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42-541: The stories are drawn from the comic books Tales from the Crypt , The Vault of Horror , The Haunt of Fear , Crime SuspenStories and Shock SuspenStories . The adaptation was not credited in the original publications but was probably by Al Feldstein , the editor of the books. The artists were such EC stalwarts as Johnny Craig , Jack Davis , George Evans , Graham Ingels , Jack Kamen and Joe Orlando . The cover painting by Frank Frazetta , himself an EC alumnus,

84-434: A car accident. Jean needs a blood transfusion but no one at the scene is a match until a mysterious stranger appears and volunteers his help. Shortly afterwards, bodies begin turning up in town—drained of their blood. (The Crypt-Keeper) The owners of a failing amusement park find themselves in luck when a newcomer agrees to sell them the rights to an amazing new rollercoaster. They decide to save on further costs by not testing

126-493: A cover drawn by Kyle Baker . All three of EC Comics' horror hosts (the GhouLunatics) appear in the issue, drawn by Rick Parker . Contributors to subsequent issues included brothers Joe R. Lansdale and John L. Lansdale, Don McGregor , husband and wife team James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook , Mort Todd , and Chris Noeth. The new version had a smaller digest size with a graphic novel style bookbinding . In all,

168-487: A dismembered woman's head on its cover. The exchange between Gaines and Kefauver led to a front-page story in The New York Times the following day. Chief Counsel Herbert Beaser asked: "Then you think a child cannot in any way, shape, or manner, be hurt by anything that the child reads or sees?" William Gaines responded: "I do not believe so." Beaser: "There would be no limit, actually, to what you'd put in

210-472: A handful of single issues in color from 1990 to 1991. Between 1992 and 1999, Cochran and Gemstone Publishing reprinted the full 30 individual issues. This complete run was later rebound, with covers included, in a series of six softcover EC Annuals . In 2007, Cochran and Gemstone began to publish hardcover, re-colored volumes of Tales from the Crypt as part of the EC Archives series. Three volumes (of

252-532: A highly restrictive Comics Code , EC Comics publisher Bill Gaines cancelled Tales from the Crypt and its two companion horror titles. Tales from the Crypt has been reprinted on numerous occasions. Ballantine Books reprinted selected stories in a series of paperback anthologies from 1964 to 1966. The magazine was fully collected in a series of five black-and-white hardbacks by publisher Russ Cochran as part of The Complete EC Library in 1979. Cochran (in association with Gladstone Publishing and solo) reprinted

294-421: A horror story about a ghoul , and when he wakes up, he finds he has a strange new taste in food. (The Vault-Keeper) Ralph wants to give his fragile, sickly wife such a fright that it will cause her fatal heart failure, and he can inherit her money, the money she gained when they murdered her wealthy old uncle together. He decides that making her uncle "reappear" will be just the shock to kill her, not knowing that

336-403: A long drive. While driving, Carl falls asleep at the wheel and crashes the car. You wake up, glad to have survived. But why does everyone you meet run away from you? (The Crypt-Keeper) Tony decides to pay his "last respects" to his newly deceased wife but finds himself trapped in the crypt with her body. He is forced to turn to a shocking method of survival. (The Old Witch) A man skeptical about

378-408: A man on a sea crossing, forced to take a cabin that is supposedly cursed: everyone who slept in it has either gone crazy or mysteriously left the ship. (The Crypt-Keeper) Four wealthy, arrogant college students come to bitterly regret playing around with a book of voodoo spells. (No host) Janet is worried that her workaholic brother is ruining his health, so she calls in the family doctor to give him

420-522: A parting shot is determined to marry John's wife wearing the same tuxedo that John wore at the wedding. Unfortunately, this is what John was buried in, and now Larry has to dig up the body to retrieve it. (The Old Witch) Bill is in love with Laura, but Laura loves only Jim. Bill kills Jim and decides he must kill Laura because she knows about the murder. What Bill does not know is that when Jim promised to always protect Laura, he really meant it. (The Crypt-Keeper) Jean and her lover, Freddie, are involved in

