Tales From The Crypt hits streaming for the first time

Shudder will be adding all 7 seasons in May

Good news, boils and ghouls: As of May 1, all seven seasons of Tales from the Crypt will finally be available for streaming. Horror-themed streaming service Shudder will be hosting the series, which has been locked in a licensing dungeon for many years.

Tales from the Crypt Holdings is controlled by Dark Castle Entertainment, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Walter Hill; this is the first time the entity has granted streaming rights. Cryptkeeper voice actor John Kassir announced the drop via a new trailer at the Overlook Film Festival in New Orleans.

Tales from the Crypt is based on classic EC Comics titles, including both its namesake and titles like Vault of Horror, Shock SuspenStories, and Haunt of Fear. Those comics are old, but they are grisly, with cover images of ax murderers and ghouls promising nightmares within. These comics, which provided the creative backbone of the show, are regularly rereleased in trade due to their continued popularity. EC Comics publisher William Gaines was ultimately forced to shutter this once-thriving horror line in the late 1950s after lengthy public obscenity trials. Accused of corrupting the youth with these bloody tales, EC Comics came to a close. Gaines went on to found Mad Magazine, and horror comics continued via publishers such as Warren, with titles Creepy and Eerie.

Viewers not familiar with Tales from the Crypt will delight in the numerous celebrity guest appearances, with episodes featuring a mix of beloved character actors (Amanda Plummer, Carol Kane, Tim Curry, Catherine O'Hara) and bona fide celebrities (Brad Pitt, Whoopi Goldberg, Demi Moore). The series included episodes directed by famous actors like Tom Hanks, Michael J. Fox, Bob Hoskins, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, alongside horror veterans such as directors Tobe Hooper and Tom Holland.

Of course, the most iconic Tales from the Crypt performance will always be voice actor John Kassir's giddy shriek, punctuating Danny Elfman's delightfully creepy score. Ultimately, two feature films came from the show, the very good Demon Knight starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Billy Zane, and Bordello of Blood, which we do not talk about. Believe it or not, there was also eventually an animated series called Tales from the Cryptkeeper that ran for three seasons, the first two on ABC and the third on CBS.

Where to begin with Tales from the Crypt? Try season 2's "Cutting Cards," in which two obsessive gamblers (Lance Henriksen and Kevin Tighe) continually escalate their game to deadly proportions. Or season 3's "Carrion Death," in which unrepentant criminal Earl Raymond Diggs (Kyle MacLachlan) finds himself stranded in the desert, handcuffed to the corpse of the state trooper who arrested him (George DelHoyo). Or try season 4's "The New Arrival," in which a radio child psychologist (David Warner) goes to the home of a caller (Zelda Rubinstein) and encounters a disturbing, isolated mother/daughter relationship.

If you binge the series and find yourself hungry for more, Shudder has a number of over-the-top camp horror classics currently available. Some of them star Tales from the Crypt alum; for instance, Dick Miller appears in Demon Knight, and you can catch him on Shudder in Roger Corman's delightfully horrifying Bucket of Blood. If you're in the mood for more modern fare, check out the Shudder exclusive Scare Me, another film unaffiliated with the show but made in much the same spirit of gory fun.

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