HBO’s anthology horror series “Tales from the Crypt” was gory, violent, full of sex and nudity, and was absolutely, 100%, most certainly NOT for kids. From stories of killer Santas to cannibalism, deals with the devil to human experimentation, “Tales from the Crypt” was a wonderful horror offering that paid tribute to the old EC Comics that teenage hid from their parents and instead converted them to full on adult nightmares. However, apparently Ace Novelty never got that message and created a 12″ Crypt Keeper doll and specifically marketed it to kids, despite the evil storyteller’s ghoulish visage.
Now, the toy would make more sense if they’d designed it off the ABC cartoon show “Tales from the Cryptkeeper”. That show was specifically aimed at kids, even though it was also produced by the same team as the adult-aimed program. I guess they realized that there was something incredibly appealing about the title for the younger generation. Maybe parents didn’t care if their kids watched it? Maybe it was so big at the time that the Crypt Keeper became a cultural icon that you simply knew even if you’d never seen him?
Regardless, Ace Novelty definitely didn’t model their toy after the cartoon as you can see by the design. The cartoon was much more “smooth” and didn’t resemble a desiccated body so much as a ghoulish specter, almost like Slimer. But Ace’s toy definitely had the details of the monster we all know and love so dearly, complete with a tuxedo that would’ve rivaled Dead Silence‘s Billy the Puppet.
Check out the commercial below and let us know if you ever owned one of these fine toys!
