Hello, boils and ghouls. The Crypt Keeper is back this Halloween!
AMC has announced that the Tales from the Crypt icon will serve as the official host of FearFest 2026, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this October. John Kassir, who provided the Crypt Keeper’s unmistakable voice throughout the original HBO series, is returning to the role for newly produced segments that will air during the month-long horror event.
The new material marks the first time in 30 years that the Crypt Keeper has appeared in newly produced content. AMC recruited The Walking Dead executive producer and special effects artist Greg Nicotero (Creepshow) to bring the character back to life, with Nicotero and his KNB EFX team recreating the original puppet designed by Kevin Yagher. Nicotero also directed the new segments featuring the character.
“What a great honor and privilege to re-create this iconic character and get a chance to revisit some of his clever quips and puns with John Kassir again reprising his role,” Nicotero said in announcing the project.
The Crypt Keeper became one of horror television’s most recognizable characters as the host of HBO’s Tales from the Crypt, which ran for seven seasons between 1989 and 1996. Based on the notorious EC Comics series, the anthology paired gruesome morality tales with a dark sense of humor, while the Crypt Keeper opened and closed episodes with an endless supply of macabre jokes and puns. Kassir voiced the character for the entirety of the series and in several subsequent Tales from the Crypt projects.
His return is tied to the 30th anniversary of FearFest, AMC’s annual Halloween programming event. This year’s celebration begins October 1 and will feature more than 650 hours of horror programming across AMC and AMC+, including movies, franchise marathons, series and specials. The Crypt Keeper will appear throughout the event as its official host.
The anniversary also puts Tales from the Crypt itself back in the spotlight. AMC will feature marathons of the series during FearFest, while all seven seasons are now available to stream on AMC+ and Shudder.
FearFest 2026 begins Thursday, October 1 and runs throughout October.
In addition to marathons of Tales from the Crypt, FearFest programming highlights include seasonal favorites and nostalgic franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Final Destination, Insidious and the Stephen King library including It (2017), IT the mini-series, The Shining, Misery and Christine, as well as the AMC premiere of The Terror: Devil In Silver, AMC+’s new supernatural thriller YAGA, starring Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix Films, Humans), Noah Reid (Schitt’s Creek, The Vampire Lestat) and Hudson Williams (Heated Rivalry), plus themed marathons, such as “Fear the 80s” (Silver Bullet, Christine, Poltergeist, etc.), “Creature Feature” (Tremors, Lake Placid, Pet Sematary, etc.) and more.
AMC FearFest 2026 Full Schedule
Thu, October 1
FearFest Halloween Kickoff Marathon:
11am: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
1pm: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
3pm: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
5pm: Halloween II (1981)
7pm: Halloween (1978)
9pm: TNA iMPACT!
11pm: Tales from the Crypt Marathon
Fri, October 2
AMC Celebrates Insidious Marathon:
8pm: Insidious (15th Anniversary)
10:30pm: Insidious: Chapter 2
1am: Insidious: Chapter 3
Sat, October 3
Stephen King Marathon:
6:30am: Graveyard Shift
8:30am: Pet Sematary
10:30am: Silver Bullet
12:30pm: Stephen King’s It Part 1
2:45pm: Stephen King’s It Part 2
5pm: Christine
7pm: It (2017)
10pm: Carrie (2013)
12:15am: Misery
Sun, October 4
Slasher Sunday:
12:15pm: Halloween (2007)
2:45pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
5pm: Friday the 13th (1980)
7pm: Halloween II (1981)
9pm: The Terror: Devil In Silver Episode 103
Mon, October 5
Final Destination Marathon:
8pm: Final Destination (2000)
10pm: Final Destination 2
12am: The Final Destination (2009)
Tue, October 6
5:45pm: Thir13een Ghosts
7:45pm: Ghost Ship
9:45pm: Jeepers Creepers
Wed, October 7
Chucky Marathon:
3pm: Child’s Play 3
5pm: Child’s Play 2
7pm: Child’s Play (1988)
9pm: Bride of Chucky
11pm: Seed of Chucky
1am: Curse of Chucky
3am: Cult of Chucky
Thu, October 8
4:30pm: Stephen King’s It Part 1
6:45pm: Stephen King’s It Part 2
9pm: TNA iMPACT!
