Tales from the Crypt, sometimes referred to as HBO’s Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series created by William Gaines and Steven Dodd. The show ran for seven seasons on HBO from June 10, 1989, to July 19, 1996, spanning a total of 93 episodes. Its title is derived from the 1950s EC Comics series of the same name, originally published by William Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein. However, the series adapted not only stories from Tales from the Crypt but also from other EC Comics titles, including The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror, Crime SuspenStories, Shock SuspenStories, and Two-Fisted Tales.

The show was hosted by the Cryptkeeper, a wisecracking, animatronic corpse brought to life by multiple puppeteers and voiced by John Kassir. The executive production team featured notable filmmakers Richard Donner, David Giler, Walter Hill, Joel Silver, and Robert Zemeckis.

As an HBO original, Tales from the Crypt was not subject to the censorship restrictions of network television. This allowed the series to push boundaries with explicit content, including graphic violence, strong language, sexual themes, and nudity—elements rarely seen on television at the time. When reruns aired on basic cable, broadcast syndication, and on networks like Fox and CBS in the late 1990s, episodes were edited to comply with network standards. While the show was primarily produced in the United States, its final season was filmed in the United Kingdom, leading to episodes centered around British characters and settings.