The Crypt Keeper is back, but to resurrect the Tales From the Crypt icon, AMC had to find a partner with the right… spirit.
That’s right, boys and ghouls. After a 30-year absence, the Crypt Keeper, along with his original voice artist, John Kassir, has returned to host AMC’s 30th anniversary of FearFest, and spirits company Bacardí helped make it happen.
Over the course of FearFest and its 650 hours of horror content in October, AMC and Bacardí will release five vignettes featuring the Crypt Keeper across linear and social. And for those who want even more Crypt Keeper, all seven seasons of Tales From the Crypt are now streaming on AMC+ and Shudder for the first time.
“The idea of bringing [the Crypt Keeper] back for the first time, resurrecting him from the crypt, if you will, just seemed so fun and on brand,” Lisa Pfenning, VP for Bacardí Rum in North America, told ADWEEK. “We share a lot of the same values, the Crypt Keeper and Bacardí.”
Those values include self-expression and good humor—yes, the Crypt Keeper’s signature puns are back. And with the added bonus of Halloween themes and ’90s nostalgia, Pfenning called the stunt a natural partnership.
But bringing the Crypt Keeper back after three decades wasn’t just some easy hocus pocus. According to Bacardí and AMC, the companies spent months bringing the character to life.
A tale about the Crypt
Bacardí had previously teamed up with AMC for FearFest in 2025, and coming into this year, the brand wanted to make an even bigger splash to own Halloween. To get things started quickly, conversations kicked off in early 2026, according to Mike DiGiacomo, head of integrated marketing and Content Room, AMC Global Media.
At the time of those initial conversations, AMC didn’t have the streaming rights to Tales From the Crypt, but as the months went on and the licensing deal was finalized, the idea of bringing back the Crypt Keeper for original content began to catch on.
“We were like, ‘This could be something,’” DiGiacomo said, adding, “When we first presented the idea of partnering with the Crypt Keeper to Bacardí, their eyes lit up. All we had to say was ‘Crypt Keeper,’ and we hit the ground running.”
The team got to work on multiple rounds of creative, integrating the Crypt Keeper into Bacardí’s music-inspired campaign, “Better With a Beat”; recruiting horror effects master and Walking Dead director Greg Nicotero to update the Crypt Keeper’s look and direct the Crypt Keeper content, which included Kassir as the voice; and weaving in Bacardí throughout the process.
“Our whole thing is authenticity. We know that there is a very dedicated audience behind this franchise, so if we’re going to do it, if we’re going to bring Crypt Keeper back, we want to do it right,” DiGiacomo said.
