Character

The Crypt Keeper

The Crypt Keeper in Tales from the Crypt (1989), played by John Kassir.

A rotting, cackling corpse who lives in a crumbling crypt full of props and gags, the Crypt Keeper greets viewers directly, introduces each night's grisly tale with a pun-laden monologue, and clearly relishes every drop of blood about to be spilled. He's less a character in the stories than the ghoulish showman running the whole ghastly theater.

John Kassir's voice work is the real special effect — a gleeful, rasping cackle that turns terrible puns into something genuinely delightful rather than groan-worthy. The animatronics let him mug and leer shamelessly, and that unashamed love of the macabre sets the tone for every episode before a single frame of story begins.

Played by

Appears in

Tales from the Crypt1989