462-399: A professor who claims to be able to revive him after his death. The prisoner is executed in the electric chair, and the professor brings him back to life. He shoots the professor and goes to take his revenge on the judge who sentenced him to death but finds that he should not have been so hasty. (The Crypt-Keeper) A couple on their honeymoon come across a deserted amusement park. Only one ride

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504-472: A projected five) were published before Gemstone's financial troubles left the project in limbo. The series was revived by Dark Horse Comics , which published the last two volumes in 2013 and 2014. These were later republished as over-sized trade paperbacks from 2021 to 2025. Papercutz began running a new series of original Tales from the Crypt comics in 2007. The first issue was published in June 2007 with

546-404: A reviving tonic. When he begins going through a monstrous transformation, it is a race against time to find out what was in the tonic. (No host) Theodore Warren goes into a trance and draws the face of a terrified-looking man. He is shocked but not as much as when he meets the man in real life—a man who is carving Warren's own name into a tombstone. (No host) A prisoner on death row is visited by

588-404: A skeleton tied to the helm. (The Crypt-Keeper) Ida and Jim are plotting to murder Ida's stingy, drunken husband so they can be together. He proves a little harder to kill than they would like. (No host) The young sub-curator of a museum is angry that his own invention is being ignored in favor of a new exhibit: the frozen body of a Neanderthal . The enraged man decides to get even by thawing out

630-485: Is his own involvement? (No host) A woman becomes mute with shock after witnessing a doctor murdering his wife. He commits the witness to an insane asylum but then decides he must kill her before she regains her voice. (No host) A couple whose plane went down over the Bermuda Triangle are trapped on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. They think they are in luck when they come across a ship; until they find

672-494: Is open, and as they discover, the owner is a little too obsessed with making sure that his "dummies" look perfectly real. (No host) A fraternity boy is determined to terrify the new pledges going through a hazing ritual and makes them go to the top floor of an old house rumoured to be haunted. He gets his comeuppance when the boys disappear and he is sent to find them. Reprinted from The Haunt of Fear #15 (1) (May/Jun 1950). (No host) Larry kills his love rival, John, and as

714-588: Is original to this collection. This comics -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tales from the Crypt (comics) Tales from the Crypt is an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series that was published by EC Comics from 1950 to 1955 created by Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein . The magazine began in March 1947 as International Comics . It continued under this title for five issues before becoming International Crime Patrol (#6) and Crime Patrol (#7–16). It

756-567: The Old Witch (of The Haunt of Fear ). The professional rivalry among these three GhouLunatics was often played for comedic effect in the letter column . The Crypt-Keeper was introduced in Crime Patrol #15, and he continued with the magazine through its rebrandings. The character began as a frightening presence in the early issues, shown as a sinister hermit sitting framed in the lightless crypt's half-open door, his face all but hidden by

798-672: The Tales from the Crypt cover remained censored. "Kamen's Kalamity" (#31) starred many members of the EC staff, including Gaines, Feldstein, and the story's artist, Kamen. Ingels, Davis, and Craig also made cameo appearances in the story in single panels which they drew themselves. As with the other EC comics edited by Feldstein, the stories in this comic were primarily based on Gaines using existing horror stories and films to develop "springboards" from which he and Feldstein could launch new stories. Specific story influences that have been identified include

840-421: The 1972 film and voiced by John Kassir in the 1989 television series. Freddy has managed to cheat death for many decades by having his old friend, a surgeon, perform transplants on him to replace his organs with those from a younger man. But he has to steal them from corpses, and now he is finding he has less and less time before he needs another operation. (The Crypt-Keeper) A public executioner decides to take

882-503: The Cat's Away" ( The Vault of Horror #34) conducts a tour of his house above and below ground. "Horror Beneath the Streets" ( The Haunt of Fear #17) tells how he and his fellow GhouLunatics got their EC publishing contracts. The Crypt-Keeper also served as the host of EC's 3-D comic book, Three Dimensional Tales from the Crypt of Terror (1954). He was portrayed by Ralph Richardson in

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924-515: The Crypt traces its origin to a Feldstein story, "Return from the Grave!", in EC's Crime Patrol #15 (December 1949/January 1950) with the Crypt-Keeper making his debut as teller of the tale. Issue #16 featured more horror tales than crime stories, and, with issue #17, the title changed from Crime Patrol to The Crypt of Terror . Due to an attempt to save money on second-class postage permits,

