shown to be a short, decaying man with long hair who usually wears a cloak.

History

The Crypt-Keeper was the primary host of Tales from the Crypt. He was introduced to the public in Crime Patrol #15,

Crime Patrol 15

and he continued with that magazine through its changes in title and format. He was a frightening presence in those early issues, a sinister hermit sitting framed in the lightless crypt's half-open door, his face all but hidden by the double curtain of his long white hair. But he soon evolved into a more comedic horror host, delivering an irreverent and pun-filled commentary to lighten the horrific tone of the stories he introduced.

Proud parents of the CryptKeeper

As it was revealed in the episode Lower Berth,

Lower Berth

the CryptKeeper was the product of Enoch, a two-faced sideshow freak,

and Myrana a 4,000 year old mummy.

In the series, the CryptKeeper would appear in the opening segment and filled the role of storyteller. 

Later, he would return for the closing segment to offer sardonic commentary or to provide a cynical moral.

Tales From the Crypt Intro

    One of the running gags of Tales From The Crypt is that the CryptKeeper would make horror-themed references and puns such as addressing the audience as "boils and ghouls" instead of boys and girls. 

Trivia

• In the closing segment of the episode "Oil's Well That Ends Well", the CryptKeeper remarked that he was partial to one of the actors in the episode.  The actor to which he is referring is in fact Johnny Kassir; the man who supplied the CryptKeeper's own voice.
• The CryptKeeper made a cameo appearance in Casper (1995). He was briefly seen in the Bathroom Mirror, where 4 cameo appearances were made.

Gallery