Tales from the Crypt was among EC’s popular horror comics of the 1950s. In the anthology series, the Crypt-Keeper hosted chilling tales about murder, mayhem, and monsters. The book could be shocking with its unfiltered content and subverted readers’ expectations by ending with nasty twists.

It, along with other horror titles at EC, became the subject of scrutiny after Fredric Wertham’s book Seduction of the Innocent was published. Horror comics became the focus of blame for juvenile delinquency, leading to the birth of the Comics Code Authority and death of horror comics (for a time).

Tales from the Crypt began with issue 20, after it had been renamed from the previous title of The Crypt of Terror, and carried a cover price of 10¢. In 1970, when Robert M. Overstreet published The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #1, he determined the value of a Near Mint copy to be $12. Over the next ten years its value had grown 15 times to $180 in the Guide #10.

By 1990, the Tales from the Crypt TV show helped push its value up to $385. The book more than tripled its price by the Guide #30, scaring up $950. After another ten years, it was up to $2,050 in the Guide #40. In 2020, when the Guide celebrated its milestone 50th anniversary, it had risen to $2,800. Just four years later in the Guide #54, a Near Mint copy of Tales from the Crypt #20 was priced at $4,800.