966-408: The Crypt was popular, but in the late 1940s and early 1950s comic books came under attack from parents, clergymen, schoolteachers, and others who believed the magazines contributed to illiteracy and juvenile delinquency . In April and June 1954, highly publicized congressional subcommittee hearings on the effects of comic books upon children left the industry shaken. With the subsequent imposition of

1008-485: The art for the Crypt-Keeper's stories with #24 (June/July 1951) and continued as the title's lead artist for the rest of the run. Feldstein devised the Crypt-Keeper's origin story, "Lower Berth!" (#33), which was illustrated by Davis. Issue #38 was one of two covers from EC's horror comics censored prior to publication. While The Vault of Horror cover for issue #32 was restored in Russ Cochran's EC Library reprints,

1050-439: The body a little further over so that the neck of the body could be seen to be bloody." Kefauver (doubtful): "You've got blood coming out of her mouth." Gaines: "A little." What none of the senators knew was that Gaines had already cleaned up the cover of this issue. Artist Johnny Craig 's first draft included those very elements that Gaines had said were in "bad taste" and had him clean it up before publication. Because of

1092-464: The body and leaving it to decompose in the sun, but he does not think to check that the caveman is really dead. (No host) Daniel Richards is staying in Haiti with his wealthy plantation-owner friend. He ignores instructions not to spy on a native voodoo ritual but then notices something very interesting about the photo he took of the event. (No host) A you-are-the-main-character story in which you are

1134-510: The corpse is already ahead of him. (The Crypt-Keeper) A man who loves to collect hunting "trophies" discovers that it is not just animals that can be hunted. (The Crypt-Keeper) United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency The United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency was established by the United States Senate in 1953 to investigate the problem of juvenile delinquency . The subcommittee

1176-451: The direction of a man who may be able to help by giving Harry a hearing transplant from a bat. (The Crypt-Keeper) Two old friends are doctors who ca not agree whether illness is physical or just in the mind. When one of them is close to death, the other is convinced he can save his old friend through hypnosis, a technique so successful it keeps the patient's heart beating even after his death. (The Old Witch) Duncan falls asleep while reading

1218-438: The double curtain of his long white hair. 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. Occasionally, the Crypt-Keeper would appear as a character as well, often providing the reader a glimpse of his life. "The Lower Berth" ( Tales from the Crypt #33) gives an account of the circumstances surrounding his birth. "While

1260-536: The following: Anecdotes from Bennett Cerf 's Try and Stop Me were sources for stories, including "House of Horror" (#21), "Death Suited Him!" (#21), and "Death's Turn!" (#22). After their unauthorized adaptation of one of Ray Bradbury 's stories in another magazine, Bradbury contacted EC about their plagiarism of his work. They reached an agreement for EC to do authorized versions of Bradbury's short fiction. These official adaptations include: Although EC's horror stable consisted of three separate magazines, there

1302-610: The law into his own hands. (No host) A private detective finds himself with a new case to solve when he and his wife rent a hotel room and find an unidentifiable body hidden inside. (No host) Convinced that he became a werewolf after a mysterious incident during a trip to Europe, Ralph goes to visit his old friend George for help. However, with the full moon rising, he is closer to the truth than he knows. (No host) A surgeon, furious that his fiancee has left him to marry an artistically gifted man, decides to take his revenge by cutting off his love rival's hand. The artist commits suicide, but

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1344-451: The magazines?" Gaines: "Only within the bounds of good taste." Sen. Kefauver: "Here is your May issue. This seems to be a man with a bloody ax holding a woman's head up which has been severed from her body. Do you think that's in good taste?" Gaines: "Yes sir, I do — for the cover of a horror comic. A cover in bad taste, for example, might be defined as holding her head a little higher so that blood could be seen dripping from it and moving

1386-457: The numbering did not change with the title and continued as The Crypt of Terror for the next two issues. Tales from the Crypt debuted with issue #20 (October/November 1950) and continued to run for a total of 27 issues (excluding the initial three, #17–19, published as The Crypt of Terror ) before ceasing publication with issue #46 (February/March 1955). Along with its sister titles, The Haunt of Fear and The Vault of Horror , Tales from