11pm: Carrie (2013)
Fri, October 9
Run Michael Run Marathon:
1pm: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
3pm: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
5pm: Halloween II (1981)
7pm: Halloween (1978)
9pm: Halloween (2007)
11:30pm: Halloween II (2009)
Sat, October 10
Creature Feature:
11am: Leprechaun
1pm: Gremlins
3:30pm: The Fly
5:30pm: The Thing
8pm: Tremors
10pm: Lake Placid
12am: Cujo
Sun, October 11
Stephen King Marathon:
7am: Silver Bullet
9am: Children of the Corn
11:15am: Misery
1:45pm: Christine
3:45pm: Carrie
6pm: It (2017)
9pm: The Terror: Devil In Silver Episode104
Mon, October 12
Nightmare on Elm Street Marathon:
11am: A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
1pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
3:15pm: Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
5:45pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
8pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
10:15pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
12:15am: A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
2:15am: Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
Tue, October 13
5:30pm: House of Wax
8pm: Thir13en Ghosts
10pm: Ghost Ship
Wed, October 14
6pm: Halloween (1978)
8pm: Christine
10pm: It (2017)
Thu, October 15
4pm: Halloween II (2009)
6:30pm: Halloween (2007)
9pm: TNA iMPACT!
11pm: Ghost Ship
Fri, October 16
Friday the 13th Marathon:
10am: Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
12pm: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
2pm: Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
4pm: Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
6pm: Friday the 13th (1980)
8pm: Friday the 13th Part 2
10pm: Friday the 13th Part III
Sat, October 17
Final Destination Double Feature
7pm: Final Destination (2000)
9pm: Final Destination 2
Sun, October 18
Freddy vs Jason Marathon
6:15am: Friday the 13th Part III
8:15am: Friday the 13th (1980)
10:15am: Friday the 13th Part 2
12:15pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
2:30pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
4:30pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
6:45pm: Freddy vs Jason
9pm: The Terror: Devil in Silver Episode105
Mon, October 19
5pm: From Dusk Till Dawn
7pm: Tremors
9pm: Jeepers Creepers
Tue, October 20
6pm: Friday the 13th (2009)
8pm: Halloween (2007)
10:30pm: Halloween II (2009)
Wed, October 21
Insidious Marathon
7pm: Insidious
9:30pm: Insidious: Chapter 2
12am: Insidious: Chapter 3
Thu, October 22
5pm: Tremors
7pm: Lake Placid
9pm: TNA iMPACT!
11pm: Final Destination (2000)
Fri, October 23
5:45pm: Carrie
8pm: It (2017)
11pm: Silver Bullet
Sat, October 24
Fear the 80’s
7:30am: The Return of the Living Dead
9:30am: Cujo
11:30am: The Fly
1:30pm: Fright Night
4pm: The Lost Boys
6pm: Christine
8pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
10:15pm: Friday the 13th (1980)
12:15am: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Sun, October 25
Halloween Marathon
10:30am: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
12:30pm: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
2:30pm: Halloween (2007)
5pm: Halloween II (1981)
7pm: Halloween (1978)
9pm: The Terror: Devil In Silver Episode 106
Mon, October 26
Friday the 13th Marathon:
9am: Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
11am: Friday the 13th : A New Beginning
1pm: Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
3pm: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
5pm: Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
7pm: Friday the 13th (2009)
9pm: Friday the 13th (1980)
11pm: Friday the 13th Part 2
1am: Freddy vs. Jason
3:15am: Friday the 13th Part III
Tue, October 27
Nightmare on Elm Street Marathon:
4:45pm: Freddy vs. Jason
7pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
9:15pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
11:15pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
1:30am: A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
Wed, October 28
Final Destination Marathon:
6pm: Final Destination (2000)
8pm: Final Destination 2
10pm: The Final Destination (2009)
Thu, October 29
6pm: It (2017)
9pm: TNA iMPACT!
11pm: Thir13en Ghosts
Fri, October 30
Halloween on Halloween Marathon:
4:30am: Halloween (1978)
6:30am: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
8:30am: Halloween II (2009)
11am: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
1pm: Halloween (1978)
3pm: Halloween II (1981)
5pm: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
7pm: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
9pm: Halloween (1978)
11pm: Halloween (2007)
1:30am: Halloween II (2009)
4am: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Sat, October 31
Halloween on Halloween Marathon:
6am: Halloween II (1981)
8am: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
10am: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
12pm: Halloween II (2009)
2:30pm: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
4:30pm: Halloween (2007)
7pm: Halloween (1978)
9pm: Halloween II (1981)
11pm: Halloween (1978)
1am: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
2am: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Sun, November 1
Halloween Hangover
6am: Christine
8am: Halloween (1978)
10am: The Terminator
12:30pm: Predator
3pm: Men in Black
5pm: Men in Black II
7pm: Jurassic World: Dominion
