''Tales from the Crypt'' is an American radio series spun off from the
HBO series of the same name based on the 1950s
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-195 ...
, which ran for eight episodes in 2000.
History
In 2000, several ''Tales from the Crypt'' "radio shows" were recorded for
Seeing Ear Theatre, an online subsidiary of
The Sci-Fi Channel
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
, and were offered free as streaming
RealAudio
RealAudio, or also spelled as Real Audio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fid ...
files on their website,
as well as for sale on
Audible.com
Audible is an American online audiobook and podcast service that allows users to purchase and stream audiobooks and other forms of spoken word content. This content can be purchased individually or under a subscription model where the user receiv ...
. Featuring most of the same producers from the
HBO series and
John Kassir
John Kassir (born October 24, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as the voice of the Cryptkeeper in HBO's ''Tales from the Crypt'' franchise. He is also known for his role as Ralph in the off-Broadway show ''Reef ...
reprising the role of The Cryptkeeper, 13 episodes were planned (with forthcoming episodes listed as "TBA"), but ultimately only 8 stories were recorded.
Seven of the eight shows were released on
CD in 2002 by
Highbridge Audio
Recorded Books is an audiobook imprint of RBMedia, a publishing company with operations in countries globally. Recorded Books was formerly an independent audiobook company before being purchased and re-organized under RBMedia, where it is now an ...
("This Trick'll Kill You" was omitted from the CD set
[). The Sci-Fi Channel removed the Seeing Ear Theatre section of their website in 2007][ and Seeing Ear Theatre shows are no longer available from Audible.com, but surreptitiously recorded copies of all of the episodes have surfaced on various filesharing sites.
At the 2006 ]San Diego Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
''Crypt'' reunion panel, President of Tales from the Crypt Holdings Jack Wohl revealed plans to record further episodes for either Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings.
Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...
or XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...
,
Theme song
The series utilized the same theme music by Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...
that opened each episode of the HBO series, but it now included lyrics by Jack Wohl which were sung at the opening of each episode by the Cryptkeeper (John Kassir
John Kassir (born October 24, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as the voice of the Cryptkeeper in HBO's ''Tales from the Crypt'' franchise. He is also known for his role as Ralph in the off-Broadway show ''Reef ...
):
''Welcome fiends to creepy scenes of eeriness and gore''
''Unearthly moans from rattling bones behind each creaking door''
''It's more than boo that'll frighten you; I long to hear your cries''
''You won't survive the tale that I've so ghoulishly devised''
''Dark and haunted, these undaunted Tales from the Crypt!''
Episodes
Additional credits
Associate Producer: Laurissa James
Sound Design: John Colucci
Series Story Editor: Tony Daniel
Tony S. Daniel, is an American comic book writer and artist, known for his work on various books for DC Comics, including ''Teen Titans'', '' Flash: The Fastest Man Alive'', and ''Batman''and ''Deathstroke'' and '' Nocterra'' as well as many othe ...
Live Foley SFX by Sue Zizza and David Shinn
Sound Engineers: Jane Pipik and Miles B. Smith
"Tales From The Crypt" series theme composed by Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...
Lyrics by Jack Wohl
Arrangement of series theme and original score by Ohad Talmor
References
American radio dramas
2000s American radio programs
{{Tales from the Crypt