Season 5

Complete listed story — includes the ending

1. Death of Some Salesmen

Judd Campbell ( Ed Begley Jr. ) is a conniving salesman who cheats people out of their money by selling them expensive burial plots for a fake cemetery. When he ends up arriving at a wrong address, he finds new victims in the form of Ma, Pa, and Winona Brackett ( Tim Curry in a triple role), a strange family of rednecks with a fortune buried in their basement. Unfortunately, the Bracketts have developed a burning hatred for salesmen after being swindled once too often, and Judd ends up getting more than what he bargains for when he tries to swindle them. Also starring Yvonne De Carlo as Mrs. Jones.

2. As Ye Sow

Believing that his wife, Bridget ( Patsy Kensit ), is cheating on him, businessman Leo Burns ( Héctor Elizondo ) hires G. G. Devoe ( Sam Waterston ), a sleazy and dubious detective, to spy on her. Soon after, Devoe gathers evidence that leads Leo believe that Bridget is indeed having an affair with local priest John Sejac ( John Shea ). With his imagination running wild, Leo resorts to drastic measures to fix his dilemma. Featuring cameos from Adam West and Miguel Ferrer.

3. Forever Ambergris

Washed-up combat photographer Dalton Scott ( Roger Daltrey ) is told by his boss that he is losing his edge. After visiting his protégé, up-and-coming photographer Isaac "Ike" Forte ( Steve Buscemi ) for dinner, Dalton grows enamored with Ike's beautiful wife, Bobbi ( Lysette Anthony ). When Dalton and Ike are sent to Central America alongside a group of mercenaries for an assignment, the former cooks up a deadly scheme to send the latter into a village ravaged by biological weapons, where Ike eventually ends up contracting a virulent disease that causes him to rapidly decay, in an attempt to steal Bobbi from him. Also starring Paul Dooley.

4. Food for Thought

The Great Zambini ( Ernie Hudson ), an abusive and mentally unstable circus performer with psychic abilities and a passion for cooking, attempts to read the mind of his wife and assistant, Connie ( Joan Chen ), as she can already read his. When he is finally able to read Connie's mind, he does so just as she is in the middle of an affair with the show's fire-eater, Johnny ( John Laughlin ), causing Zambini to go insane with jealousy. Also starring Phil Fondacaro.

5. People Who Live in Brass Hearses

Billy DeLuca ( Bill Paxton ), a thief with an addiction to butter and butter products, is released from prison after serving a two-year sentence for embezzlement. With the help of his mentally challenged brother Virgil ( Brad Dourif ), Billy sets out to get revenge on Earl Byrd ( Michael Lerner ), the jolly ice cream man who had reported him to the police, by robbing the ice cream warehouse where he works. Unfortunately, the dim-witted Virgil manages to screw up every step of Billy's plan along the way.

6. Two for the Show

In an homage to Strangers on a Train, Andy Conway ( David Paymer ), a talkative, workaholic husband, is informed by his wife Emma ( Traci Lords ) that she is having an affair and wants a divorce. In a rage, Andy stabs Emma to death and cuts her into pieces. He is investigated by Officer Fine ( Vincent Spano ), a policeman with his own marital issues. After stuffing Emma's remains in a suitcase, Andy boards a train to get rid of the evidence. When Andy discovers that Fine is on board the same train, the two men get caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

7. House of Horror

Arling, Henderson, and Waters ( Wil Wheaton, Jason London, and Keith Coogan ) are three pledges of a fraternity on probation who are bullied into submission by sadistic pledge master Les Wilton ( Kevin Dillon ). As the final part of their initiation, the trio are challenged to get to the top floor of the Cougher House, an abandoned house rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a murderer with a hacking cough. However, when two of the pledges fail to return, Les decides to head up to the top floor of the house in order to look for them himself, only to learn that a local sorority harbors a sinister secret involving the house. Also starring Meredith Salenger as Mona.

8. Well Cooked Hams

In a turn-of-the-century tale, inept magician Miles Federman ( Billy Zane ) blames his assistant Greta ( Maryam d'Abo ) on a failed show and fires her. Shortly after, Miles is met by another magician, Franz Kraygen ( Martin Sheen ), who invites Miles to see his own show. Miles is left astonished when Kraygen demonstrates his most famous illusion: the Box of Death. When Kraygen refuses to tell Miles how he pulls off the trick, Miles kills him and steals the prop for his own show. When Miles attempts to perform the trick himself, he is unaware that the Box of Death has been sabotaged, leading to tragic consequences.

9. Creep Course

Nerdy bookworm Stella Bishop ( Nina Siemaszko ) is tricked by Reggie Skulnick ( Anthony Michael Hall ), a charismatic jock, into giving him the answers for their upcoming Egyptology test. Little does Stella know, that Reggie is in league with their Egyptology instructor, the pompous Professor Finely ( Jeffrey Jones ). In exchange for Finley giving him the answers to the test himself, so he can pass the course and keep his football scholarship, Reggie brings Stella to Finely's home and tricks her into becoming a virgin sacrifice for Ramseth, a long preserved mummy in search of his lover. Also starring Julius Carry as Detective Connors.

10. Came the Dawn

"Norma" ( Brooke Shields ), a criminal hitchhiker stranded on the side of the road in a thunderstorm, catches a ride with Roger ( Perry King ), a seemingly timid rich man who invites her to stay in his cabin while the storm clears up. As she prepares to rob Roger's cabin of its valuables, Norma learns that Roger already has a woman in his life, and that he and this woman are closer than she thinks. Also starring Michael J. Pollard.

11. Oil's Well That Ends Well

Con artist Jerry ( Lou Diamond Phillips ) and his man-hating girlfriend Gina ( Priscilla Presley ) believe that no one can top them when it comes to extortion. The two begin planning their next caper by tricking a quartet of Southern investors into thinking that there is oil buried underneath a local cemetery. Before long, the growing costs for digging up the supposed oil begin causing everyone to begin double crossing and backstabbing everyone else, leading to an explosive conclusion. Also starring Noble Willingham, Alan Ruck and Rory Calhoun. Note: This episode also features a cameo by John Kassir in his only on-screen appearance of the entire series. The Cryptkeeper is also seen playing the official Tales from the Crypt pinball machine in the intro, and watches the episode itself on VHS during the outro.

12. Half-Way Horrible

Roger Lassen ( Clancy Brown ), the ruthless president of a chemical company, discovers that his key partners are being murdered one by one. He is also told that the FDA have contacted his company, which is currently developing a new long-lasting preservative known as Xenthion-B, to announce that they are considering suspending the preservative's release because of the murders. Thinking back to when he and his friends traveled to Brazil on a business trip, Roger remembers that he offered his best friend, Alex ( Jon Tenney ), as a human sacrifice in exchange for receiving samples of the plant Xenthion-B is created from an indigenous tribe. Concluding that Alex is the one responsible, Roger is suddenly visited by his undead former friend, who reveals that the actual killer may be closer to Roger than he thinks. Also starring Cheech Marin, Martin Kove, Charles Martin Smith, and Costas Mandylor.

13. Till Death Do We Part

Johnny Canaparo ( John Stamos ) is a gigolo involved with "Ruthless" Ruth Sanderson ( Eileen Brennan ), a wealthy and powerful middle-aged woman with heavy connections to the Mafia. When Johnny begins a forbidden affair with waitress Lucy Chadwick ( Kate Vernon ), Ruth finds out about the liaison and orders Johnny to kill Lucy himself, leaving Johnny to mentally debate what to do about the situation, and which woman he chooses to have in his life. Also starring Robert Picardo and Frank Stallone.