1428-429: The ride for safety, but then when it opens, they are offered the first turn on the new attraction. (The Old Witch) On New Year's Eve, Robert Arnold discovers a book in the attic that tells of a curse on his family: every 50 years, the oldest of the clan will die on New Year's Eve. Robert realizes he is the oldest living Arnold, but he does not believe in the curse. (The Vault-Keeper) You and your friend, Carl, are on

1470-738: The run consisted of 13 issues, including nine graphic novels, with the last issue being published in September 2010. Super Genius Comics relaunched Tales from the Crypt for two issues in November 2016 and March 2017. Early covers were created by Al Feldstein, Johnny Craig , and Wally Wood , with the remaining covers (1952–55) by Jack Davis . The contributing interior artists were Feldstein, Craig, Wood, Davis, George Evans , Jack Kamen , Graham Ingels , Harvey Kurtzman , Al Williamson , Joe Orlando , Reed Crandall , Bernard Krigstein , Will Elder , Fred Peters, and Howard Larsen. Davis took over

1512-400: The severed hand appears to have taken on a life of its own. (The Crypt-Keeper) A morgue attendant begins having visions of death which he links to the "Living Corpse", a performance artist who feigns death during his act. (No host) Marian Mander is convinced she is going insane when she begins to see and hear strange things after her son's death. Her husband is worried about her, but how deep

1554-572: The subsequent imposition of a highly restrictive Comics Code . Tales from the Crypt has since been reprinted in single issues and collected volumes. It has spawned various movies and television series, including a 1972 film and a television series that aired on HBO from 1989 to 1996. The title was revived for a second volume by Papercutz (2007–2010) and for a third by Super Genius Comics (2016–2017) In 1950, EC Comics publisher Bill Gaines and his editor, Al Feldstein , began experimenting with horror tales in their crime titles. Tales from

1596-504: The supernatural is talked into attending a seance . He is sure he can trick the medium into proving herself a fake by asking her to channel the spirit of his wife who is still alive. Or is she? (The Crypt-Keeper) Jay and Bill, visitors to Haiti, are determined to witness a voodoo ritual. But when the locals catch them spying, it is not long before they start seeing strange dolls everywhere. (The Vault-Keeper) Harry loses his hearing and with it his job and his wife. An old friend points him in

1638-548: Was a unit of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and was created by a motion of Senator Robert Hendrickson , a Republican from New Jersey . Its initial budget was $ 44,000. The first members of the subcommittee consisted of Senator Hendrickson, and Senators Estes Kefauver ( Democrat from Tennessee ), Thomas C. Hennings, Jr. (Democrat from Missouri ), and William Langer (Republican from North Dakota ). Senator Hendrickson

1680-567: Was initially the chair of the committee but was later replaced as chair by Senator Kefauver . The public hearings took place on April 21, 22, and June 4, 1954, in New York. They focused on particularly graphic "crime and horror" comic books of the day, and their potential impact on juvenile delinquency. When publisher William Gaines contended that he sold only comic books of good taste, Kefauver entered into evidence one of Gaines' comics ( Crime SuspenStories #22 [April-May 1954]), which showed

1722-510: Was little beyond their titles to distinguish them from one another. Each magazine had its own host, known as a GhouLunatic. The Crypt-Keeper was the primary host of Tales from the Crypt . Hosting duties for any one magazine were typically shared with the hosts of the other two. For example, a single issue of Tales from the Crypt would contain two stories told by the Crypt-Keeper, one by the Vault-Keeper (of The Vault of Horror ) and one by

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1764-560: Was retitled The Crypt of Terror with issue #17 (April/May 1950). Two more issues were published under this title before it was rebranded as Tales from the Crypt for issue #20 (October/November 1950). The comic bore this title for 27 issues until being discontinued after issue #46 (February/March 1955). Along with The Haunt of Fear and The Vault of Horror , it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. Publication ceased, however, after horror and crime comics came under scrutiny for an alleged link to juvenile delinquency and

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